Red Velvet is a Korean idol group formed in 2014 by SM Entertainment. The group currently has 5 members: Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Joy, and Yeri; however, as of 2025, both Wendy and Yeri have left SM and are now signed under different companies.

The two are still part of the Red Velvet group and will participate in future comebacks but as of the moment, only Irene, Seulgi, and Joy are being utilized by SM with Irene and Seulgi just finishing their subunit comeback and Joy currently promoting her own upcoming solo comeback.

I'm gonna let you in on some tea. The groups initial debut caused a stir for multiple reasons: first, many found the debut to be rather lackluster and underwhelming. The music video looked rushed, the concept and song felt unoriginal, and the styling was... on a personal note, it was definitely something. The disappointment was understandable considering SM was hailed to be one of the Big Three of idol producing entertainment companies, together with YG and JYP Entertainment. Given this information, they had less of an excuse when they've had experience, connections, and a deep pocket for the last few decades.

Second, SM had found itself in hot water in 2014 (EXO's Kris leaving and filing a lawsuit against SM, EXO's Kai and f(x)'s Krystal dating "scandal") and rumors circulated that the reason RV's debut felt so rushed was because it purposely was. Supposedly, their debut was meant to be a distraction from all the scandals and it didn't help their case when SM only announced they were debuting a girl group a mere two days before RV were set to debut, which was practically unheard of at the time. However, this is all speculation at the end of the day.

Only four of the five members actually debuted at the same time, namely Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, and Joy. Another rumor was being spread around and this time it was that SM originally planned to push out both a boy and girl group whose concept revolved around never-ending additions of members similar to the system of Japanese idols.

However, when the time came for the next member of RV to debut, Yeri, the backlash was nasty. Tons of hate was sent to Yeri's way, centering around the publics distaste for what seemed like a rather unnecessary inclusion to an already vocally strong and pretty solid line-up.

Some say this caused SM to backtrack and let go of the initial concept to keep including more members but I don't actually know how true this is because they did continue with the concept for NCT a few years later.

So what exactly is Red Velvets concept? Back then, I found most groups to be rather faithful to their concepts, usually only changing once they've been in the industry for a few years and have either gained seniority or decided to have a more mature concept to fit their ages better.

The sound of Kpop in 2014 was so deliciously and disntinctly kpop that it felt like my ears couldnt tell what was going on in the best way possible. The music videos for the more pop-focused groups were usually quite high in saturation and very fun and energetic while the groups that preferred ballads and serious concepts were usually emotional and sensual. Essentially, both were great but you were always one or the other.

Now what set Red Velvet apart was that their concept was to show how RV WAS THAT GIRL!!! The concept was in the name: Red for the bold, pop-heavy, playful side and Velvet for the more mature, elegant, and cooler R&B sound. Take the images below as an example with their debut songs for both concepts (Happiness [L], Be Natural [R]) and their comeback songs with Yeri's inclusion (Ice Cream Cake [L], Automatic [R]).

I got into Red Velvet around the summer of 2016 if I remember correctly. I really loved the Ice Cream Cake MV and I found Automatic to be mesmerizing but it was Dumb Dumb that really got me into the group. That music video had straight up crack in it, I swear. It was weird and it was really doing something for me that the other Kpop groups weren't. The visuals were just odd, strange, and ridiculous and it was exactly what made me stay all the way til the end.

A few good songs weren't enough to reel a true fan in though, especially at that time where there was, in my opinion, a bigger risk that the comeback would just not appeal to you visually or musically.

When they had their next comeback, Russian Roulette, I was sold. I believe this was the first time they experimented with the blank stare and fucking psychotic concept where they just love to murder other people or each other. I don't think any other groups utilized this theme as often as Red Velvet did and I fucking loved it.

In 2017, Red Velvet releases their second full-length album: The Perfect Velvet. This is what I consider to be RV's turning point where SM realized their Velvet comebacks don't do as well as their Red ones do and decided to mix both concepts to what will eventually evolve to be a more Red-leaning concept. Make no mistake, the Velvet side is very much alive in their B-sides but I also felt like this comeback was what shed their more child-like image (save for their Power Up concept) in place of an age-appropriate level of maturity without sacrificing their weird, silly, and disturbing side.

This comeback gave birth to Peek-a-Boo which had everyone in a chokehold with the eccentric MV storyline of RV being American cult members who like ordering pizza to lure the delivery boys into their home to turn them into human sacrifices. And Joy's infamous rainbow dress.

Not long after followed the repacked album The Perfect Red Velvet with yet another hit in the form of their comeback single Bad Boy. This had everyone obsessing over the visuals and homoerotic nature of the MV that had a more girl-crush concept that the group hadn't done yet (but was trending at the time).

