The Velvet

The Velvet is the second extended play by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. Released on March 17, 2016 by SM Entertainment and distributed by KT Music, the extended play is the spiritual successor of their first full-length album The Red, which was released in September 2015. In contrast to their vivid and bright "red" image on The Red, The Velvet finds the group embracing their smooth and softer "velvet" image, incorporating mainly the R&B genre.[1] S.M. founder Lee Soo-man continued to act as the executive producer of the extended play, with Andreas Öberg, Daniel "Obi" Klein, Charli Taft, Deez, Maria Marcus, Kenzie, as well as others contributed both lyrics and production.

The Velvet
EP by
Red Velvet
ReleasedMarch 17, 2016
Recorded2015–2016
StudioS.M. Studios
Genre
Length33:03
LanguageKorean
Label
Producer
Red Velvet chronology
The Red
(2015)		 The Velvet
(2016)		 Russian Roulette
(2016)
Singles from The Velvet
  1. "One of These Nights"
    Released: March 17, 2016

Upon its release, The Velvet received positive reviews from critics for clarifying the girl group's dual musical concept and their sophisticated R&B sound. The extended play also achieved commercial success, becoming their third consecutive number one on Gaon Album Chart. It also peaked at number eight on the Billboard World Albums Chart, earning the group's third top-ten entry on the chart.

Promotion for the album was preceded by the release of the lead single "One of These Nights" on the same release day, along with live performances on weekly music shows for both the single and the album track "Cool Hot Sweet Love". The lead single was a moderate commercial success, peaking at number ten on the Gaon Digital Chart and number six on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart.

Background and release

While promoting The Red at a press conference on September 8, 2015, the members and the company hinted at a similar follow-up concept release to their previous release, although an S.M. Entertainment representative clarified that nothing had been scheduled yet.[2][3] In October 2015, Wendy confirmed on an interview that an album was "coming after The Red", seemingly clarified that a similar concept album was in the process.[4]

On March 2, 2016, an S.M. Entertainment representative revealed that the group had completed filming a music video for the album's title track.[5] S.M. Entertainment began dropping teasers of the members on the group's official Instagram account on March 10 and later confirmed a March 16 release date and the title track "7월7일 (One of These Nights)". The single is described as an R&B ballad with a polished rhythm.[6]

Delay

Ten minutes before its intended release on March 16, S.M. Entertainment announced that the music video and album's release would be delayed to March 17 "to guarantee a high quality of work". The band apologized to their disappointed fans on the March 16 broadcast of 'Good Morning FM', where they talked about their new album and its title track.[7]

Composition

Concept

As their first extended play introduced both the "Red" and "Velvet" musical concept, follow-up full-length release The Red in September 2015 saw the group embrace their quirky, "fun, peppy" pop side.[8] With The Velvet, the group focuses solely on their "velvet" sound and image, incorporating mainly the R&B genre with a more sultry, smooth and elegant approach.[1] It was later proceeded by the group's second full-length album Perfect Velvet in 2017, which focuses on the group's more mature "velvet" sound.

Songs

The extended play consists of five new songs and three remixes for "7월7일 (One of These Nights)". Described as an R&B ballad with a polished rhythm, the lead single was composed by Hwang Chan-hee, Andreas Öberg & Maria Marcus and penned by Seo Ji-eum of Jam Factory, who also wrote the lyrics for their hit "Dumb Dumb". Jeff Benjamin of Fuse described it as a standard ballad which opens "with strings and piano before evolving into a sweeping, orchestral arrangement" until a trap beat kicks in at the 1:40 mark "to give the strings a modern flavor".[10] Three other versions of the song: the normal version, the De-Capo version, the Joe Millionaire version and the Piano version were all included. The song also drew inspiration from the Korean festival Chilseok, which is celebrated on the seventh the day of the seventh month (hence the Korean title "7월7일"). The original tale tells the story of lovers Jiknyeo and Gyeonwu, who were separated by the heavenly king and only allowed to meet on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar.[11]

