The Red Summer (EP)

The Red Summer
Physical version cover
EP by Red Velvet
Released July 9, 2017
Recorded 2017
Studio SM Studios, Seoul, South Korea
Genre
Length 17:11
Language Korean
Label
Producer Lee Soo-man (exec.)
Red Velvet chronology
Rookie
(2017)Rookie2017		 The Red Summer
(2017)		 Perfect Velvet
(2017)Perfect Velvet2017
Other cover
Artwork for digital copies and back cover of album
Singles from The Red Summer
  1. "Red Flavor"
    Released: July 9, 2017
Music video
"Red Flavor" on YouTube

The Red Summer is the special EP by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. Marketed as a special "summer" mini-album release, it was released digitally on July 9, 2017 and physically on July 10, 2017 by SM Entertainment and distributed by Genie Music. The 5-track EP is the second major release from Red Velvet to focus solely on their "Red" concept, following their debut studio album The Red (2015). It includes the title track "Red Flavor".

The EP was a commercial success, peaking atop the Gaon Album Chart and giving the group their third no. 1 on Billboard's World Albums chart, thus setting the record for South Korean girl groups with the most no. 1 albums on the chart.[2]

Background and composition

Tamar Herman of Billboard magazine called the title track "Red Flavor" an electropop song with "dramatic synths and a percussive melody" that is "dynamic in its jam-packed but not overpowering production" and concluded that it is "sure to be one of the summer's K-pop earworms". Jeff Benjamin of Fuse magazine described the song as a "super-simple-to-swallow piece of pop" and wrote that the album consists of five 'feel-good' tracks. "You Better Know" is a warm EDM song. The tropical dance track "Zoo" is a throwback to the group's animal sound-infused debut single "Happiness". "Mojito" was defined as a saccharine, glossy, electropop song and lastly, "Hear the Sea" is a mid-tempo R&B track.[3][4][5]

Release and promotion

On June 23, 2017, S.M. Entertainment announced that Red Velvet would be releasing an album in July for a summer comeback (a first for the group) and had recently finished filming the music video.[6] At around midnight on June 30, the first set of teaser images were released through the company's official website, the group's official Instagram, and the group's promotional Twitter account, which was created the same month. Later that day, they posted another set of teasers which revealed the album title and the full track list which includes the title track, "Red Flavor". The album was officially released digitally on July 9 and physically on July 10.[7]

The single "Red Flavor" had an unconventional release and was performed live by the group at an SMTOWN concert in Seoul on July 8 before the song's digital release along with its music video a day later.[8] Hours after its release on July 9, the group had their first music show performance on Inkigayo where they also performed "You Better Know".[9] They continued appearing on several music shows such as The Show, M Countdown, Music Bank and Show Champion where they earned their first music show trophy for "Red Flavor" on July 20, 2017.[10]

Reception and commercial performance

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
IZM
The Star8/10
The 4058/10

While Tamar Herman of Billboard, Jeff Benjamin of Fuse magazine and Chase McMullen of The 405 praised the title track and EP for its summery vibe, with McMullen giving the EP an 8/10, Lee Gi-seon of IZM magazine was more neutral and gave the EP 3 out of 5 stars, but had a more positive response to the single "Red Flavor".[11][12] Chester Chin of The Star described the album as a "sizzling affair that highlights the girl group’s more vivid and upbeat side".

The Red Summer claimed the no.1 spot on the South Korean Gaon Album Chart on the third week of July, with the title track "Red Flavor" topping both the Gaon Digital Chart and the Gaon Download Chart. All five tracks from the EP also debuted in the Top 50 of the Digital Chart: "Red Flavor" (no. 1), "You Better Know" (no. 14), "Zoo" (no. 24), "Mojito" (no. 32) and "Hear The Sea" (no. 35).[13]

