LE SSERAFIM, SOURCE MUSIC’s first girl group, commanded the attention of their sold-out night at the Kia Forum. Boasting a concert capacity of 18,000 seats, the venue was filled to the brim with FEARNOT, the group’s faithful fans. As part of their EASY CRAZY HOT world tour, the five members have been tirelessly performing their US stops with Inglewood as their fourth on the North American leg. Their visually impressive stage production coupled with endless confetti, pyrotechnics, high energy setlist, and infectious chemistry marked a monumental shift in the group’s artistry.
As an anagram of the word fearless, the five members have been booked and busy as they managed to squeeze in a performance on “America’s Got Talent” in between their Texas and Los Angeles stops. Despite the hardships the women have experienced in their three years together, they’ve faced their challenges head on, fearlessly. With two albums in the Billboard 200 top-ten, performances at BlizzCon, the Grammy Museum, and Coachella, LE SSERAFIM have only continued to grow in popularity outside of the K-pop sphere.
The “HOT” night kicked off with an introductory VCR – a pre-recorded video – featuring shots of the members surrounded by flames. Like walking out of a house set ablaze, SAKURA, KIM CHAEWON, KAZUHA, HONG EUNCHAE, and HUH YUNJIN stood on stage brimming with confidence in their ruffle tops, fiery shorts, and high heeled boots. Having marked their third anniversary in May, the group has come a long way from the nervousness of their early days.
Forged by adversity and unrelenting flak during their first US performances, LE SSERAFIM wanted to seriously show how much they’ve improved in order to amaze both their fans and their critics. Rising out of the “Ash” of their former selves, they each shed some part of their clothing, tossing it aside as a visual metaphor for leaving their past behind. The fan chants of the member’s individual names and full singalongs to the tracks fed the group’s energy as they returned FEARNOT’s love (and barks) with fanservice. In fact, the deafening word-for-word cheering matched the volume of the speakers.
The “ANTIFRAGILE” K-pop group is known for their sleek, stunning visuals and the bonds between each other. Although their dance routines may look simple at first glance, their choreography and formations demand well timed synchronization and compatibility. No where is that more obvious than in their song “Come Over,” in which the five members high kicked one after another and spontaneously flashed the LA hand sign together. They would borrow this concept for a fortune telling custom where the timing of their splits indicates the “vibe of the city” they’re in.
“If we get this split perfect, that means that the LA energy is perfect for us,” said YUNJIN. As expected, it was. “Your energy is on fire!”
Of course, their two-hour long show was only getting started. Donning a fresh set of white streetwear, the five women were ready to take on the next stage: fan interaction. A common complaint at any live event is the physical distance between the fans and the singer, which waves and winks don’t always close that gap. Luckily, the quintet made sure to integrate loud and proud participation to cut through any hesitation from shyness. They were watching FEARNOT closely as they went up to the barriers on stage left and right to say hello so that the experience wouldn’t be “Sour Grapes.” During slower tempo songs like “Star Signs,” “Blue Flame,” “So Cynical (Badum),” and “Impurities,” LE SSERAFIM reminded FEARNOT of their vocal chops with live mics in hand while jumping, dancing, and chest pumping.
Building towards their set of intense title tracks, “The Great Mermaid” kicked off the main course of the concert that everyone was waiting for. Before that, they wanted to check in on the crowd, calling out any interesting signs and outfits as well as anyone who hasn’t been cheering. “If you’re still feeling shy, you’ll regret it when you go home tonight,” goaded EUNCHAE. Her comment and the practice they all had together for “Fire in the belly” had every hand in the venue up and waving to give them the encouragement they needed.
Leaving temporarily for one last outfit change, FEARNOT had one last chance to catch their breath before going all out for the latter half of the show. Normally, artists don’t perform during the song of their VCR but they emerged in scorching black outfits. While dancing to intricate formations for “Chasing Lightning,” former ballerina KAZUHA lifted her leg slowly up to a perfect split with no hands. The long awaited “Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard’s wife” emerged once the clasps of lightning strikes died down, but were soon replaced by the thunderous roars of “I’m a mess (x6)” from FEARNOT. But the intensity didn’t stop there; they made sure “all the girls are girling, girling” for the chart topping track, “CRAZY.”
As part of their concert rituals, a member in the crowd was chosen on screen to be the night’s SAKI. The title designation comes from a lyric in “1-800-hot-n-fun” and highlights a lucky fan to dance on screen. An added surprise was the sudden appearance of four members from Katseye, another girl group under the HYBE label. After they gave LE SSERAFIM their best “ANTIFRAGILE” rendition, EUNCHAE playfully voiced her jealously. “Hey, why does it feel like you guys are cheering louder for them than us?!” YUNJIN and CHAEWON would return the favor to Katseye by dancing to their “Milkshake” choreography during the encore, but sadly the four members were not there to witness it in person.
Closing out the show with their most popular tracks, LE SSERAFIM put the pedal to the medal dancing to rock mixes of “UNFORGIVEN” and “ANTIFRAGILE.” Providing new versions of their most beloved songs is a blessing for fans as they’re given an experience that can’t be replicated at home.
The EASY CRAZY HOT world tour was well worth the wait as the concert’s creative direction and set design went hand in hand with the personality of LE SSERAFIM. At the same time, the talent between the members as well as their individual growth as artists have exceeded expectations. SOURCE MUSIC’s decision to hold off on a world tour until the group’s third year was a smart call as LE SSERAFIM has continued to rank up in their experience on the world stage. It’s anything but “EASY.”
For FEARNOT who weren’t able to catch LE SSERAFIM in Los Angeles, they’re still touring in North America for another week before closing out their tour in Tokyo. Thankfully, fans won’t need to wait too long to see their favorite five-member group again as they’ll be releasing music in October.
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