Tag: red velvet

Red Velvet, current queens of the K-pop world—SM Entertainment Chapter at least—has been dormant for 602 days. That’s more than a year and 7 months, which is equivalent to an eternity in the K-idolverse. During what seemed like forever, even non-Reveluvs have to admit that the group’s absence has left a noticeable hole in the K-pop release calendar, with their bids to succeed SISTAR as the queens of summer experiencing considerable success and their velvet releases in December or January also topping various charts.

But like the rest of the world who had plans before the pandemic struck, Red Velvet’s supposed 2020 return came to a ground halt when two days after the release of Psycho, their December 23 comeback, Wendy had an accident while rehearsing for their SBS Gayo Daejun performance. Imagine falling from a 2-meter platform, fracturing your pelvis and wrist on CHRISTMAS DAY! Months later, leader Irene figured in an “attitude” scandal where a make-up artist complained about her alleged primadonna attitude. So, it felt for a time that RV may go the f(x) route of French exits. 

That was, until August 16, when Red Velvet came back to our lives with Queendom. Expectations were high and they were met—in a qualified fashion. To be honest, I, along with the rest of the ReVe Festival attendees, expected a more aggressive track, as it is the trend. However, we have been presented with something more melodic and lighter. The title track, Queendom, does feel like a cross between a women’s empowerment theme and a bright summer track. Not that I’m complaining; in fact, I think it’s a welcome shift of pace for the ladies.

However, there is a part of me that feels like there’s something amiss. I had to listen to the b-tracks, as I have in the past Red Velvet releases, to check if what I am feeling as something missing can be found on them. Alas, compared to b-tracks in previous releases, the ones included in Queendom can be best described as “conservative”. No sensual perfection like Rookie’s Body Talk, no balancing Red Flavor with Zoo, no Wendy in a green fringe dress as seen in the Zimzalabim music video. What we get with all the songs are all solid, all safe, but no out-of-the-box quirkiness as heard in Rookie, Power Up, and even Umpah Umpah.  But make no mistake: The Ladida-do Ba-badida hook is still quite effective for everyone, whether you’re a fan or not.

Red Velvet is one group whose discography never fails because it just ages so well. During the times when the group goes on hiatus, and especially during their 20-month absence, their songs have great sustaining power. For the Queendom EP, there aren’t a lot of songs that sound like they’ll age well or have staying power. Some tracks like Hello, Sunset almost feel like fillers just to add to the track count. Sounds harsh, but I feel like as a while, Queendom is definitely a welcome move for the loyal Reveluv fandom, but unfortunately, it doesn’t substantially contribute to the group’s already strong musical catalog.

Out of the highest possible 5 stars, I’ll give Queendom a very enjoyable 3.5 stars.

Feature image: Red Velvet 레드벨벳 ‘Queendom’ MV. Photo: SMTOWN/YouTube