Red Velvet is one of KPOP’s most harmonious groups. Made up of members Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Joy, and Yeri, they debuted in 2014, with their single Happiness, and formally debuted as the full group with Yeri with their first mini album Ice Cream Cake. Red Velvet is one of those groups that can make any song sound good. They are known in the KPOP industry as, “b-side legends,” since other than the title tracks they promote with every comeback, the other songs in the mini albums, EPS, repackages and full albums are highly recognized. Speaking of full albums, after a 6-year long wait, Red Velvet released their 10-song full album, Chill Kill.
As a Reveluv -their fandom name-, I was very excited to watch the music video and it didn’t disappoint. Many fans were complaining that the scary teasers for the music video didn’t happen, since the song ended up being more cheery than thrilling, but Red Velvet is infamous for not repeating concepts. Anyway, I loved the album, concept, and everything about it. We haven’t had any new music since last year, and they knocked it out of the park, and couldn’t be more proud of them.
Music video
Chill Kill was such a great music video to watch. The girls’ acting shocked me, with the music video having such a crazy story. One of the great theories that I heard online was that the girls were taken by a man but they were able to escape, hence the part towards the end of the song in the video where they are surrounded by cops so they dance. Aesthetically, the music video was gorgeous, especially for the bright-colored music videos that we received in the past. The music video did a great job contrasting the dark storyline with an eerie but cheerful song. Overall, it’s one of my favorite music videos from them!
Songs
The main song of the album is Chill Kill, and I loved every second of it. I was a bit confused at first with the genre switch in the chorus, since the first verse sounds more ballad than pop but it sounds perfect. My favorite part in the song is the bridge part, and you can tell how harmonious the group sounds, with Yeri and Irene singing, “Are You Ready,” to Wendy’s and Seulgi’s crazy high notes. The other 9 songs in the album didn’t disappoint either. I was actually on the bus to class when I listened to it for the first time and usually, I fall asleep, but every song kept me up, waiting for the next to start. Some personal favorites include Knock Knock (Who’s There), Nightmare, and Underwater. Underwater actually brought back one of RV’s classic vibes, which is R&B inspired, and it became a lot of people’s favorites. Not only for Chill Kill but for every other album that Red Velvet comes out with, their b-sides are so great!
concept
When it comes to any type of music concept, not only KPOP, I love a good 80s or 90s design inspiration. And it makes sense, for two years in a row, DJO, which uses a lot of 80s and 90s music as a backbone for his own, has been my top artist on Spotify. So, when I saw that the concept photos for Chill Kill showed a more haunting side of Red Velvet, with eerie pictures of the girls, seemingly hiding something or someone. The physical album packaging is stunning as well. The package version is heavily inspired by Korean folktale art, and they even took a page out of New Jeans’ book and made a bag album version, which as the word says, includes an actual bag. In the end, Red Velvet goes all out for their concept photos, such as the ballerina music box photos from Feel My Rhythm, or the iconic Psycho garden photos.
Red Velvet’s Chill Kill was stunning, to say the least. It filled every corner of my fangirl heart and their music is truly impactful! I highly recommend them, even to those not interested in K-POP!