One of the newest K-popgirl groups, LE SSERAFIM released their first studio album titled UNFORGIVEN on May 1. LE SSERAFIM is a five-member girl group under Hybe Entertainment, which also manages the biggest names in K-pop, BTS, Seventeen and Tomorrow X Together. The UNFORGIVEN album includes six remastered tracks and seven new songs. UNFORGIVEN focuses on themes of adventure, determination and adrenaline through a variety of both exciting pop beats and slower heartfelt songs. The album ranked at number six on the Billboard 200 album chart on May 15, the first time LE SSERAFIM entered the top ten rankings since its debut.

The title track, also titled “UNFORGIVEN,” features funk-style guitar rhythms played and arranged by American artist Nile Rodgers, who has also worked with famous artists such as Daft Punk, Madonna and David Bowie. The track also features a customized fan chant, where fans can sing along with the group in an almost harmonizing manner. Other popular album songs include the ninth track “No-Return (Into the Unknown),” which is nothing similar to “Into the Unknown” from Frozen 2. Instead, “No-Return (Into the Unknown)” offers a light-hearted pop song about adventures, perfect for the summer. Another fan favorite is “Fearnot (Between You, Me and the Lamppost)”, which has lyrics written by all LE SSERAFIM members and is described as a personal heartfelt song for just their fandom. 

My personal favorite song from UNFORGIVEN would be “Eve, Psych & The Bluebeard’s Wife.” Although it has a comically long title that I don’t quite understand the meaning of, the song itself is quite enjoyable, as it discusses the theme of breaking stereotypes through a pop-style soundtrack. Perhaps, I enjoy this song the most because of its popularity on TikTok. The LE SSERAFIM marketing team created a TikTok dance challenge to the song where fans can perform a simplified version of the original choreography to the song, with videos that garner thousands of views. 

Through their first studio album, UNFORGIVEN, LE SSERAFIM displays vocal versatility, beautiful instrumentation and well-thought-out meanings within each of the 13 album tracks. I believe LE SSERAFIM is definitely on the rise to be a major girl group within the Korean pop music scene.

On this blog, members of the Carmel High School chapter of the Quill and Scroll International Honorary Society for High School Journalists (and the occasional guest writer) produce curations of all facets of popular culture, from TV shows to music to novels to technology. We hope our readers always leave with something new to muse over. Click here to read more from MUSE.