The Red Summer marks the third time the group has topped Billboard's World Albums chart, making them, at the time, the k-pop girl group with the most no. 1 albums on the chart. The record was later tied by their label mate Girls' Generation in August of the same year but was once again beaten by Red Velvet with the release of their second studio album Perfect Velvet in November. According to the site, the EP sold over 1,000 copies within the week, making it at the time the group's best U.S. sales week. It also entered Billboard's Top Heatseekers Albums Chart at no. 8, the first time the group has charted in the Top 10.[2] The album also peaked at no. 25 on Billboard's Independent Albums which is the first time the group entered the chart.[14] In Japan, it debuted at no. 27 on the Oricon Albums Chart which was also their highest peaking position at the time.[15]

Track listing

No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Red Flavor" (빨간 맛; Ppalgan Mat)
  • Daniel Caesar
  • Ludwig Lindell
Caesar & Loui3:11
2."You Better Know"
Pontus Persson4:10
3."Zoo"Lee Seu-ran
LDN Noise3:24
4."Mojito" (여름빛; Yeoreumbit; lit: Summer Light)JQ, Hyun Ji-won
  • Johannes Joergensen
  • Lars Halvor Jensen
3:04
5."Hear the Sea" (바다가 들려; Badaga Deullyeo)Hwang Hyun (MonoTree)Hwang Hyun (MonoTree)Hwang Hyun (MonoTree)3:22
Total length:17:18

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Red Summer.[16]

  • S.M. Entertainment Co., Ltd. – executive producer
  • Lee Soo-man – producer
  • Lee Seong-soo – producing director
  • Yoo Je-ni – A&R director and coordinator
  • Chae Jeong-hee – A&R director and coordinator
  • Jeong Ji-young – A&R director and coordinator
  • Lee Seo-kyeong – international A&R
  • Kim Seon-min – international A&R
  • Im Hyo-kyeong – international A&R
  • Oh Jeong-eun – publishing and copyright clearance
  • Jeong Eui-seok (S.M. Blue Cup Studio) – recording engineer
  • Lee Ji-hong (S.M. LYVIN Studio) – recording engineer
  • Lee Min-gyu (S.M. Big Shot Studio) – recording engineer
  • Yoo Ji-sang (MonoTree Studio) – recording engineer
  • Hwang Hyun (MonoTree Studio) – recording engineer
  • Jeong Eun-kyeong (In Grid Studio) – recording engineer
  • Ahn Chang-kyu (doobdoob Studio) – recording engineer
  • On Seong-yoon (sound POOL Studios) – recording engineer
  • Jeong Ki-hong (Seoul Studio) – recording engineer
  • Ji Yong-joo (Seoul Studio) – recording engineer assistant
  • Nam Koong-jin (S.M. Concert Hall Studio) – mixing engineer
  • Koo Jong-pil (Beat Burger) (S.M. Yellow Tail Studio) – mixing engineer
  • Kim Cheol-soon (S.M. Blue Ocean Studio) – mixing engineer
  • Jeong Ui-seok (S.M. Blue Cup Studio) – mixing engineer
  • Chris Gehringer (Sterling Sound) – master engineer
  • Tak Young-joon – director of management
  • Kim Ju-young – artist management and promotions
  • Won Kyeong-jae – artist management and promotions
  • Kim Ho-jin – artist management and promotions
  • Lim Hyun-gyoon – artist management and promotions
  • Kim Hye-min – artist management and promotions
  • Lee Seong-soo – artist planning and development
  • Yoon Hee-joon – artist planning and development
  • Cho Yoo-eun – artist planning and development
  • Kim Eun-a – public relations and publicity
  • Jeong Sang-hee – public relations and publicity
  • Lee Ji-seon – public relations and publicity
  • Kang Min-jeong – public relations and publicity
  • Jeon Ji-hyeon – public relations and publicity
  • Kim Min-seong – media planner
  • Bok Min-kwon – media planner
  • Jeong Kyeong-shik – media planner
  • Heo Jae-hyuk – media planner
  • Tak Young-joon – choreography director
  • Hong Seong-yong – choreography director
  • BEAT BURGER (Jae Sim, Greg Hwang) – choreography director
  • Kyle Hanagami – choreographer
  • Kevin Maher – choreographer
  • Choi Jeong-min – international marketing
  • Kim Eun-a – customer relationship management
  • Eom Hye-young – customer relationship management
  • Lee Jeong-ah – customer relationship management
  • Yang Hyo-shil – customer relationship management
  • Min Hee-jin – creative director
  • Min Hee-jin – music video direction and arrangement
  • Kim Ju-young – music video direction and arrangement
  • Park Yoon-seon – music video direction and arrangement
  • Seong Chang-won – music video director
  • Jo Woo-cheol – art direction and design
  • Cho Woo-shik – art direction and design
  • Kim Ye-jin – stylist
  • Yoon Seo-ha – hair stylist
  • Soon-ee – hair stylist
  • Shin Kyung-mi – make-up artist
  • Song Si-young – photography
  • Nam So-young – management and marketing executive
  • Han Se-min – management and marketing executive
  • Kim Young-min – executive supervisor
  • Red Velvet – vocals, polaroid photography
    • Irene – vocals, polaroid photography
    • Seulgi – vocals, polaroid photography
    • Wendy – vocals, polaroid photography
    • Joy – vocals, polaroid photography
    • Yeri – vocals, polaroid photography

