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  • LE SSERAFIM Performance – Coachella Music Festival

    LE SSERAFIM Performance – Coachella Music Festival

    LE SSERAFIM on stage with "I'm Fearless" backdrop
    Le Sserafim members raise their hands during a performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, April 13. Courtesy of Source Music

    HISTORY: LE SSERAFIM’s Performance At Coachella

    LE SSERAFIM’s Performance At Coachella
    @voguejp/X (formerly known as Twitter)

    Coachella is an annual music and arts festival that is held annually in Indio, California. It is considered one of the most famous and big-time events among the music festivals in the world, knowing that their lineup of musical activities was always big-time artists such as established ones and rising ones, giving the audience multiple genres such as rock, indie, hip-hop, electronic, and more. Other than music, it showcases art installations, sculptures, and other visual arts, creating a fun experience for attendees. 

    Way back before, K-pop groups and idols were not usually invited over to Coachella but since BLACKPINK was invited to perform at Coachella in 2019, K-pop’s journey in this music festival continues to evolve. Good news! This year, LE SSERAFIM was invited to perform at Coachella and already made their performance. Knowing they had just recently debuted, they are considered the fastest-invited K-pop group to the Coachella stage. This marks a significant milestone in their journey as a K-pop idol group.

    The rapid popularity of their songs proves how influential K-pop music is internationally. With only two years since LE SSERAFIM’s debut, it speaks a lot about what people are expecting from them; their talent and dedication.

    Mixed Reactions to LE SSERAFIM’s Coachella Performance

    The members of LE SSERAFIM filled the stage with confidence and charisma, they showed their musical power and artistic performance. They show what they’ve got in those 2 years since debut. The performance was electrifying, with a high energy that captivated the audience. The crowd resonated with them when they performed “Antifragile” and “The Great Mermaid” on the stage. And the appearance of special guests added a thrill and excitement to the show.

    On the other hand, despite the positive energy performance and giving their best, there always comes the criticism. Some audiences and netizens commented and expressed their disappointment about the group’s live vocals and technical issues because it wasn’t as good as what you will hear in their music videos. There has become a question of the balance between their aesthetic performance and musical authenticity.

    While some netizens continues to hate and criticize the group, loyal fans continues to debate over and fight for their idols.  At this time, it is good to see that there are still who believes in the group despite being discriminated and pushed to quit in the music and entertainment industry.

    The Media and Audience Comments

    After the performance of LE SSERAFIM at Coachella, media outlets and as well as audiences shared their reactions to the performance. Publications like Billboard and NME have praised them for their stage presence, aesthetic performance, and entertainment value, however, others are more critical about their live vocals and other aspects of the show. Some billboards highlight how LE SSERAFIM stood out on that day, commending them for keeping the crowd energized and engaging with their music. NME also described the performance as “vigorous and fun,” considering how LE SSERAFIM has dominated the stage as their own.

    In contrast, netizens’ responses on social media and online forums have more divided sentiments. Some praised them for overall performance and production quality, but others are concerned about their live vocals and technical issues arose during the show because it did not meet their expectations. Expectations can truly affect the subjective experiences and comments of the audience, it influence the perceptions of whether the performance was a failure or success.

    Thus, it is hard to say yet as there is a wide range of comments among the people. Not all people hate the group, the group has still fans who continue to support and push them to go forward.

    LE SSERAFIM Facing Criticism and Reflecting on Growth

    LE SSERAFIM Facing Criticism and Reflecting on Growth
    KpopRadar

    LE SSERAFIM’s member, Sakura, used Weverse to address the controversy about their live vocals and to reflect on their performance as a group. In her constructed message, Sakura acknowledged the challenges and pressure of performing at such a grand event, saying that the group is willing to grow and they are determined to overcome these obstacles. 

    She is thankful for the chance to showcase their talent and music using the grand stage and Coachella. Even though they are facing criticism right now and being discriminated against, they are willing to face the people and commit to their career growth as an artist. Sakura’s heartfelt message reached the fans, who fought for them and are supporting their journey in the K-pop industry. As LE SSERAFIM is committed to evolving and improving their performances, music, and live vocals, they are also setting healthy boundaries from the haters and continue to prove that their critics are wrong.

    This leaves the fans excited and some are looking forward to how they will improve their performances for the next activities and projects they will be having. So, for the next topics, we will be talking about the future collaborations and performances of the group.

    STAY TUNED: Future Performances and Collaborations

    In the table below are the future collaborations and performances of LE SSERAFIM.

    LE SSERAFIM’s Future Performances and Collaborations

    April 20thNext Performance at Coachella
    Multi-year“Friends with NBA” collaboration with the NBA

    Despite being criticized since their Coachella debut, LE SSERAFIM continues to pursue their journey’s growth of musical excellence and global recognition. With the group’s other performance at Coachella scheduled on April 20th, the group sees it as an opportunity to address some criticisms, showcase their growth, and further prove that they deserve the international attention they are getting. At this time, it is a crucial day for them on April 19th whether to prove the haters right or wrong.

    Other than Coachella, LE SSERAFIM also announced their multi-year collaboration with the NBA. This proves that their presence is beyond the music industry, they are also expanding their presence. The partnership with NBA is entitled “Friends of NBA’” in which the goal is to celebrate the intersection of sports and music, further promoting LE SSERAFIM’s status as a cultural and global ambassador. 