Other compositions of the extended play include the Daniel "Obi" Klein and Charli Taft-assisted "Cool Hot Sweet Love", the 90's R&B flavored "Light Me Up" and "First Time". "Light Me Up" marked the first production from songwriter and producer Deez to the group, whom would later participate more frequent in many of the quintet's releases, while "First Time" was written and produced solely by S.M.'s longtime songwriter and producer Kenzie. Initially a 1989 song by S.M. Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man, "Rose Scent Breeze" was covered by member Wendy, Seulgi and Joy and included as the last song for the extended play.[12]

Promotion

Red Velvet held a special broadcast through the Naver app V on March 15, showing their new hairstyles for the first time as they talked about their preparations for their 'comeback'.[13] After the announcement of their album's delay, the group appeared on the March 16 broadcast of 'Good Morning FM' to talk about the album and the title track, "7월7일 (One of These Nights)". The group also held another special broadcast on the V app hours before the album's release. Red Velvet started their promotions on music shows through M! Countdown where they performed both the title track and a shortened version of "Cool Hot Sweet Love".[14]

Red Velvet won their first music show trophy for the song on March 22 on The Show.[15]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
IZM[16]
The Star7/10[17]

Billboard writer Tamar Herman praised the title track as "the group's most expressive vocal performances to date" and "no less captivating" than their previous single "Dumb Dumb".[11] The Star's Chester Chin praised the album's "languorous build-up", adding that One of These Nights' "indie sensibilities" is an "assured step in the right direction" for the girl group.[18] A mixed review from writer Jeong Min-jae found the extended play to be "lukewarm" and "particularly shabby" compared to their previous release, citing "Cool Hot Sweet Love" and "Rose Scent Breeze" as the stand-out tracks nonetheless.[19] In a separated top 25 Red Velvet songs by Billboard, "Light Me Up" was included at number 17 as the song "displays how effortlessly the group can slip into, and conquer, velvety R&B".

Commercial performance

On the week of March 19, 2016, The Velvet debuted and topped the weekly Gaon Album Chart for one week, becoming the group's third consecutive chart-topper.[20] Except for the three remixes of "One of These Nights", all five original tracks also charted on the Gaon Digital Chart in the same week. With 48,866 copies sold, The Velvet was the 60th best-selling album in 2016 on the year-end Gaon Album Chart, and has since achieved a cumulative sales of almost 57,000 copies as of February 2018.[21] The extended play also performed moderately on Billboard's World Albums Chart, peaking at number eight on the week of April 2, 2016.[22] Elsewhere, the album also debuted and peaked at No. 75 on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart, earning a total sales of over 2,100 copies.

Track listing

Credits adapted from Naver

The Velvet
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."One of These Nights" (Korean: 7월 7일; RR: 7-wol 7-il; lit. July 7th)
4:21
2."Cool Hot Sweet Love"
3:53
3."Light Me Up"
  • Deez
3:32
4."First Time" (Korean: 처음인가요; RR: Cheo-eumingayo; lit. Is this Your First Time?)
4:02
5."Rose Scent Breeze" (Korean: 장미꽃 향기는 바람에 날리고; RR: Jangmikkot Hyanggineun Nalligo) (sung by Seulgi, Wendy, Joy)
  • Jung Hye-kyung
  • Hong Jong-hwa
  • Park Geun-cheol
  • Jung Soo-min
4:52
6."One of These Nights" (Korean: 7월 7일; RR: 7-wol 7-il; lit. July 7th) (De-Capo Version)
  • Noah "I-Create" Nwachukwu (De-Capo Music Group)
  • Droyd (De-Capo Music Group)
  • Rod Bonner
4:11
7."One of These Nights" (Korean: 7월 7일; RR: 7-wol 7-il; lit. July 7th) (Joe Millionaire Version)
4:07
8."One of These Nights" (Korean: 7월 7일; RR: 7-wol 7-il; lit. July 7th) (Piano Version)
4:05
Total length:33:28

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[23] 75
South Korea (Gaon Album Chart) 1
US Billboard World Albums[22] 8

