If there’s one thing the members of LE SSERAFIM are known for, it’s their relatability. Since their debut in 2022, Sakura, Kim Chaewon, Huh Yunjin, Kazuha, and Hong Eunchae have made it their mission to show fans their unfiltered selves while delivering bops — and this interview is no exception.
Calling in from their San Francisco hotel, the members are as relaxed as can be, makeup-free, and clad in sweats, including a teal hoodie from their very own Amazon Music collaboration. “Don't mind me. Sorry, I just got out of the shower,” Yunjin quickly apologizes for the towel wrapped around her hair while sipping on an iced matcha. Seeing them so “normal,” it’s easy to forget these are the five girls who played a whopping 24 songs in front of thousands of people at San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium just the night before.
Announced in February 2025, LE SSERAFIM’s Easy Crazy Hot Tour, the group’s second tour overall, marks the first time the five members take on a multi-continent tour, with 29 stops across Asia and North America — though they had visited the US before, making their performance debut at the VMAs in 2024.
“It’s our first time doing our own show in the States, so we really didn't know what to expect, but the experience has been incredible,” Yunjin, once again acting as the de facto English spokesperson for the group, tells Teen Vogue. “The love and support that our fans have been showing us has been so amazing. It's been really crazy. Each stop, I feel like it's been exceeding all of our expectations, so it feels like a dream still, and I can't believe it's almost the end because it feels like we just started, but I think it's really helped us grow as performers.”
“Fans are so energetic here in the US,” Chaewon, the leader of the group, continues. “They're dancing all the time. They're singing along with us, so we can work off their energy. We had so much fun, and it almost feels like it's FEARNOT featuring in our songs.”
Preparations for the tour were, of course, extensive and, believe it or not, expanded way beyond pure rehearsals. “Jet lag is always the hardest part,” Chaewon says with a grimace before putting on a smile, “but I think we are getting used to it. It was actually better this time. We got used to the time difference more quickly.”
“Last time we were in the US, our jet lag was sooo bad,” Yunjin continues. “It took us a week to get used to it, so we were falling asleep while eating our dinner. It was really bad, so we were like, ‘Okay, we have a show. As soon as we get here, we need to be on it.’ So we started adjusting in Korea. We stayed up all night the night before. Eunchae, Chaewon, and I were in the group chat, and we were like, ‘Are you guys still up? I'm still up.’ And then we got to the airport and we were dead. It was so funny. We passed out on the plane, but it really helped with the jet lag.”
Supporting their EPs Easy, Crazy, and Hot, this tour is a new undertaking for the girls, which meant the wardrobe had to match the sections perfectly. “The first section is three songs off of our most recent album, Hot, and that aesthetic was very bohemian and kind of Western-inspired. So, we all have ruffles, cowboy boots, leather, and sequins that resemble the beading on cowboy vests. The top that I wore was actually a cowboy vest that we reformed into a corset. So that's the first vibe. And the VFX is also lots of ash, fire, and flames, which fits the mood for the beginning,” Yunjin explains.
“I actually like those outfits that we wear at the opening of the show the most, even though we wear them for the shortest amount of time on stage,” Kazuha adds in between muted laughs. “I think they are really tailored to the different looks of each of the members, which I really like. I wish we could wear them for longer!”
The second outfit the members change into, however, took up that honor. As Yunjin confirms, they are the ones they wear the longest and perform the most songs in. “It was really hard to plan the second outfit,” she confesses. “Because it's like you have to perform ‘Easy,’ which is a really hip-hop song, and it's arranged that way too. But then we also have to do ballet for ‘Swan Song and then also ‘Smart’ and ‘Fire in the Belly.’ So we had to look for an aesthetic that would fit all of those vibes.”
They ended up opting for white ensembles, first erupting onto the stage with hoodies and jackets that only remained on for ‘Easy,” the first song off the sophomore section. “Then, for the third outfit, we just went for something a little more edgy, which would fit ‘Crazy,’ ‘Fearless and all of the more c*nty songs,” Yunjin continues with a grin.
Of course, there’s also a fourth section most would often overlook: the encore, where K-pop idols usually rock their merch and more casual outfits that are not set in stone and differ from stop to stop as a chance to show off more of a unique, street-style flair. “I think it's really fun to have different encore outfits because we make sure that they're tailored to the city that we are performing in,” Chaewon says. “In Texas, we had this cowboy kind of inspired look, and then we also wore the Lakers jersey in LA. So I really like those.”
With four outfit changes per show, LE SSERAFIM run a tight ship backstage. Before they even get dressed, it takes three hours for all five of them to get ready individually, and, in terms of glam, they change it up for each show. “Hair and makeup-wise, we try to change the look every single time,” Sakura says. “For example, if I'm going for a certain hairstyle and I would say maybe the makeup, I would like to go with more like cat eye style, more glam, and then I would change my color contact lenses as well. Depending on the hairstyle, I change the overall look.”