A few albums later, enter what was considered to be Red Velvet's most ambitious project yet: The ReVe Festival trilogy. Starting June of 2019 RV planned to put out three minalbums by December of the same year. To kick things off, The Reve Festival: Day 1 presents us with the literal cult-favorite Zimzalabim, followed by The Reve Festival: Day 2's Umpah Umpah, and closing it off with what some consider RV's magnum opus and The Reve Festival: Finale's comeback single: Psycho.

Psycho was one of those comebacks where you really just had to be there because it dropped on December 23, solidifying itself in the best December hits for years to come and had everyone playing it non-stop. It was receiving award after award, PAK after PAK, and every ReveLuv was convinced this was gonna have Red Velvet's popularity skyrocketing by the time 2020 came. Except... that didn't exactly happen.

In some freak stage accident during some rehearsals for SBS Gayo Daejeon, Wendy fell 2.5 meters causing her to fracture her pelvis and wrist, and cracking her cheekbone. According to staff from SBS, Wendy was instructed to go down the lift stairs while performing her solo song, however the stairs were not set in place, results in the fall. This halted all of Wendy's, yet the rest of the group was expected to promote the song like usual.

By 2021 Wendy had thankfully made a full recovery. There was no better way for SM announce the news than with her own fucking solo, like, no one was doing it like her. Her debut featured her single, Like Water. This also teased that with Red Velvet complete again, a full member comeback was just around the corner.

The hunch everyone had was correct and Red Velvet returned with all five members in June of 2021 with their EP Queendom featuring their comeback song of the same name. The concept for this was an antique shop where the members were selling old memorabilia of previous comebacks which was appropriate as this was their first album since 2019; it was a chance to remind everyone of the impact they've had on the music scene since their debut.

Personally, I found the actual song to be a little cheesy and wished they went with something else. I also consider this album to be one of the very few weak ones, which mattered little as their next comeback featured the absolute masterpiece Feel My Rhythm.

When people said that Red Velvet's magnum opus was Psycho, that was because Feel My Rhythm wasn't released yet. I do think that between the two, Psycho is the better song (and The Reve Festival: Finale is the better overall album) but the level of artistry and effort in the production of Feel My Rhythm crowns it as RV's truest masterpiece of a comeback.

I'll talk about the music video and other details in the album section of the shrine but the gist of why this one of my absolute favorite comebacks is their use of different art movement references from Millais' Ophelia to Philippoteaux's The Spy. Hell, most of the MV's set was based on Hieronymus Bosch's legendary The Garden of Earthly Delights.

The actual song samples Bach's Air on the G String and turns it into this pop song with a trap beat. Initially upon first listen, I recoiled in shock because the teaser photos made everyone assume the comeback would ooze undeniable elegenace only to be hit with so much noise. In as much as it is noisy, it is in fact, elegant and dreamy and takes you on a trip but you'd need to give it a few listens for it to really kick.

There were a few other comebacks during this era, such as Birthday (which I think is my least fave RV comeback) and Chill Kill (which is one of my absolute favorite RV comebacks) but the last comeback I'll be highighting will be their latest comeback back in 2024: Cosmic.

At this point, RV was slowly being pushed into senior territory where their legacy in the Kpop scene was irrefutable but that meant most people were voting for other newer idol groups in award shows, thus leaving RV with less and less wins. That matters little, of course, when they've already made their mark, but I mention this because this comeback was so beautiful that I felt terrible it took home zero wins.

The concept was clearly inspired by Midsommar and was suggested by Joy after she was offended by companies intial ideas for the storyline. She stated the first drafts that were presented to them were so far removed from what Red Velvet was that she had to take matters to her own hands and fully research and plan out different pitches that better fit their image.

The MV features multiple shots of dancing around the maypole with flowers in their hair, murals of prophecies, underground cult rituals, and wardrobes of boho chic outfits that rival even Coachella Queen Vanessa Hudgens. Was it a little sapphic? Yes. It's Red Velvet though so I'm really not surprised.

As mentioned in the beginning, Wendy and Yeri are no longer under SM but continue to be part of RV. Wendy went solo in another company while Yeri, I believe, is pursuing acting. I'm assuming it's going to take a while before RV would have another comeback as is what usually happens when most groups go separate ways but I'm glad the members are at least going after what will fulfill them.

While they aren't disbanded per se, it certainly feels like it, and it's hard to complain sometimes when in comparison to a lot of other Kpop groups, RV actually had a lot of albums they were able to release. On top of that, each album was carefully put together with concepts that were always different from the last; almost like they were seeing just how far they could go with creativity while putting as much of importance on the quantity the put out.

Now, of course, Kpop is a very different scene. The sound is undeniably influenced by the West and quite honestly, PinkPantheress?? Which I fully credit NewJeans for popularizing. It's interesting comparing how a lot of what I consider made Red Velvet great are somewhat common nowadays where concepts are often made to be aesthetically weird, nostalgic, and borderline offputting. While I wouldn't consider myself very active in Kpop fandoms, I can't wait to see the direction the next generations take the music scene and what new level of creativity Red Velvet manage to achive.