Nicknamed the “Korean Grammys,” the 38th Golden Disc Awards will take place on Jan. 6 in Jakarta, Indonesia, to honor the passion and talent that shone bright in the world of K-pop during the year of 2023.

Organized by the JoongAng Group, the Golden Disc Awards is considered one of the most prestigious awards in Korea with its unique format where dozens of nominees and multiple winners are chosen for three main categories — music, album and rookie of the year.

In this series, Golden 2023, the Korea JoongAng Daily’s entertainment arm Celeb Confirmed looks at K-pop’s biggest and brightest stars who are potential nominees, and their achievements this year.

A villain fears not: Girl group Le Sserafim is all about having no fear, so much so that its name is an anagram of the phrase, “I’m fearless.” And fearless it has been.

The girl group, whose lyrics profess "I'm a villain," has released some of the most unorthodox songs in K-pop that at first made many listeners question its unorthodox melodies and makeup. But Le Sserafim quickly rose to the top of the charts with its songs that empower, embolden and encourage listeners down to every ounce of willpower.

On the single day of its debut in May last year, the girl group had set a record for a K-pop girl group’s debut album sales with its EP “Fearless.” It was especially successful in the Japanese market, topping Japan’s Oricon Weekly Single Chart with its first Japanese single “Fearless” earlier this year.

This year, Le Sserafim released its first full-length album “Unforgiven” on May 1 and its first English digital single “Perfect Night.” It also released two Japanese singles, “Fearless” in January and “Unforgiven” in August.

Le Sserafim is “Unforgiven”

Le Sserafim’s “Unforgiven” sold 1 million copies on its first day of release alone. The album sold 1.26 million albums during its first week, of which 89,000 copies were sold in Japan — the highest for a foreign female act in 2023.

Title track “Unforgiven” was a hit. But more so was the B-side track titled “Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeard’s Wife,” which went viral with its catchy lyrics and TikTok choreography challenge videos.

“Unforgiven” landed Le Sserafim at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, making it the fastest K-pop girl group to sit on the top 10 list of one of Billboard’s main charts.

Le Sserafim’s first English digital single “Perfect Night” came on Oct. 27 and was streamed 1.5 million times on that day alone. It was streamed 12.2 million times after a full year. The song also saw domestic popularity, hitting No. 1 on Melon’s Top 100 chart, which was a first for an English song by a girl group.

Le Sserafim has been nominated in six categories at the 2023 MAMA Awards, including for Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year.

Le Sserafim “Unforgiven” (May 1, 2023)

First-day album sales of "Unforgiven": 1,024,034

First-week album sales of “Unforgiven”: 1,258,001

First-day streaming of lead track "Unforgiven" on Spotify: 8,260,000

Music video for “Unforgiven” on YouTube: 107,920,248 (as of Nov. 23)

Major nominations: 2023 MAMA Awards (Artist of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Worldwide Fans’ Choice, Best Female Group, Best Dance Performance Female Group)

Other: No. 6 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, No. 23 on the Billboard Global 200 chart

Le Sserafim “Perfect Night” (Oct. 27, 2023)

First-day streaming of lead track "Perfect Night" on Spotify: 1,503,710

First-week streaming of lead track “Perfect Night” on Spotify: 12,215,296

Music video for “Perfect Night” on YouTube: 38,333,104 (as of Nov. 23)

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]