Overview of Red Velvet

SM Entertainment’s search for new female K-pop idols began in 2007 and finally came to life as the girl band ‘Red Velvet’ on 1 August 2014. The four girls – Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, and Joy, marked their coming into the K-pop industry as the members of ‘Red Velvet’ with the single ‘Happiness’. It took a little longer for Yeri to join the band. Completing their band with the rookie member Yeri, ‘Red Velvet’ released their first extended play (EP) Ice Cream Cake.

‘Red Velvet’ got their name by combining the words ‘Red’ and ‘Velvet’. The ‘Red’ in their name stands for electronic and funk music, and ‘Velvet’ stands for ballad and hip pop. The girls are popular for their hooks in their songs.

The girls’ talent and dedication made them one of the most famous girl groups in the K-pop industry.

History, Formation & More

In 2007, Seulgi joined SM Entertainment as the first trainee of ‘Red Velvet’. In 2009, Irene joined as the second trainee, and Yeri, who joined in 2011, was the third trainee in the group. Wendy and Joy were cast through the global audition conducted in Seoul and Canada in 2012 by SM Global Audition.

SM Entertainment introduced Irene and Seulgi in December 2013 under the group’s name. Later, in March 2014, Wendy joined with them in the trainee group SM Rookies. The rookie idols started to attract the attention of fans by July. Thereafter, SM Entertainment authorised the group as the company’s first girl group in five years.

Debut and Initial Performances

On 1 August 2014, in the South Korean music programme ‘Music Bank’, ‘Red Velvet’ officially made their debut performance. Afterwards, their single ‘Happiness’ gained immense popularity on YouTube, crossing 2 million views in just 24 hours of its release. The original music video of ‘Happiness’ was removed from the platform and replaced by an edited version due to the controversy about its background images. With the single ‘Happiness’, ‘Red Velvet’ came in the fourth position on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart, and they became the first girl band to reach Billboard with their single.

On 13 October, the girls came with their second single, ‘Be Natural’. It became the 6th number on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart and the 33rd on the Gaon Digital Chart. By making a breakthrough in the industry, the Golden Disk Awards and Seoul Music Awards honoured the girls by giving them the Rookie of The Year award. ‘The Red’ is the first studio album of the group, and it was released on 9 September 2015.

Japanese Debut and Worldwide Popularity

With the extended play #Cookie, ‘Red Velvet’ made their Japanese debut in 2018. The girls’ influence on their fans contributed to the Korean Wave by globally spreading the K-pop culture. In 2018, the director of the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange underlined the positive impact that the girls made on fans and the promotion that they gave to K-pop culture.

The group released the first Japanese studio album titled Bloom, on 6 April 2022. The album was a success among Japanese fans and it was marked second on the Billboard Japan Hot Album chart.

The members, Wendy, Seulgi, and Irene, performed in the New Year’s Countdown on 31 December 2023. The programme was held at the Bonifacio Global City in the Philippines.

Members

Irene

Irene is the eldest member of ‘Red Velvet’. She was born on 29 March 1991, and her original name is Bae Joo-hyun. After joining the group, her trainer named her Irene. The name is inspired from the name of the Greek goddess of peace, Eirene.

Irene serves as the leader and lead rapper in the group. She is nicknamed as ‘the nation’s leader of girl crush’ due to her charming visuals. In 2021, she came up with her mini-album ‘Monster’ and debuted as a solo artist. Also, she acted in the K-drama ‘The Liar and His Lover’ and in the K-movie ‘Double Patty‘.

Seulgi

Kang Seul-gi, or Seulgi, is a powerful vocalist and an impressive dancer in ‘Red Velvet’. She is critically acclaimed for touching the hearts of fans through her performances. She has proved her talent in acting through K-dramas like ‘The Guardians’ and ‘Idol Drama Operation Team’. She is an active participant in South Korean variety shows like ‘King of Mask Singer’ and ‘Law of the Jungle’.

Seulgi has collaborated with artists like Eric Nam, SinB, and DEAN. In the 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards, she received the Best Female Dance Performance Award. In 2022, she released an extended play named ’28 Reasons’.

Wendy

Wendy, or Shon Seung-wan, is the exceptional vocalist of the group, who is noticed for her high notes. She is a polyglot with fluency in Korean and English, and she has learned Spanish and French. She spent most of her childhood in Canada, and her dream was to become a diplomat.

SM Entertainment selected Wendy through an audition conducted in 2012 in Canada. Apart from her activities in the group, she has played the role of a radio host and has participated in TV shows. She has shared recipes for cakes and macarons on social media, and her passion for cooking is already famous among fans. Like the other members of ‘Red Velvet’, she has also released solos and collaborated with other artists.

Joy

Debuting as a member of the ‘Red Velvet’ girl band, Park Soo-young adopted her stage name as Joy. Her fans call her cute Joy. She loves bringing joy to her fans through her songs and dance. She is one of the main vocalists in her group, and her powerful vocals make her an exceptional singer in the entire K-pop industry. Apart from her vocals, she is recognised for her fashion sense and has been the fashion icon of the country.

