Le Sserafim chants 'Boompala' as it enters 'Fearless 2.0' era

This article is by Shin Ha-nee and read by an artificial voice. Le Sserafim arrived four years ago with a name built from the phrase "I'm fearless." Now, the girl group knows the shape of its fear — and with "Boompala," it turns that fear into a chant. The quintet's latest lead track repeats "Boompala, Boompala, Boompala," over a "Macarena" (1993) rhythm. The hypnotic hook carries the song's message like a mantra — fear, depending on how one looks at it, may be nothing more than an illusion. "The biggest message of 'Boompala' is that, because there is nothing holding you back, there is no fear," said Huh Yun-jin during a roundtable interview with journalists in eastern Seoul on Monday, ahead of the release of its second full-length album, "Pureflow pt. 1," on Friday. "The song says that fear may be nothing more than an illusion, depending on how one views it and the attitude one chooses to take," Huh continued. "It transforms the anxiety and stress of modern society into something fun and positive." Debuting in 2022 under HYBE's Source Music, girl group Le Sserafim consists of Huh, Kim Chae-won, Kazuha, Sakura and Hong Eun-chae. Kim, however, will sit out from the group's latest promotions due to neck pain. The group's name is an anagram of "I'm fearless," reflecting the core narrative that has run through its discography since its debut EP, "Fearless" (2023) — that the members are ready to take on challenges and aren't afraid of anything. Four years after its debut, the quintet has weathered both great highs and lows, including the backlash it faced over uneven live vocals during its Coachella set in 2024. Now standing at the other end of that tunnel, Le Sserafim has declared "Fearless 2.0" — the next chapter in its career. The members no longer insist that they do not know fear. Instead, they acknowledge it, bond over it and emerge more powerful for having faced it together. "In our early days, everything was new to us, so there was a kind of strength and energy that we could only show at that time," Hong said. "But as we continued our careers, we went through various experiences, met many different people and received a lot of love." In that process, the perception of the emotion of fear has changed, Hong said. "We came to understand ourselves better and become more honest," she added. "We wanted to talk about that change again at this point in time." "Pureflow pt. 1," the girl group's second full-length album, reflects that narrative shift. Its title is an anagram of "powerful," inspired by the line "For I am fearless, and therefore powerful" from Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" (1818). All five members participated in the production, credited for lyrics and songwriting. The album features 11 songs: the lead track "Boompala," the prereleases "Celebration" and B-sides "Pureflow," "Creatures," "iffy iffy," "Need Your Company," "Sonder," "Saki," "Irony," "Trust Exercise" and "Liminal Space." "Boompala," the lead single of the girl group's latest album, samples Spanish pop duo Los del Río's 1993 hit "Macarena," weaving its unmistakable rhythm and melody into a Latin house track. Its lyrics, which repeat the made-up word "Boompala," were inspired by the "Heart Sutra," a Buddhist text, turning a moment of enlightenment into a cheery chant. "To me, 'Boompala' was comforting," Kazuha said. "When you're going through a difficult time, it can feel like that moment is everything and that things will continue that way forever. But I found comfort in realizing that it is all part of the process of broadening your perspective — that it is not everything, and that you need to accept your emotions." "I think scars are proof of how hard I have worked," Sakura said. "I have been hurt through many experiences, but the fact that I was able to get back up is something I am proud of. I hope that can become a source of courage for others as well." The strong sisterhood built upon their shared time together is another key theme in the "Fearl...