Red Velvet () is a South Korean girl group formed and managed by SM Entertainment. They originally debuted on August 1, 2014, with the single "Happiness" with the four-member line-up of Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, and Joy. A fifth member, Yeri, joined in March 2015, with the release of their first extended play, the chart-topping Ice Cream Cake. Sonically, the music of Red Velvet reflects their group name: their predominantly-pop "red" side experiments occasionally with electronic and funk, while their "velvet" side focuses on '90s-influenced R&B with elements of ballad and hip hop.
Red Velvet's Korean-language discography includes three studio albums, one reissue album, one compilation album, and thirteen extended plays—several of which have topped the South Korean Circle Album Chart. Their singles "Red Flavor" and "Power Up" were number one hits on the Gaon Digital Chart, whilst "Dumb Dumb", "Russian Roulette", "Rookie", "Peek-a-Boo", "Bad Boy", "Psycho", and "Feel My Rhythm" all reached the top three. The group also ventured into the Japanese music scene with the extended plays #Cookie Jar (2018) and Sappy (2019) as well as the studio album Bloom (2022).
Red Velvet have received numerous accolades, most notably the Golden Disc New Artist Award in 2015, the Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Female Group in 2017, the Korean Music Award for Best Pop Song in 2018, and the Asia Artist Award for Song of the Year in 2019. Their wide domestic influence has been recognized by Forbes Korea Power Celebrity (placing 11th in 2018 and fifth in 2019); internationally, they were named one of the most popular K-pop groups by Time and Billboard, and the fifth most streamed K-pop artist worldwide on Spotify in February 2020.
Career 2007–2015: Formation, early years and hit breakthrough
Red Velvet began forming in 2007, when Seulgi was cast as a trainee by SM Entertainment via audition. Irene was cast in 2009, and Yeri in 2011. In 2012, Wendy and Joy were cast through the SM Global Auditions in Canada and Seoul, respectively. Preparations for Red Velvet's debut began in late 2013, with the introduction of Irene and Seulgi in December 2013 and Wendy in March 2014 through SM Entertainment's trainee group SM Rookies. Irene and Seulgi made cameo appearances in the music videos for "1-4-3 (I Love You)" and "Fantastic", respectively, by then-labelmate Henry; Seulgi also featured in Henry's "Butterfly". In March 2014, Wendy, then credited as a member of SR14G, was introduced through the release of "Because I Love You", her first solo soundtrack for the Mnet drama Mimi. Rumors of a group debut gained traction in July, which were subsequently confirmed by SM Entertainment. With the addition of member Joy, the quartet went on to debut in 2014 as SM Entertainment's first girl group in five years and first idol group since 2012.
Red Velvet made their official performance debut on August 1, 2014, on the program Music Bank. Their first single, "Happiness", was released digitally on August 4. It is an urban Europop song with "strong synth sound" and "African tribal beat", penned by Yoo Young-jin and composed by Will Simms, Chad Hugo (The Neptunes), Chris Holsten, and Anne Judith Wik (Dsign Music). The original music video for "Happiness" gained more than two million views on YouTube in its first 24 hours of release before being removed due to controversy over problematic background images and replaced with an edited version. "Happiness" was the second-most viewed K-pop music video worldwide in August 2014. Red Velvet became the first K-pop girl group to chart a debut single on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart, where it peaked at number four. The group released their second digital single "Be Natural" on October 13, 2014. The song, which includes a rap verse from then-SR14B member Taeyong, was a remake of the 2000 single of the same name by S.E.S., SM Entertainment's first girl group. The music video for the song was directed by Kwon Soon-wook and Shim Jae-won, choreographed by Kyle Hanagami, and featured original choreography seen in a pre-debut SM Rookies teaser of Irene and Seulgi. The group began promoting the release on October 9, making their first appearance on M Countdown. The song peaked at number 33 on the Gaon Digital Chart and at number six on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart. Red Velvet won Rookie of The Year at the Golden Disk Awards and Seoul Music Awards.
Following news reported that the group was filming in a desert just outside of Palmdale, California, in February 2015, SM Entertainment announced that former SM Rookies member Yeri would officially join the group on March 11, 2015. Yeri had been one of the remaining SM Rookies female trainees to appear in the group's music video for "Happiness" and was first introduced to the public through a Rookie Station video and a group performance on SM Town Live World Tour IV. Preceded by the release of "Automatic", the group's first extended play (EP), Ice Cream Cake, was released on March 17, 2015, to critical and commercial success. The EP's second single, "Ice Cream Cake", marked their commercial breakthrough. On March 19, the group held an album showcase on Ice Cream TV, a program streamed through Naver Music and hosted by Shinee's Minho. On March 27, they won their first music show trophy on KBS' Music Bank, and the EP became the best-selling album by a girl group in South Korea in the first half of 2015 on the Hanteo Chart. In August 2015, Red Velvet held their first US performance during the annual KCON convention and music festival in Los Angeles, California.