    As they continue to expand their presence and push their limits, LE SSERAFIM is unbothered and confident to leave a lasting impression on the grand stage, which makes the fans more excited, and other artists are inspired by how they have dealt with this issues.

  • Parasyte: The Grey

    Parasyte: The Grey

    Parasite: The Grey is a Netflix K-drama sci-fi thriller action.
    Parasite: The Grey

    Parasyte: The Grey: Plot and Storyline Analysis

    Parasyte: The Grey: Plot and Storyline
    Credit: Netflix Asia YouTube channel

    Parasyte: The Grey is an anime-inspired directed by the same director of the famous “Train to Busan.” Parasyte’s plot is about the monsters that came from the unknown, their purpose is to just simply to eat the brains of humankind and take over to control their bodies. However, that doesn’t mean that they own the body already, they can just take over the head so they can take control. Meanwhile, the main character of the story, Jung Su-In, has been eaten by one of the monsters during the time she was dying. And because she was dying, the monster needed to heal her body first before fully taking over her brain, which resulted in the monster having enough power to fully take control.

    The girl, Jung Su-In, is considered a “mutant,” because she is still the host of her own body, and the monster inside her will only come out if Jung Su-In’s body is at risk. The monster can only last for 15 minutes. Going on, the policemen started to kill the monsters and monsters even started to betray each other. That’s when the story are getting intense.

    A Closer Look to the Character Growth in Parasyte: The Grey

    The good thing about this series “Parasyte: The Grey” is that some of the characters are evolving, not only the humans but also the monsters. There are changes in behavior that you will not expect at the end of the story. Here is the most remarkable growth of the characters.

    1. Su-In and Heidi’s Relationship

    Parasite Water The Gray A character infected with an alien parasitic creature.
    Credit: Climax Studio | Wow Point

    At first, Heidi is just trying to protect that body and Su-In hates having Heidi inside of her, as the story goes on, Heidi feels frustrated that Su-In is being irresponsible and always putting herself at risk so the policewoman will believe her, and Heidi cannot understand why is that. Until Kang Woo explained to her, that for humans, having someone to believe you is survival. As time passes, Heidi learns more about Jung Su-In, her personality, her past, and what kind of person she is. While Jung Su-In, feels sympathy for Heidi for being stuck in her body and has no choice but to be strong to protect her.

    2. Kang Woo

    Parasite Water The Gray Male character facing a parasitic creature.

    Kang Woo is a selfish man who only thinks about himself. He has been betrayed by many people in different ways, which is why it is also hard for him to trust someone. He is the type of person who won’t risk himself to save you. However, as he meets Jung Su-In, who saves him, there’s a change in his character. He started to care a lot about Jung Su-In and risked his life to save her.

    BEHIND THE SERIES: Production Quality of Parasyte: The Grey

    IT’S GIVING! Aside from creepy moments when the humans turned into monsters, there are action scenes between monsters too that make the series look cool, thrilling, and intense. Everything looks real.

    Now, look at the table about how the production quality caught the eyes of many audiences.

    Visual EffectsSet Design / CinematographyCostume and Make UpSound / MusicEditing and Pacing
    By adding depth and realism to the alien parasite concept, the blend and transition between the humans and parasitic creatures are smooth and look real.The set design and the use of lighting add intensity and a creepy atmosphere during the scenes making the story more thrilling. They also use the lighting to convey a tone depending on the context of the scene.The costume of the series depicts the personality, age and social statuses of the characters. While the make up work looks amazing, especially for the parasite make up.The sound and music of the drama adds thrill when the action scenes arises. Some sound effects were also added when the monster having a battle, as well as the sounds of the monsters.The editing and pacing is good. Not too slow and not too fast, good enough for the viewers to get the flow of the scenes. Also, what a good editing skills!

    Insights and Messages

    This series, Parasyte: The Grey, is not just about monsters, aliens, and action. There are some messages and lessons to reflect on, especially since there is a lot of character development and growth going on during the series. Showing Jung Su-In’s past explores why she developed such a personality in the present. The series also shows that Heidi is so strong because she had to because she can’t take full control of Jung Su-In’s body. Well, in real life, there are situations we are forced to be strong too, and that is why Heidi’s determination is very relatable. 

    There are also a lot of characters who positively changed their character. The main message of this series is there is always hope for redemption.

    SUMMARY: Overall Audience Impact

    Parasite Water The Gray A view of a person transformed into a parasitic creature.
    Credit: Netflix Asia YouTube channel

    Many K-drama addicts love Parasyte: The Grey because of its intense action scenes, they just can’t stop talking. It is unusual for a K-drama not to have a blend of romance. But even though it has no romance, the twists and turns of the story will not get you bored. From action scenes to creepy creatures, betrayals, and dramatic scenes, it all has it here. It was still a ride of emotions.

    As observed, the audience usually loves the characters because of their room for growth and their behaviors are changing depends on the situation they are in. While, many also love the storyline because even if it is fiction, the obstacles or what the characters have been going through in the society, it is somewhat relatable in real life. This is recommended to everyone who likes K-dramas, and sci-fi.  If you like K-dramas that have a lot of fighting scenes, thrill, and twists, this one is a must-watch for you!