"Antifragile" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group

Le Sserafim Le Sserafim ( ; ; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by Source Music, a sub-label of Hybe Corporation, Hybe. The group consists of five members: Sakura Miyawaki, Sakura, Kim Chaewon, Huh Yunjin, Kazuha, and Hong Eunchae. ...

for their second extended play of the same name. It was released as the lead single of the EP by

Source Music Source Music () is a South Korean record label established in 2009 by So Sung-jin. In July 2019, the company was acquired by Hybe Corporation, making the company part of the collective term "Hybe Labels". The company manages girl group Le Sserafim ...

on October 17, 2022. An upbeat

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...

track infused with Afro-Latin production drives the message of overcoming hardships for growth and resilience. Written by several contributors, including "Hitman" Bang and

Isabella Lovestory Isabella Rodríguez Rivera (born 30 November 1993), known professionally as Isabella Lovestory, is a Honduran pop and reggaeton singer based in Montreal, Canada. Her music has been described as ''perreo''-pop. In 2020 Lovestory gained recogn ...

, the song emphasizes the group's determination to emerge stronger after facing hardships. The song was commercially successful and peaked at number two on the

Circle Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based on ...

in South Korea. It has since been certified platinum for surpassing 100 million streams in Japan.

Background

On September 19 at midnight KST, the group officially announced the date and details of their upcoming comeback, which would mark their first release as a five-member group after Kim Ga-ram's departure. "Antifragile" was first previewed on October 3, 2022, in a track sampler released by Source Music on social media platforms and was announced through the track list the next day. On October 17, 2022, the single was officially released alongside its music video, 18 hours prior to the EP. A Japanese version of the song was included in Le Sserafim's second Japanese single "

Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by David Webb Peoples. It stars Eastwood as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after ...

", which was released on August 23, 2023.

Composition and lyrics

The second and title track of the EP, "Antifragile" was written by Score (13), Megatone (13), Paulina Cerrilla, "Hitman" Bang, Shintaro Yasuda, Supreme Boi, Isabella Lovestory, Kyler Niko, Ronnie Icon, Nathalie Boone and Danke (Lalala Studio) and runs for three minutes and four seconds. It is an upbeat an "Afro-Latin style"

reggaetón Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular and electronic music that originated in Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puerto Rican musicians. It has evolved fr ...

song with a "heavy" Latin rhythm. Lyrically, the song sees Le Sserafim declare that difficult times are stimulus for growth and that they will become stronger with such a mindset. It was composed in the key of

B-flat minor B-flat minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has five flats. Its relative major is D-flat major and its parallel major is B-flat major. Its enharmonic equivalent, A-s ...

, with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 105 beats per minute.

Reception

Gladys Yeo of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' wrote, "The song tears away the cool confidence of 'Fearless' and bursts with life an infectious energy previously unseen from Le Sserafim. While the track's ever-present pipe effect borders on grating, the intense, rhythmic beats of 'Antifragile' make for such a thrilling experience that it barely even matters". in July 2023, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked the song at #79 on their list of The 100 Greatest Songs in the History of Korean Pop Music.

Music video

The music video for "Antifragile" was released on October 17, 2022, at midnight KST, 18 hours before the EP's release. In the music video, Le Sserafim go about their daily lives as others around them panic due to an impending asteroid collision. The video ends with the group finishing the song's choreography and getting hit by the asteroid, only to survive and brush off the dust.

Accolades

Credits and personnel

* Score (13) – writing, production * Megatone (13) – writing, production * Paulina Cerrilla – writing * "Hitman" Bang – writing * Shintaro Yasuda – writing * Supreme Boi – writing * Isabella Lovestory – writing * Kyler Niko – writing * Ronnie Icon – writing * Nathalie Boone – writing * Danke (Lalala Studio) – writing

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Le Sserafim 2022 songs 2022 singles Le Sserafim songs Reggaeton songs Songs in Korean Hybe Corporation singles Songs written by Bang Si-hyuk South Korean pop songs