Music critics debate 'strong references' to Rosalía in LE SSERAFIM's music

Earlier on April 26, music critic Kim Do Heon hosted a Twitter Spaces conversation with fellow critics Hwang Seon Up, Jung Min Jae, and Jang Jun Hwan, listening to previews of LE SSERAFIM's upcoming 1st full album, 'Unforgiven'. 

During the conversation, it was pointed out that the resemblances between LE SSERAFIM's past "ANTIFRAGILE" concept and music and Spanish singer Rosalía have recently become a hot topic among netizens. 

The four critics then shared their thoughts and opinions on the possibility of the issue persisting in 'Unforgiven'. You can read excerpts of their exchanges, below.

Critique #1: "I am someone who is a fan of LE SSERAFIM. Having listened to the music, objectively speaking, I get Rosalía vibes. The intro, when they go 'Unforgiven, unforgiven', right from that moment, I thought that the reference was strong. I just cannot help but think that way. But as the song progresses, there is a point of divergence. The more you go into the later half, there is an 'ethnic' vibe. Harim participated in the song, and it incorporates a lot of Eastern instrument sounds so parts like the chorus give off strong, Eastern vibes. To me, it did a pretty good job of recapturing the vibes of various, traditional Eastern folk sounds in a modern way? At the same time, again, there is that sense that Rosalía is there somewhere, just like in 'ANTIFRAGILE'."

Critique #2: "I also felt that it was a continuation of 'ANTIFRAGILE' at first. There are distinct differences, especially in the parts such as the funky bass-inspired notes laid by Nile Rogers, but overall you just can't help but notice that it carries over those same vibes from 'ANTIFRAGILE'." 

Critique #3: "I took down some notes while listening to it, and I have 'Rosalía' written down. Generally, there is the strong sense that they are bringing over and applying much of Rosalía's vibes, her distinct singing style, her use of melody, just like in 'ANTIFRAGILE'."

Critique #4: "I talked about Rosalía's 'Con Altura' when 'ANTIFRAGILE' came out. Even before that, the teasers for 'FEARLESS' brought to mind Rosalía, which is why recently it has become such an issue, how LE SSERAFIM may be referencing Rosalía too much. I would say any claim that they did not reference Rosalía in their music would be a lie, but the resemblance is much less visible in 'Unforgiven'." 

Critique #5: "I personally felt that the resemblance in 'ANTIFRAGILE' was very obvious. Now, with 'Unforgiven', the resemblance is more in the intro. The chorus this time does not give a sense of Rosalía at all. It's the intro, and the tones used during the rap or the verses that are reminiscent of Rosalía's style. But this, again, was much stronger in 'ANTIFRAGILE'. In terms of the song in its entirety, 'Unforgiven' is not reminiscent of Rosalía. Only, there are parts, such as the application of vocals, the vocal style, etc, which bring to mind Rosalía. And this is undeniable."

Critique #6: "I'm not completely against referencing, but if you listen to something and it immediately reminds you of someone else, then I believe the referencing was done lazily. Regardless of wrong or right, it leaves a negative impression on the musician and the listener. For the listener, they listened to a new song, but then it reminded them of someone else or something else, and so that freshness of something new is cut in half. For the creator, it is a question of originality. If the song lacks so much originality that it reminds people of an existing song, couldn't you have filtered the references out some? This has always been a big issue in K-Pop, actually. I won't go into more details, but I just wonder why the companies do not filter these elements out more. Or are they doing it on purpose? Do they not have a conscious?"

Meanwhile, LE SSERAFIM's 'Unforgiven' is set for release on May 1 at 6 PM KST.