"Unforgiven" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Le Sserafim featuring American musician

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

. It was released as the lead single for their first studio album of the same name by

Source Music Diegetic music or source music is music in a drama (e.g., film or video game) that is part of the fictional setting and so, presumably, is heard by the characters. The term refers to diegesis, a style of storytelling. The opposite of source m ...

on May 1, 2023. The Japanese version of the song featuring Nile Rodgers and Japanese singer Ado was released on August 23, 2023, as the group's second Japanese single by

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

and

Universal Music Japan , often referred to as just Universal Music Japan or UMJ, is a Japanese subsidiary of the Universal Music Group founded in 1990. It is the largest subsidiary for a foreign company in the country regarding music distribution. The company is resp ...

. The song was commercially successful and peaked at number two on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart, as well as the top ten in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. The Japanese version additionally peaked at number two on the

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track download sales. In J ...

and number six on the ''Billboard'' Japan Hot 100. It has been certified platinum for physical sales and gold for streaming in Japan.

Background and release

On March 16, 2023, Source Music reported that Le Sserafim would be releasing an album in early May. On April 3, it was confirmed that the group's first studio album would be titled ''Unforgiven'' and released on May 1. On April 18, the track listing was released with "Unforgiven" announced as the lead single. On April 24, the highlight medley teaser video was released. The music video teasers was released on April 28 and 30. The song was released alongside the album and its music video on May 1. The release of the Japanese version of the song was announced on June 20 as Le Sserafim's second Japanese single. The song was pre-released digitally on August 8 featuring Japanese singer Ado.

Composition

"Unforgiven" was written and produced by Score (13) and Megatone (13) alongside Supreme Boi, Oneye, Josefin Glenmark, Anders Gukko, Anne Judith Wik, Nermin Harambašić, Benjmn,

Feli Ferraro Feli Ferraro is an American songwriter, best known for her co-written songs " Players" ( Coi Leray), "Undecided" ( Chris Brown), "Waves" (Normani & 6lack), " Wild Ones" ( Jessie Murph & Jelly Roll), and "Time" from DJ Black Coffee's Gram ...

, Kris Jana, Kyler Niko, Young Chance, Belle, Glenda Proby, Makaila J Garcia, and Believve. It was described as hip hop song characterized by "

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

guitar rhythms" played by American musician

, it samples

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

's " The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" used in the film of the same name with lyrics about "breaking away from the rules set by the world and going your own way". "Unforgiven" was composed in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

of E minor, with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 104 beats per minute.

Music video

The music video directed by Yang Soon-sik was released alongside the song by Source Music on May 1. The western-inspired music video filmed in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

, Thailand, portrays "the members onningcowboy hats" with scenes that switches between "western-themed bar to a helipad" while also featuring member

Kim Chae-won Kim Chae-won (; born August 1, 2000), is a South Korean singer. She is the leader of South Korean girl group Le Sserafim. She is also a former member of the reality competition series ''Produce 48's'' resulting girl group Iz*One in 2018. Ear ...

"riding a white horse through a devastated city jumping over wreckage".

Commercial performance

In New Zealand, "Unforgiven" debuted at number seven on the RMNZ Hot Singles in the chart issue dated May 8, 2023.

Promotion

Prior to the release of ''Unforgiven'', on May 1, 2023, Le Sserafim held a live event on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

to introduce the album and its song, including "Unforgiven", and to communicate with their fans. They subsequently performed on three music programs:

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

's ''

M Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. Bro ...

'' on May 4, KBS's '' Music Bank'' on May 5, and SBS's ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' ( ko, 인기가요; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who p ...

'' on May 6.

Accolades

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

'' included "Unforgiven" in their list of the 15 K-Pop Songs That Took 2023 By Storm.

Track listing

* CD single / digital download / streaming (Japanese version) # "Unforgiven" (featuring

and Ado) (Japanese version) – 3:03 # " Antifragile" (Japanese version) – 3:04 # "Jewelry" (produced by Imase) – 2:43 * DVD (Japanese version – limited B) # "Unforgiven" (Japanese version) (music video) # "Unforgiven" (Japanese version) (MV & jacket shoot sketch)

Credits and personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes. * Le Sserafim - vocals * Score (13) – production, keyboards, drums, digital editing, vocal arrangement * Megatone (13) – production,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, drums, digital editing, vocal arrangement * Kim Jun-yeong – digital editing *

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

* Hareem –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

ocarina The ocarina is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is traditionally made from c ...

Irish whistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. ...

, background vocals * Anne Judith Wik – background vocals * Josefin Glenmark – background vocals * Kris Jana – background vocals * Manny Marroquin – mix engineering * Chris Galland – mix engineering * Hwang Min-hee –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

* Ramiro Fernandez-Seoane – mix engineering assistance * Chris Gehringer – mastering Notes * "Unforgiven" contains portions of " The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", the theme to the film of the same name, written by

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Le Sserafim Le Sserafim songs 2023 songs 2023 singles Songs in Korean Hybe Corporation singles