It's only been a year, but it already feels like
Red Velvet has grown beyond the "rookie" stage. They've certainly been more busy than any other rookie groups since last year, having been through the music show promotions cycle thrice already (not counting the ongoing Dumb Dumb promotions), and with Irene and Yeri becoming music show hosts. They've participated in international concerts, guested in multiple radio and TV shows, and mingled with the masses in multiple official fan meetings and signings. They've even collected six music show trophies during their Ice Cream Cake promotions.
All those milestones were reached before they even released their first full album. And now even that has been achieved.
The Red contains ten brand new songs from my favorite quartet-turned-quintet. As of this writing, The Red's lead track,
Dumb Dumb, has already won three music show trophies so far, and the album itself has debuted in the Billboard World Albums chart at
#1.
The album title is probably a reference to Red Velvet's "thing" of having a "
Red side" (high-energy and experimental, with some hip-hop influences, as seen in songs like Happiness and Ice Cream Cake) and a "
Velvet side" (smooth and a bit sexy, like Be Natural and Automatic). As expected, the songs in this new album are predominantly upbeat and quirky, in keeping with the group's Red side.