Joy is a fluent English speaker, and while doing international concerts, she has helped her members with translation. She has a busy life schedule, which includes dance and music rehearsals, recordings, concerts, and acting. She has appeared in the romance dramas ‘The Liar and His Lover’ and ‘Tempted’. On 23 August 2021, SM Entertainment officially confirmed the dating of Joy and the famous R&B singer-songwriter Crush.

Yeri

Yeri is the fifth member and the youngest member of her group. She entered the K-pop industry through ‘Red Velvet’s’ mini-album ‘Ice Cream Cake’. She did her schooling at an international school. Yeri’s incredible dancing skills earned her popularity as an idol. Yeri is a close friend of Blackpink’s Rose. Fans have spotted the idols together, and both idols have shared their photos with the other on social media.

Yeri is a gifted guitar player. In several performances, she has showcased her skill in guitar playing. Being the youngest member, she has a special place in the members’ hearts. The members adore her as their baby sister, and she is called the ‘mood maker’ of the group. She is nicknamed Squirtle by her fans due to her resemblance to the character. She has a kind personality, and she often indulges in philanthropic activities.

Discography

In the discography records of ‘Red Velvet’, thirteen number-one albums and two number-one singles lineup in a row, making them South Korea’s amazing girl band with the most number-one albums. The group has released four studio albums, one reissue album, twenty-nine singles, fourteen extended plays, one compilation album, seven soundtracks, and one promotional single.

Studio Albums

• ‘The Red’ – 9 September 2015
• ‘Perfect Velvet’ – 17 November 2017
• ‘Chill Kill’ – 13 November 2023

Reissue Album

• ‘The Perfect Red Velvet’ – 29 January 2018

Singles

• ‘Happiness’ – Non-album singles
• ‘Be Natural’ – Non-album singles
• ‘Automatic’ – ‘Ice Cream Cake’
• ‘Ice Cream Cake’ – ‘Ice Cream Cake’
• ‘Dumb Dumb’ – ‘The Red’
• ‘Wish Tree’ – ‘Winter Garden’
• ‘One of These Nights’ -‘The Velvet’
• ‘Russian Roulette’ – ‘Russian Roulette’
• ‘Rookie’ – ‘Rookie’
• ‘Would U’ – Non-album singles
• ‘Red Flavor’ – ‘The Red Summer’
• ‘Rebirth’ – Non-album singles
• ‘Peek-a-Boo’ – ‘Perfect Velvet’
• Bad Boy – ‘The Perfect Red Velvet’
• ‘Power Up’ – ‘Summer Magic’
• ‘RBB’ (Really Bad Boy) – ‘RBB’
• ‘Close to Me’ – ‘Brightest Blue’
• ‘Zimzalabim’ – ‘The ReVe Festival: Day 1’
• ‘Umpah Umpah’ – ‘The ReVe Festival: Day 2’
• ‘Psycho’ – ‘The ReVe Festival: Finale’
• ‘Queendom’ – ‘Queendom’
• ‘Feel My Rhythm’ – ‘The ReVe Festival 2022 – Feel My Rhythm’
• ‘Birthday’ – ‘The ReVe Festival 2022 – Birthday’
• ‘Beautiful Christmas’ – ‘2022 Winter SM Town: SMCU Palace’
• ‘Chill Kill’ – ‘Chill Kill’

Extended Plays

• ‘Ice Cream Cake’ – 18 March 2015
• ‘The Velvet’ – 17 March 2016
• ‘Russian Roulette’ – 7 September 2016
• ‘Rookie’ – 1 February 2017
• ‘The Red Summer’ – 10 July 2017
• ‘Summer Magic’ – 6 August 2018
• ‘RBB’ – 30 November 2018
• ‘The ReVe Festival: Day 1’ – 19 June 2019
• ‘The ReVe Festival: Day 2’ – 20 August 2019
• ‘Queendom’ – 16 August 2021
• ‘The ReVe Festival 2022 – Feel My Rhythm’ – 21 March 2022
• ‘The ReVe Festival 2022 – Birthday’ – 28 November 2022

Compilation Album

• ‘The ReVe Festival: Finale’ – 23 December 2019

Seven Soundtracks

• ‘Goodbye’
• ‘To Get What Your Heart Wants’
• ‘Yossism’
• ‘I Will Leave’
• ‘See the Stars’
• ‘Just Sing (Trolls World Tour)’
• ‘Future’

