K-pop girl band Red Velvet powers up with ‘work hard, play hard’ spirit
Red Velvet is a prominent K-pop group that brings a different flavour with every album, and their new album “Summer Magic” is no different. The single Power Up combines highly danceable beats and sweet vocals.
If last year’s smash hit Red Flavor was fresh and upbeat from beginning to end, Power Up is an utterly infectious summer song, according to the group’s members.
Channelling the energy of their youth, the cheerful Power Up delivers a message of “work hard, play hard”. All five members lend their fresh and bright voices to a truly summer track.
“It’s our second summer release, and we’ve filled the album with cool vibes so people can overcome the heatwave,” said Wendy during a press conference for the band’s second solo concert, REDMARE, in Seoul on Sunday. “If Red Flavor was about freshness, Power Up is about energy.”
Seulgi commented that the song’s encouraging message came from Lee Soo-man, the head of SM Entertainment. “Lee’s words inspired a string of lyrics. At a company workshop, he told us to work hard and play hard.”
On the other hand, Joy shared her mixed feelings about releasing a new album a year after the band’s megahit Red Flavor. “Because Red Flavor was a massive success, I felt pressured about making the new album. But we are confident that Power Up will be another megahit,” she said. “We’ve put a lot of effort into it, recording in numerous versions and singing in different pitches.”
Their new mini album, “Summer Magic”, consists of seven songs including an English version of Bad Boy, their previous hit on the January album “Perfect Velvet”. Other tracks include Mosquito, Mr. E, Hit That Drum and Blue Lemonade.
The five-member girl band also talked about why they are not bothered by the fact that the vast majority of their fans are teenagers.
“It’s good to hear that we have young fans, often in their teens. There was a moment when I pondered the reason behind their love and support. I guess the reason is that our songs have easy-to-follow melodies and lyrics, and we try various genres of music,” Joy said.
Red Velvet held two REDMARE concerts at SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Seoul on Saturday and Sunday, and the five-piece act unveiled its new songs for the first time. The fantasy adventure, Amazonian, parade, and horror-themed sets brought joy to the band’s first concert since Red Room in August last year.
Red Velvet started out in 2014 with the debut single Happiness. Their hit songs include Ice Cream Cake, Dumb Dumb, Peek-A-Boo and Red Flavor.
Their new album “Summer Magic” has been released on major online music charts.
Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
This article was originally written by Kwak Yeon-soo for The Korea Times.
The group has released their latest album, ‘Summer Magic’, and the single ‘Power Up’ is set to be a megahit