Monthly charts
Chart (2016) Peak
position
South Korean (Gaon Album Chart)[24] 2

Year-end charts
Chart (2016) Peak
position
South Korea (Gaon Album Chart)[25] 60

Sales
Chart Amount
Gaon physical sales[26] 56,944+
Oricon physical sales 2,104+

Release history
Region Date Format Label
Various March 17, 2016 Digital download SM Entertainment
South Korea CD, digital download SM Entertainment, KT Music

Accolades

Music program awards
Song Program Date
"One of These Nights"
The Show (SBS MTV) March 22, 2016
Show Champion (MBC Music) March 23, 2016
M Countdown (Mnet) March 24, 2016
Music Bank (KBS) March 25, 2016
Inkigayo (SBS) March 27, 2016
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References
  1. Benjamin, Jeff (March 16, 2016). "Red Velvet Returns With Dreamy R&B Ballad 'One of These Nights': Watch". The Korea Herald. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  2. Lee Seung-rok (September 8, 2015). "레드벨벳 "첫 정규앨범 '더 레드' 발표, 떨리고 설렌다" 소감". My Daily (in Korean). Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  3. Park Sojung (September 8, 2015). "Red Velvet wants to define color red for you". Yonhap News. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  4. "[스타캐스트] "덤도 말고 한가위"…웬디, 풍성한 추석인사". Naver (in Korean). September 27, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  5. Seon, Mi-kyung (March 2, 2016). "SM "레드벨벳, 최근 신곡 MV 촬영..3월 컴백 목표"[공식입장]". Osen (in Korean). Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  6. "레드벨벳, 컴백 타이틀곡은 발라드..견우직녀 모티브 '7월7일'". 10asia (in Korean). March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  7. Kim, Ji-young (March 16, 2016). "Red Velvet postpones album release". The Korea Herald. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  8. "Red Velvet Talk First U.S. Performance, Their New Member Yeri & Summer Songs at KCON 2015: Exclusive". Billboard. 2015-08-06. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  9. Benjamin, Jeff (December 14, 2016). "RED VELVET RETURNS WITH DREAMY R&B BALLAD 'ONE OF THESE NIGHTS': WATCH". Fuse. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  10. Video, New. "Watch Red Velvet Return With Dreamy 'One of These Nights'". Fuse. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  11. Herman, Tamar (March 21, 2016). "Red Velvet Explores Their Velvety Side With 'One of These Nights'". Billboard. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  12. Choi, Na-young (March 14, 2016). "레드벨벳, 이수만 1989곡 '장미꽃 향기..' 리메이크". Osen (in Korean). Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  13. Son, Ji-hyoung (March 16, 2016). "[V Report] Red Velvet members sport new hairstyles ahead of comeback". The Korea Herald. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  14. Kim, Ye-seul (March 17, 2016). "'엠카운트다운' 레드벨벳-효민 최초 컴백, 청순 섹시 몰려온다". Osen (in Korean). Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  15. Jeong, Ji-won (March 22, 2016). "'더쇼' 레드벨벳, 컴백 후 첫 1위…'폭풍 눈물'". XSports News (in Korean). Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  16. Jung, Min-jae (March 2016). "The Velvet". IZM (in Korean). Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  17. Chin, Chester (March 24, 2016). "Review: The Velvet by Red Velvet". The Star. Star Media Group Berhad. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  18. Chin, Chester (March 24, 2016). "Review: The Velvet by Red Velvet". Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  19. "Neo Music Communication IZM". www.izm.co.kr. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  20. "Gaon Weekly Album Chart - March 13, 2016". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  21. "2016's Gaon Year-End Album Chart". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  22. "World Albums - THE WEEK OF - APRIL 2, 2016". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  23. "오리콘 위클리 싱글/앨범/DVD/블루레이 차트 1~100위 Oricon Chart March – Week 3 – 2016". Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  24. "Gaon Monthly Album Chart - March 2016". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  25. "2016's Gaon Year-End Album Chart!". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  26. Cumulative Sales for The Velvet:
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