5 Essential Red Velvet Songs
Off the heels of Zimzalabim, Red Velvet is known to be one of the top girl groups in the the third generation of K-Pop. The meaning of their name places them into two categories. The “Red side,” is for upbeat summer fun. The “Velvet side,” is for more smooth R&B influences. The quintet is known for their eye-catching concepts that have taken the K-Pop community by storm.
Red Velvet is one of the most “well rounded” K-Pop groups today. They have strong lead vocals, striking visuals, and memorable choreography. RV is the whole package, and they are not easily ignored. There are Reveluvs all over the world, and they know Red Velvet songs by heart. What are the songs they know you ask? Without further ado…
Here is The Boba Culture’s “5 ESSENTIAL RED VELVET SONGS”
RED FLAVOR (2017)
Nominated for the Song Of The Year Award at MAMA 2017, Red Flavor is the perfect embodiment of the “Red side” of Red Velvet. This song is what is known as a “summer bop.” It has a beat that catches, and lyrics that stick with you. Red Flavor is literally all about summer, and the feeling that it brings.
Visual cues in the M/V hint towards a deeper meaning, but as for it being “essential,” people just have to know this one.
Peek-a-boo (2017)
Peek-A-Boo is arguably one of Red Velvet’s most creative endeavors to date. It is also one of their most dark endeavors to date. While there are many different interpretations as to what this song could mean, many theories involve the ideas of “love” and “control.”
The M/V follows the journey of the five girls of RV, and a pizza man. The video ends with Red Velvet ultimately killing the pizza man. While this video is obviously meant to act as a symbol for something much deeper (has never been confirmed), it’s clear that this song is one of their most notable. It combines the concept of both “Red” and “Velvet,” and it delivers a song that could only be preformed by Red Velvet themselves.
Russian Roulette (2016)
Love is crazy. It’s almost like a game. This is all you must know before listening to this song. As another creative outing for the group, Russian Roulette is a great example of the “Red” in Red Velvet. However, Russian Roulette is a unique case, as the video doesn’t exactly match up with the brightness that the song exudes.
In the M/V, love is literally like the game Russian Roulette. Each member is trying to take other member’s out of the picture by killing them. It might not be apparent after the first viewing, but that symbolism is 100% there. From a music standpoint, Russian Roulette stands as a synth pop song that has extreme retro influences (borderline Eurobeat?). It’s a bop to say the least, and all the Reveluvs know this one for sure.
Power Up (2018)
If Red Flavor is “Fantastic Baby,” Power Up is literally “Bang Bang Bang.” (Big Bang references). Power Up is quite simply the spiritual successor to Red Flavor. It is a “summer bop” to say the least, and Red Velvet delivers the song in a way that makes it unique to them. This concept of “Red” is their own, and it is extremely apparent.
Just like its “predecessor” was, Power Up is literally a song about summer. It’s about wanting to receive summer vibes in a regular day-to-day life. It’s about “powering up.” Aside from its meaning, Red Velvet delivers a master class in what K-Pop choreography is suppose to look like. Power Up is the confirmation to the claim that Red Velvet is the “queens of summer.”
Bad Boy (2018)
Not only is Bad Boy one of the most essential Red Velvet songs, but it is also one of their best. In fact, Bad Boy is one of the best K-Pop songs of all time. Off of the legendary “The Perfect Red Velvet” album, Bad Boy was produced by Grammy winners—The Stereotypes—and it was named as the best K-Pop song of 2018 by Billboard.
A strong R&B beat with velvety smooth vocals, Bad Boy is the perfect example of the “Velvet” in RV’s discography. It’s a song that deals with innocence and being taken advantage of (by a bad boy). The symbolism in the M/V is ever so apparent, and once again, it has great choreography. Bad Boy is their most viewed M/V on YouTube, and it showed people exactly what they are capable of. This is a song that will be remembered for a very long time, and it is the song many will correlate with the name Red Velvet.
Years into the future, when the Korean music industry is on its fourth and fifth generation; Red Velvet will be remembered for their unique concepts, and eye catching visuals. They will go down as legends (they already are), and people will always cite them as being a top girl group.
They are no where near their inevitable “ending of promotions,” and they have so much more left to do. It is my hope that they continue to innovate, and trail blaze for the Korean music industry. You never know what’s coming next from Red Velvet, and that’s what makes them so special.