LE SSERAFIM is one of the hottest rookies of 2022. Their debut was highly anticipated ever since it was rumored that IZ*ONE‘s Chaewon and Sakura were likely to join the lineup.
Unlike most K-Pop groups, the members were finalized fairly quickly. In an interview with Forbes, they revealed that the six of them—Chaewon, Sakura, Garam, Yunjin, Kazuha, and Eunchae—became LE SSERAFIM only in January of this year. They debuted with “FEARLESS” four months later in May.
The lineup was finalized around January of 2022 when I became the last member to join LE SSERAFIM.
— Eunchae
The members were scouted quickly as well. According to Yunjin, she would have returned to the United States had she not received an offer from Source Music and HYBE.
I was initially planning to study music in the States and all like fate, I was given an opportunity to join LE SSERAFIM.
— Yunjin
She grew up in the United States and moved to South Korea in her teens to become a K-Pop trainee. She was one of the most famous trainees of PLEDIS Entertainment, having stayed there even after her stint in Produce 48 ended.
After training for four years without a debut in sight, joining LE SSERAFIM was a great opportunity for her. She said, “I took the chance without hesitation and this all made the team even more special to me.”
Kazuha was another member who could have done something completely different with her life had she not received an offer to become a K-Pop idol. As a professional ballet dancer who even danced in the Dutch National Ballet Academy, she could have had a successful career abroad.
Still, she wanted to experience new things, thus leading her to the K-Pop world.
I loved ballet, but I wanted to take chances on different things for the rest of my life. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity and it just felt like fate that I came here to join the team.
— Kazuha
Besides these two members, Sakura also had a chance to pursue her post-IZ*ONE career in Japan as she did previously. She, however, found that she had a bigger potential to grow in South Korea.
When I went back to Japan after IZ*ONE was done, I didn’t feel perfectly satisfied. I still had a desire to grow as an artist and perform on a bigger stage so I made a decision to come back to Korea.
— Sakura
