It’s that time of year again when we all reflect on the past 12 months in our own way. For our part, Weverse Magazine will be taking a look back at how different artists and their tireless staff spent 2022 with fans. We’ll be publishing articles for three weeks as the members of the staffs behind BTS, SEVENTEEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ENHYPEN, fromis_9 and LE SSERAFIM select their favorite music, videos, performances and other MOMENTs from working with the artists they support. This week we take a look at the music these six groups have released. For the final part of this series, we talk to LE SSERAFAM production team 13 about their pick for the group’s song of the year, “ANTIFRAGILE.”

Why “ANTIFRAGILE” is LE SSERAFIM’s song of the year

13 (SCORE, Megatone): After “FEARLESS” and its message of pressing on without fear, we were pleased to show an upgraded LE SSERAFIM through “ANTIFRAGILE” and its idea that what hurts you only makes you stronger. And we chose it for LE SSERAFIM’s song of the year because we felt not only is the song really cool but so is the performance and the video.

The first comeback

13: This was LE SSERAFIM’s first comeback and we thought really carefully about how “ANTIFRAFILE” needed to show a clear sense of the direction we’re taking. Since the word “ANTIFRAGILE” suggests a multidimensional theme, we tried to get the message of the song across in a simple way with witty music. We put a lot of effort into making a catchy hook and rhythm so the word “ANTIFRAGILE” would leave a lasting impressing on the listener. There’s parts that highlight strong expressions and other parts that have to be sung delicately so we needed to have several different vocal styles for recording. So we were detailed in our directions, suggesting things like singing in a mocking or aggravating way on lines line, “Walk like a majestic lion,” in the pre-chorus. It was obvious how much the members had improved compared to when we were working on the debut album. They’ve always been passionate about expressing the music, and their interpretation of the music and lyrics has improved a ton since then. We’re looking forward to seeing how much they continue to grow.

Singing about themselves

13: LE SSERAFIM started out by singing about themselves ever since their debut and they’ll continue to do so. “ANTIFRAFILE” also has them singing about how their life experience to date is important and how they’re revealing their past selves rather than hiding them. We wanted the song to send people the message that you’re only made stronger as you face more challenges and that LE SSERAFIM’s identity is built on a foundation of singing about their own experiences. We hope the song stays popular a long time and gives people strength when they’re having a hard time but also gets them even more excited when they’re just having fun. We want to keep making good music with them that lets the members tell their own stories to people around the world who can then sympathize with them.

How the group keeps us excited to see them go “higher”

13: We’ve been with the members of LE SSERAFIM right from the beginning, ever since the group was in the planning stages at SOURCE MUSIC. We’re really excited both musically and personally to be leading LE SSERAFIM as their main producers. We were overjoyed watching all the performances the group did this year and we were really proud because we knew how hard they worked to get ready for those. So we’re looking forward to their upcoming tours and other concerts, but we also feel something of a sense of responsibility at the same time. They’re a new team with two albums so far, but we’re really excited to see how far they can go. We want to be with them all the way to the end.