LE SSERAFIM faces criticism for vocal performance at Coachella despite high expectations

Despite putting on a spectacular show at a prestigious American festival, the group LE SSERAFIM is facing criticism for lacking skill.

LE SSERAFIM performed on April 13 at one of America's biggest music festivals, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, but they received criticism for not meeting expectations in terms of skill.

For their Coachella performance, LE SSERAFIM prepared an unreleased song '1-800-hot-n-fun' and had a special joint performance with famous American musician Nile Rodgers for their title track 'UNFORGIVEN'. Despite their efforts and determination, their vocal abilities were seen as inadequate.

Social networking services (SNS) and online forums are currently buzzing with critiques. Videos of LE SSERAFIM's performance at Coachella were released, and comments criticizing their abilities quickly followed. While their performance skills were not questioned, their live vocals were predominantly criticized.

A user on ID Boss* commented on LE SSERAFIM's performance at Coachella saying, 

"Congratulations on making it to Coachella in such a short time, but it was definitely a stage with lacking vocal abilities."

They added, "The dance continued non-stop until the middle of the performance, which was acceptable, but from the 'Smart' part of the song, it completely fell apart which was disappointing. HYBE, a large corporation, seems to struggle with overcoming the fundamental issues that come from hastily putting together a team focused on visuals and performance."

In 2019, BLACKPINK became the first K-pop girl group to perform at Coachella, where they received praise, making the comparison between BLACKPINK and LE SSERAFIM's performances inevitable.

Some netizens noted that if LE SSERAFIM had gained more experience on large stages like a world tour before performing at Coachella, such a disaster could have been avoided.

On April 15, Source Music under HYBE released a statement saying, "LE SSERAFIM successfully completed their debut stage at 'Coachella,' and the audience enjoyed the performance with enthusiastic cheers."