Le Sserafim’s album ‘Unforgiven’ lands at No. 6 on Billboard 200 chart

Girl group Le Sserafim’s album “Unforgiven” landed at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart in the upcoming update for the week of May 20, the U.S.-based music service announced Monday.

This is the second time Le Sserafim has ranked on Billboard’s main chart, following its second EP “Antifragile” which landed at No. 14 upon its release in November last year. It also marks the first time the girl group landed in the Top 10 of the chart.

Having achieved this milestone just a year after its debut, it makes Le Sserafim the fastest K-pop girl group to have landed in the Top 10 of Billboard’s main chart.

“Unforgiven,” released on May 1 is garnering popularity worldwide, selling over 1.2 million copies in the first week of the album’s release, topping Japan’s Oricon Weekly Albums Chart, and sweeping all six weekly music show trophies on — “The Show” on SBS M, “Show! Champion” on MBC M, “M Countdown” on Mnet, “Music Bank” on KBS2, “Show! Music Core” on MBC and “Inkigayo” on SBS last week.

“Unforgiven,” released a day before the girl group’s one-year debut anniversary, is a full-length album featuring 13 tracks. The first three tracks on the album, “The World Is My Oyster (2023 Ver.),” “Fearless (2023 Ver.)” and “Blue Flame (2023 Ver.)” are re-recorded tracks from the girl group’s first EP, “Fearless” (2022). Lead track “Unforgiven” features the U.S. record producer Nile Rodgers.

Le Sserafim debuted in 2022 as a six-member girl group with Sakura, Kim Chae-won, Huh Yun-jin, Kazuha, Kim Ga-ram and Hong Eun-chae. Sakura and Kim Chae-won are former members of girl group IZ*ONE, a project girl group formed by the 12 finalists of Mnet’s hit idol audition program “Produce 48” (2018). Huh was also a contestant on the show. Agency Source Music terminated its contract and removed Kim Ga-ram from the group shortly after allegations of school bullying against her surfaced.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]