Let’s unbox a special edition of Le Sserafim’s HOT!
In total I have four favourite groups within the K-pop industry: BlackPink, BTS, Stray Kids and… Le Sserafim. But while I only became a fan of the other groups later, I was a fan of Le Sserafim right from the start. Three years ago, this girl group debuted with two Koreans, two Japanese (one of the girls even studied in the Netherlands!) and a Korean American. In K-pop terms, this is a diverse group and that is also reflected in the music. I’ve already posted several album and merch unboxings from this group in the past, and also my “HOT” review over here.
The normal version of HOT has, just like previous albums, Antifragile, Unforgiven, Easy and Crazy three different versions of the album. Each with a completely unique style that all fit the concept of the group: vol. 1 Drenched Vetiver, vol. 2 Tanned Guaiac, vol. 3 Bleached Aura. I talked about vol. 1 in this blog.
Le Sserafim is the only group I go out of my way to check out multiple versions of their albums before they release. Just like during the Crazy era I bought multiple versions this time around. The order was all placed at the Dutch webshop Kyeopta. Of course I had to get the special Tin Case ver.
Something that I was not expecting was that the tin was going to be put in a box. It makes sense though, because tins are quite fragile when they move around a lot, for exemple out on delivery. So I am really happy that the team decided it was best to put it in a cardboard box and honestly it also gave it just that extra. Especially since they went all out with the print on the box.
Also the sticker on the side is such a fun detail and fits even the album name, HOT!
On the lid of the tin you can see half of the Le Sserafim logo, but a bit dripping since well again due to the theme of the album. I think this is such a clever detail since they also sing about metals in the song and then to make a special album version like this one fits so well!
By opening the tin everything was laid out so cutely. It kinda reminded me of those memory boxes some of us make during summer time. Although I must admit I have memory boxes filled with things of my life, but not this neatly stacked.
First thing I noticed was the keyring. I adore that the Le Sserafim logo looks like a key. On one side it says: Le Sserafim HOT. On the other side: It’s so fun together, we might head up the room. The black plastic part of the keychain says “HOT” in fancy letters.
To stay in theme or at least my thought of making this look like a memory box: photocards in polaroid style! There are ten in total, two of each member.
Next up a collage style postcard and magnets! You only need to pop them out of the magnet sheet and then you have heaps.
There are a total of eight double sided A4 posters and one double sided A2 poster. Enough styles to choose from.
Last but not least a CD, a very little one actually that fits the memory box idea. It reminded me a lot of, well this is going to show my age, a floppy disc. In case you don’t know what that is, it was what we used before USB sticks were a thing.
This special version of the album is so incredibly well done! Next up, I of course have to change up my music shelf with these albums. So I will do that, in the meantime you can read my blog about the music on the album if you haven’t yet:
Ash
The main lyricist Yunjin wanted Ash to focus on the moment between life and death, but also the pain that comes with that. You can’t experience relief when you haven’t fully embraced suffering. Ash is not just about that pain, it’s about embracing it. To step into the fire willingly. Only by doing so, this transformation called “ash” will happen. This song is the story of fire, surrender and power. However it is with a protagonist whose surrender is intentional.
No fear, only full acceptance. It’s the art of honouring that pain. This whole album plays with contradicting the expected emotions. They are not broken, neither angry. They sound steady and very much the most them since they started out as a group, because this is their story. With this album the Fimmies became alchemists since even in the flames they left their mark as stated in the lyrics. The flames can’t consume them, they walk through them untouched and are invincible.
The electro house track also suggests that a new life starts after peeling away the old one. By this, the song officially announces the end of the trilogy.
You can read all my thoughts in the blogpost, Why Le Sserafim’s “HOT” is the anthem of the “Easy, Crazy, Hot” trilogy. Once again thank you to Kyeopta for delivering and the Le Sserafim’s design team for creating an album very fitting for this comeback.
Love,
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