Charts

Release history

Region Date Format Label
South Korea July 9, 2017 digital download
Worldwide SM Entertainment
South Korea July 10, 2017 CD
  • SM Entertainment
  • Genie Music

References

  1. ↑ Kim, Hyun-sik (July 9, 2017). "레드벨벳, '빨간맛'으로 여름 가요계 공략". nocutnews (in Korean). Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Benjamin, Jeff (July 19, 2017). "Red Velvet Scores Third No. 1 on World Albums, Lead Among K-Pop Females". Billboard. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  3. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (July 10, 2017). "RED VELVET CAPTURE THE TASTE OF SUMMER WITH 'RED FLAVOR': WATCH THE VIDEO". Fuse. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  4. ↑ Herman, Tamar (July 9, 2017). "Red Velvet Offers a Taste of Summer With 'Red Flavor' Song & Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  5. ↑ "#레드벨벳, 여름 미니앨범 '#TheRedSummer'". Vyrl (in Korean). July 6, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  6. ↑ Kim, Hwi-seok (June 23, 2017). "레드벨벳, 7월 컴백 예정..SM "뮤비 촬영 마쳤다"(공식)". naver (in Korean). Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  7. ↑ Jung, Hee-yeon (June 30, 2017). "'컴백' 레드벨벳, 타이틀곡 '빨간 맛'…7월 9일 공개". naver (in Korean). Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  8. ↑ Yang, Ji-yeon (July 2, 2017). "레드벨벳, SM타운 콘서트서 신곡 '빨간 맛' 최초 공개···조이 티저 오픈". naver (in Korean). Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  9. ↑ Cho, Yoon-seon (July 9, 2017). "이효리, '인기가요'로 음방 피날레…레드벨벳 신곡 첫 공개". Chosun (in Korean). Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  10. ↑ Ji, Min-kyung (July 19, 2017). "'쇼챔피언' 레드벨벳, 1위 등극...'빨간맛' 통했다 [종합]". Korea Daily (in Korean). Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  11. ↑ McMullen, Chase (July 14, 2017). "Review: Red Velvet's concise and carefree new offering Red Summer is the perfect K-pop treat for the height of the season". The 405. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  12. ↑ Lee, Gi-seon. "The Red Summer". IZM (in Korean). Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  13. ↑ Park, Geon-wook (July 20, 2017). "레드벨벳 '빨간 맛', 가온차트 3관왕 '인기 이어간다'". Naver (in Korean). Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Chart History - Independent Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  15. ↑ "CDアルバムランキング - 2017年07月24日付". Oricon (in Korean). Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  16. ↑ Perfect Velvet (booklet) (in Korean). Red Velvet. S.M. Entertainment. 2017.
  17. ↑ South Korea's Monthly Gaon Albums Chart (in Korean) Originally from Gaon Music Chart (July 2017). Retrieved on August 12, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.