Promotional Single

‘Milky Way’ – Non-album single

Awards

• Hanteo Music Awards 2023
  Generation Icon Award
• Genie Music Awards 2022
  Best Music Video – ‘Feel My Rhythm’
  Best Female Performance Award – Red Velvet
• Asian Pop Music Awards 2021
  Best Group (Overseas) – Red Velvet
  Top 20 Albums of the Year (Overseas) – ‘Queendom’
• Circle Chart Music Awards 2021
  Artist of the Year (Digital Music) – August – ‘Queendom’
• Golden Disc Awards 2021
  Digital Bonsang – ‘Psycho’
• Soribada Best K-Music Awards 2020
  Music of the Year
  Main Award
• Seoul Music Awards 2020
  Main Award
• The Fact Music Awards 2020
  This Year’s Artist
• Circle Chart Music Awards 2020
  Song of the Year – December – ‘Psycho’
• Asian Pop Music Awards 2020
  Best Music Video (Overseas) – ‘Psycho’
  Outstanding Group of the Year (Overseas) – ‘Red Velvet’
• Brand Customer Loyalty Awards 2020
  ost Influential Female Idol
• Bugs Music Awards 2020
  20th Anniversary Awards – Most Loved Music – ‘Red Flavor’
  20th Anniversary Awards – Most Loved Artists – Red Velvet
• Korean Entertainment Arts Awards 2019
  Best Female Group
• Soribada Best K-Music Awards 2019
  Stage of the Year
  Main Award
• Seoul Music Awards 2019
  Main Award
• Teen Choice Awards 2019
  Choice Electronic/Dance Song – ‘Close to Me’ (Red Velvet Remix)
• The Fact Music Awards 2019
  Artist of This Year
  World Wide Icon
• V Live Awards 2019
  Best Artist
  Best Channel – 1 million followers
• Asia Artist Awards 2019
  Grand Prize (Daesang) – Song of the Year – ‘Umpah Umpah’
  Asia Celebrity Singer – ‘Red Velvet’
• Circle Chart Music Awards 2018
  Song of the Year – August – ‘Power Up’
• Korea First Brand Awards 2018
  Female Idol – Red Velvet
• Korea PD Awards 2018
  Performer of the Year – Singer (Daesang)
• Korea Popular Music Awards 2018
  Group Dance Award – ‘Power Up’
  Main Award
• Korea Entertainment Producer Association Awards 2018
  Artist of the Year
• Korean Music Awards 2018
  Best Pop Song
• Soribada Best K-Music Awards 2018
  Main Award
  Artist Award
• Seoul Music Awards 2018
  Main Award
• Golden Disc Awards 2018
  Digital Bonsang – ‘Red Flavor’
• Seoul Music Awards 2017
  Main Award
• Mnet Asian Music Awards 2017
  Best Female Group
• Melon Music Awards 2017
  Top 10
• Golden Disc Awards 2017
  Ceci Asia Female Icon Award – Red Velvet
• Korean Entertainment Arts Awards 2017
  Best Female Group
• Seoul Conference on Social Welfare 2017
  Seoul Mayor’s Award
• Soribada Best K-Music Awards 2017
  Main Award
  Icon Award
• Dong-A.com’s Pick 2017
  Summer Queens of the Year
• Seoul Music Awards 2016
  Main Award
• Golden Disc Awards 2016
  Digital Bonsang – ‘Ice Cream Cake’
• Korean Entertainment Arts Awards 2016
  Netizen’s Choice Award
• Melon Music Awards 2016
  Best Music Video – ‘Russian Roulette’
  Top 10
• Circle Chart Music Awards 2015
  Hot Performance of the Year – ‘Red Velvet’
• Melon Music Awards 2015
  Best Female Dance – ‘Ice Cream Cake’
• Mnet Asian Music Awards 2015
  Best Dance Performance (Female Group) – ‘Ice Cream Cake’
• Golden Disc Awards 2015
  Rookie Award
• Seoul Music Awards 2015
  Rookie Award
• Korean Entertainment Arts Awards 2015
  Best Rookie Award

Interesting Facts about Red Velvet

1. Before Yeri joined the group, Joy was the youngest member of the group.
2. ‘Red Velvet’s’ song is played in the animation movie ‘Trolls World Tour’.
3. Yeri is the last member to join ‘Red Velvet’ after the training period.
4. ‘Red Velvet’ members have sung OST for K-dramas like ‘Uncontrollably Fond’ (Wendy & Seulgi), ‘The Lier And His Lover’ (Joy), ‘The Beauty Inside’ (Wendy), ‘Hotel Del Luna’, ‘Blue Birthday’ (Yeri), ‘The One And Only’ (Joy), ‘Yumi’s Cells’ (Wendy), ‘Start-Up’.
5. Seulgi was the first member to join the group. She joined in the year 2007.

FAQs

1. What are the Instagram IDs of ‘Red Velvet’ members?
   Yeri – @yerimiese, Joy – @park. joyrv, Wendy – @todayis_wendy, Irene – @renebaebae, Seulgi – hi_sseulgi.
2. How many members are there in the South Korean girl band Red Velvet?
   Red Velvet. has five members.
3. Who is the youngest member of Red Velvet?
   Yeri is the youngest member of Red Velvet.
4. Who is the leader of Red Velvet?
   Irene is the leader of Red Velvet.
5. Who is the oldest member of Red Velvet?
   Irene is the oldest member of Red Velvet.
6. Who is Park Soo-young?
   Park Soo-young is the original name of Joy.