The group released their first studio album, The Red, on September 9, 2015, also to critical and commercial success. Billboard's Jeff Benjamin praised The Red "an impressive, solid debut album", stating that it "indicates big things for the act that needs to follow in the footsteps of their beloved female label mates Girls' Generation and f(x)". The album debuted at number one on the Billboard World Albums Chart and South Korea's Gaon Album Chart, and appeared on Billboards list of the "10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2015". Lead single "Dumb Dumb" peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and number three on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart, topping the list of the "Top 20 K-pop Tracks of 2015" by Dazed. The music video for "Dumb Dumb" was the only non-English language entry in Rolling Stone's "10 Best Music Videos of 2015". Red Velvet went on to take part in the SM Entertainment's special Christmas project, Winter Garden, releasing a digital single titled "Wish Tree" on December 18, 2015.
2016–2017: The Velvet, Russian Roulette and commercial success
Red Velvet's second EP The Velvet was intended to be released on March 16, 2016; however, SM Entertainment announced that the music video and album's release would be delayed "to guarantee a high quality of work". The EP and its lead single "One of These Nights" () was released on March 17. The Velvet showcased the smooth R&B-influenced "velvet" side of the group's concept as a direct follow-up to The Red, which highlighted the group's bright and bold "red" persona. On May 2, Red Velvet released the soundtrack Yossism for the children's animation series Telemonster. The group released their third EP, Russian Roulette, on September 7, 2016. It consists of seven tracks, including the lead single of the same name. On September 13, 2016, Red Velvet won their first music show trophy for "Russian Roulette" on The Show. The song peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and Billboards World Digital Songs chart, making it their highest rankings on both charts at the time.
On February 1, 2017, Red Velvet released Rookie, a six-track EP, including the lead single "Rookie" and a solo track by Wendy titled "Last Love" (). The EP topped the weekly Gaon Album Chart as well as the Billboard World Albums Chart. The group won their first music show trophy for "Rookie" on The Show on February 7, followed by wins on Show Champion, M Countdown, Music Bank, and Inkigayo. On March 31, the group released the first single for SM Station 2, titled "Would U". From July 27 to September 10, Red Velvet starred in their first reality television program, Level Up Project, which showcased footage of their trip to Thailand. The show aired for 23 episodes and was shot without member Joy, who was filming the drama The Liar and His Lover, in which she was the female lead. On July 9, 2017, Red Velvet released their first summer EP, The Red Summer, with lead single "Red Flavor" (). The EP was a commercial success, topping the Gaon Album Chart and the Billboard World Albums Chart. It was Red Velvet's third number-one album and set the record for most number one albums on the chart by a K-pop girl group. Additionally, "Red Flavor" debuted atop the Gaon Digital Chart, with the other four songs on the EP also charting in the top 50.
In August 2017, Red Velvet's rendition of Yoon Jong Shin's "Rebirth", made possible by the show Snowball Project, was officially released as part of SM Station. On August 18, the group held their first solo concert, titled Red Room, to an audience of 11,000. Although it was initially planned to be a two-day concert, a third show was added due to demand. On October 4, SM Entertainment announced through their Japanese website that the group would have their first showcase in Japan. The Red Velvet Premium Showcase F'U'N Room Reveluv-Baby Party took place at the Yebisu Garden Hall in Tokyo on November 6. They performed the Japanese versions of their Korean songs "Dumb Dumb" and "Red Flavor" for the first time. After wrapping up the showcase, it was officially announced that Red Velvet's Red Room concerts would be extended to Japan in 2018.
Red Velvet revisited their "velvet" image by releasing their second studio album, Perfect Velvet, on November 17, 2017, with lead single "Peek-a-Boo". Unlike their first "velvet" release, the album and single were both commercially successful. The album peaked atop Billboard's World Albums chart; "Peek-a-Boo" peaked at number two on Billboards World Digital Songs chart, tying their 2016 single "Russian Roulette". In South Korea, the album and "Peek-a-Boo" both charted at number two on the Gaon Album Chart and Gaon Digital Chart. Through the release of Rookie, The Red Summer and Perfect Velvet in the same year, along with the popularity of the single "Red Flavor" and the success of their albums overseas, Red Velvet achieved "top girl group" status in South Korea. This was further cemented when Perfect Velvet sold over 100,000 copies and "Peek-A-Boo" won first place on the music program Inkigayo on their last day of promotions for the song, proving its longevity on the charts.
2018: Worldwide recognition and Summer Magic The group released a reissue of Perfect Velvet, The Perfect Red Velvet, on January 29, 2018. It included three new tracks, in addition to all the songs from Perfect Velvet, with the single "Bad Boy" promoted as the lead single. The album topped the Gaon Album Chart upon release, while "Bad Boy" debuted at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart. The Perfect Red Velvet also charted at number three on Billboard's World Albums chart, while "Bad Boy" debuted at number two on the World Digital Songs chart. Red Velvet also entered the top 10 of Billboards Social 50 chart for the first time at number nine. The album also marked the first time the group appeared on the Canadian Hot 100, entering at number 87 and becoming only the seventh K-pop artist and the third female K-pop act to appear on the chart. Red Velvet promoted the song on various South Korean music shows, earning their first music show win for "Bad Boy" on February 8 on Show Champion. In December, Billboard named "Bad Boy" the best K-pop song of the year.