Even if it all changes, there are a couple of beauty products that remain stashed in their secret beauty arsenal that the members won’t feel stage-ready without.
“If you want to know about the sweat, we'd have this thing where it's kind of like a toner that you put on and it makes you sweat less for eight hours,” Yunjin shares, almost whispering. “It's really cool. I'm not sure if it works for everybody, but it definitely works for me because I am a sweater. I sweat so much, but if I put that primer on, I will not.”
For Chaewon and Eunchae, who often rock bangs, hairspray is a must-have to prevent hair from moving mid-choreo. “We need to put on lots and lots of hairspray,” Chaewon emphasizes.
Sakura, however, has a bit of a niche pick. “There's this eyeliner coat fixer. So after I draw my eyeliner and do my eyebrows, sometimes if you sweat, they're just going to wash off and go away. So I use this kind of coating fixer and apply it on top of the eyeliner and the eyelashes so that they stay on.”
While Kazuha does not divulge her precious beauty secret, the members do share another essential in their pre-stage routine: food. “Before going on stage, I want to make sure that I eat something light so that I don't get too stuffy,” Sakura explains. “It's on our rider: potatoes, yams, and sweet potatoes,” Yunjin adds.
Once the pre-show rituals are done and the concert has started, the fashion and beauty frenzy doesn’t end. The members need to make sure they nail the outfit changes in time while fans are watching VCRs in the venue. Sakura is the quickest, but unexpected things can happen.
“Her nails fell off once,” Yunjin screams, pointing at Chaewon. “I didn't even know, but I came backstage, and three of my press-ons were gone! We were like, ‘We have to find them.’ But I think I dropped them on stage, so it was really difficult.” “It was whatever,” Yunjin says, laughing. “There are also sometimes when our in-ear and mic cable lines get tangled with our hair or our clothes, and so there was this one time it took us a bit longer than usual to go up because it was caught in our outfits.”
Teamwork is of the essence during the changes, the girls explain, and each has one person only to help them pull it off flawlessly. “It's like a duo, we’re connected,” Yunjin says.
Even with everything happening backstage, LE SSERAFIM still have their eye out for FEARNOT. “When we're on tour here in the US, we are very much looking forward to the costumes that the fans are wearing to the concert,” Sakura says. “Sometimes they dress like us, like the wardrobe that we have on stage, or something that's just really eye-catching. So we're always curious what they're going to wear next to our show.”
The members are also looking out for the fans’ reaction while they are on stage, and there’s a clear favorite: “Crazy.” “Regardless of which city we go to. I think fans love that the most. They go wild when we perform that song,” Eunchae says.
Of course, aside from the fun of dress-up and fan interactions, live performances as a whole open artists up to a lot of criticism, which LE SSERAFIM are familiar with. But how do you turn those critiques around and make them work for a better show?
“I think what's of utmost importance is monitoring our performance,” Kazuha says. “Every time we're done with a show, we monitor what we did on stage, and then if there's something that we should work on or something that we could do better, we always talk about it in our group talk. We make sure that we can kind of make it better the next time. So I think that's how we grow as a group.”
“I feel like we're always really open to feedback, so honestly, any criticism as long as it's constructive is really something we're thankful about,” Yunjin continues, saying it helps them truly grow as a group. “Especially on this tour, like Kazuha said, we've been really focused on making each show better than the last, so whatever feedback we get, we try to incorporate it into the next performance. I think it's essential for us to remain humble and remind ourselves that there's always room for improvement. The FEARNOTs who enjoy our show are definitely giving us more energy to continue doing that.”
Sakura best sums it up: “I think the biggest lesson that I learned is maintaining the passion that we have because when you've just debuted, it's a given. You're very passionate, you want to go all out. It's been about three years since our debut, but we still feel like we are just starting. We always practice very hard, and we give feedback to each other. Whenever we're on stage performing, we want to do it like there's no tomorrow. That passion is really important.”
“This tour has really reopened our eyes to that for us,” Yunjin continues. “We do this thing every show, where we tell ourselves we should perform with our bodies like there's no tomorrow, but perform with our hearts like it’s the first time. That was a really good mindset that this tour taught us and has shaped us into better artists holistically, not just in terms of the tour, but in terms of everything. It overarched everything.”
Looking forward, the members will bring that mentality to the last two stops of the tour at Tokyo Dome this November. However, they have also been busy cooking up a storm for their first single album, SPAGHETTI, which is set to arrive on October 24. “We are prepared for the promotion of our next release while on tour, and I'm really happy that I could use the energy that we got from the fans while we were on the road to put that into our next release,” Chaewon says. “We are really looking forward to releasing this song. It's a very fun song that we really enjoyed while practicing, so please stay tuned!”
