LE SSERAFIM’s Chaewon Opens Up About The Struggles Of Becoming A Trainee Again After Being A Member Of IZ*ONE
LE SSERAFIM‘s Chaewon was given a second chance at becoming a K-Pop idol, but her journey to debut as a member of LE SSERAFIM wasn’t always easy.
When IZ*ONE was disbanded after their contract ended in 2021, Chaewon returned to Woollim Entertainment as a trainee before joining Source Music and eventually becoming LE SSERAFIM’s leader. After switching labels, however, Chaewon became a trainee again.
Chaewon opened up about the struggles of becoming a trainee once again in an interview with Weverse Magazine. She revealed that she felt like her skills were lacking while promoting with IZ*ONE, so she worked hard to further develop her skills before making her debut as a LE SSERAFIM member.
Chaewon put lots of energy toward leveling up her dance skills. She went back to the basics and worked hard to learn new dance styles.
Originally, my trainee period was short, so I felt a lot of inadequacies during IZ*ONE promotions, and it was very regrettable that I did not have time to develop my skills other than practicing active songs because I was busy during promotions. So, through this opportunity, ‘Let’s do our best as a trainee that we have never experienced before. It was the mindset that let’s strengthen our skills from the beginning.’ In the case of dance, after becoming a trainee, I started again from the basics of learning. There were many tasks such as dancing in a style that I had never done before, doing freestyle, and copying the choreography by myself. After taking a choreography video every week, receiving feedback, rehearsing points for improvement, filming again, and practicing as if evaluating in this way, I felt that my basic skills were really lacking. ‘I was originally only this much.’ It was a time when I realized my true dance skills while I was in a hurry.
— Chaewon
Chaewon also challenged herself to try new vocal styles in order to make her voice even more powerful.
I wanted to develop a more powerful voice, and especially when training trainees this time, I focused on challenging a new vocal style. In addition to the ballads and songs that I usually listen to often, I practiced singing differently than before by listening to a wide range of pop songs, R&B, and genres I didn’t usually listen to.
— Chaewon
Chaewon’s hard work definitely paid off, and we’re so happy that she was able to debut for the second time as LE SSERAFIM’s leader!
