Red Velvet Want You To Be 'Whoever You Want' When You Listen To Their Music

On first listen, "RBB (Really Bad Boy)" is a song that really shouldn't work. It's a cacophony of sounds, rhythms, shrill ad-libs, intricate harmonies, along with a whole lot of brass. For a lead single, it's unapologetically bold and loud — the sort of song that beats you into submission with a powerful "oh my God" straight to your temporal lobes — nevertheless that's what makes it so unabashedly Red Velvet.


Since making their debut in 2014, the Korean quintet has been serving up their distinct flavors with powerhouse vocals and boundless personality from members Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Joy, and Yeri (who officially joined the categorize in 2015). Any time it comes to K-pop, it all begins with a concept, and Red Velvet's artsy DNA is written into their name: Red signals their vivid pop aesthetic with quirky songs like "Power Up" and "Peek-a-Boo," while Velvet speaks to their moodier, more sensual R&B side, as demonstrated on this year's acclaimed single, "Bad Boy" (a.K.A. Billboard's No. 1 K-pop song of 2018).


It's this duality — the constant push and pull between fierce and playful, sweet and soulful — that make Red Velvet such a mellifluous treat, especially in a musical landscape that likes to put female artists in boxes. In K-pop, girl groups are usually one or the other: sweet (TWICE) or sexy (MAMAMOO), females who produce brilliant pop confections ladies Generation) or ladies with attitude (2NE1). Although Red Velvet prove that one concept can't contain the artistry and multitudes that girl groups really have to issue. With "RBB," the titular lead single off their latest EP, Red Velvet aren't playing by anyone's rules, and that's the point. "We just wanted to show people our confidence," vocalist Wendy (who was place on Earth in Korea however spent her formative years in Canada) told MTV News about the release.


Though intended as a thematic follow-up to "Bad Boy," the two songs couldn't sound any more different. On "Bad Boy," the ladies embraced their velvet personas smooth vocals along with a lush girl crush aesthetic; "RBB" is campier by nature nevertheless sonically more detailed, with tight vocal harmonies and erratic ad-libs from Wendy, Irene, and Seulgi.


"'Bad Boy' was loved by so several people, so that's why we came back with 'Really Bad Boy," Wendy mentioned, describing the song as another entry in the "Bad Boy" series. "They're both talking about bad males although in different ways. This song is about the girl saying, 'You can go ahead and seduce me, yet you really can't because I'm going to seduce you.' So girl has all of the power."


RBB — the album and the song — has confidence in spades. Every one of the five tracks (or six, in the event you count the English version of "Really Bad Boy") find the ladies of Red Velvet in full control; they know exactly what they want on the assertive, bass-heavy bop "Sassy Me," and give in to temptation on "Taste," a melodic hip-hop song with a '90s groove.


Red Velvet members from left to right: Yeri, Wendy, Irene, Joy, and Seulgi


For Red Velvet, the message of RBB was clear: "You can be whoever you want." And each track is meant to empower and embolden the listener. "There's confidence in each song," Wendy mentioned. "We attempted to show people that you could be whoever want in the event you just have confidence." As for which songs bring out their own confidence, Red Velvet unanimously pick "Sassy Me" as an album highlight.


"I like all of the songs," Wendy clarified, before jokingly adding, "because they're our songs."


That self-assertiveness and swagger also extended to the recording process. "You have to have confidence while recording because whoever is listening to it has to feel it, also Wendy mentioned. "So we tried our best to have a lot of confidence." Though, it wasn't habitually easy, especially as soon as it came time to sing in English language.


In December, Red Velvet released an entirely English version of "RBB" — complete with its own music video — for their fans all over the world. "We performed a English version of 'Bad Boy' at KCON, just the initial verse, and more than a few people loved it," Wendy mentioned, noting how once it came time to create for their next comeback, or new release, the categorize wanted to "give this love back" with a English language track. "We know that we're getting some love from people in the U.S.," She added.


But recording in English had its own challenges for the sort. English isn't anyone's first language, and the only one who can speak English language in the order is Wendy," vocalist and dancer Seulgi mentioned, by way of the an interpreter. "So in terms of getting the pronunciation and the nuances right, we got a lot of help from the people around us."


"The demo was in English language she added. "So musically, we attempted to express ourselves the way that we heard it [on the demo]."


For rapper and vocalist Joy, the hardest part was figuring out which words needed more emphasis. "The pronunciation is a little sharper in Korean," she mentioned. "So we had to really think about which syllables give attention to (And in the event you were wondering, yes, even Wendy has had "oh my God" stuck in her head for weeks.)


As K-pop and Korean artists increase visibility and credibility in U.S., The cultural barriers that once prevented these global artists from cracking the Western market are being shattered one milestone at a time. Releasing bilingual songs, or separate English versions, is becoming increasingly popular for K-pop acts, and Red Velvet's global approach to music is paying off. This February, the order will bring their RedMare world tour to the States. The five-city trek across the U.S. — Including two sold-out helps to avoid in Los Angeles — is a major flex for a Korean girl order. Case in point, the last K-pop girl sort to tour in the U.S. Was Apink in 2016.


"If you listen to all of Red Velvet's albums you could tell that Red Velvet is a crowd that has a lot to allocate leader Irene mentioned. And arguably it's this variety that appeals most to the masses, transcending language altogether. With their distinct vocal charms and tight harmonies, no two Red Velvet songs sound the same — and while "RBB" may be a divisive entry in the group's discography, you can't mention it isn't 100 percent them. Which other sort is going to serve horror movie visuals and turn a classic B-movie scream into a flawlessly pitched whistle note?


Perhaps Wendy put it best whenever she mentioned, "The more you listen to our songs, the more you won't have the ability to reject