Red Velvet

Red Velvet became queens of the K-pop scene in the second half of the 2010s, but the quintet set themselves apart from the South Korean “girl group” pack by establishing a diverse musical menu. Their very name was intended to underline their eclecticism, with “Red” representing their upbeat, poppy side and “Velvet” standing for their slower, more soulful sounds. Like most major K-pop acts, Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Joy and Yeri were brought together by a major entertainment group (in this case SM Entertainment), but once they were unleashed on the public, their musical personalities came to the fore and made them an instant success. Their 2014 debut single, “Happiness”, became a No. 5 hit in their homeland, with its punchy, syncopated dance pop signalling the “red” end of their stylistic spectrum, and its video went viral thanks to its jubilant explosion of colour and kaleidoscopic imagery. The following year, their first album, The Red, reached the top of the South Korean charts and showed off the group’s signature mix of dance-music, R&B, electro-pop and hip-hop influences. The explosive, funky “Dumb Dumb” gave Red Velvet their biggest hit yet. When their second album, Perfect Velvet, arrived in 2017 and found even more fans than the first, it proved Red Velvet was no one-and-done outfit. And while the group’s biggest hits tended to favour the “red” side of their sound, tunes such as the slow, sensuous “Moonlight Melody” highlight Red Velvet’s more understated approach.