The Red Summer (EP)

The Red Summer
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)
Singles from The Red Summer
  1. "Red Flavor"
    Released: July 9, 2017

The Red Summer is the fifth 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 EP includes a total of five tracks, including 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, 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". Two of the songs were written by Swedish producer Cazzi Opeia. The album was officially released digitally on July 9 and physically on July 10.[7][8]

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.[9] Hours after its release on July 9, the group had their first music show performance on Inkigayo where they also performed "You Better Know".[10] 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.[11]

Reception and commercial performance

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
IZM
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".[12][13]

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).[14]

The Red Summer marks the third time the group has topped Billboard's World Albums chart, making them the k-pop girl group with the most no. 1 albums on the chart. According to the site, the group sold over 1,000 copies within the week, which is the group's best U.S. sales week to date. It also entered Billboard's Top Heatseekers Albums Chart at no. 8, the first time the group has charted in the Top 10.[2] In Japan, it debuted at no. 27 on the Oricon Albums Chart which is also their highest to date.[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

Charts

Album

Weekly charts

Chart (2017) Peak

position

Japanese Albums (Oricon) 27
South Korea (Gaon Album Chart) 1
Taiwan (Five Music Taiwan Album Chart)[16] 1
US World Albums (Billboard) 1
US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) 8

Monthly charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
South Korean Albums (Gaon)[17] 4

Single "Red Flavor (빨간 맛)"

Weekly charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
Philippine (Philippine Hot 100)[18] 24
South Korea (Gaon Singles Chart)[19] 1
US World Digital Song (Billboard)[20] 4

Release history

Region Date Format Label
South Korea July 9, 2017 digital download
Worldwide S.M. Entertainment
South Korea July 10, 2017 CD
  • S.M. 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. ↑ Im, Hee-yoon (June 23, 2017). "최초의 韓-스웨덴 팝 듀오 카시 오페이아 & 진바이진 데뷔곡 'Batman & Robin' 출시". naver (in Korean). Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  9. ↑ Yang, Ji-yeon (July 2, 2017). "레드벨벳, SM타운 콘서트서 신곡 '빨간 맛' 최초 공개···조이 티저 오픈". naver (in Korean). Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  10. ↑ Cho, Yoon-seon (July 9, 2017). "이효리, '인기가요'로 음방 피날레…레드벨벳 신곡 첫 공개". Chosun (in Korean). Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  11. ↑ Ji, Min-kyung (July 19, 2017). "'쇼챔피언' 레드벨벳, 1위 등극...'빨간맛' 통했다 [종합]". Korea Daily (in Korean). Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ Lee, Gi-seon. "The Red Summer". IZM (in Korean). Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  14. ↑ Park, Geon-wook (July 20, 2017). "레드벨벳 '빨간 맛', 가온차트 3관왕 '인기 이어간다'". Naver (in Korean). Retrieved July 20, 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. ↑ "Five Top (2017/7/14 - 2017/7/20)". 5Music. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  17. ↑ South Korea's Monthly Gaon Albums Chart (in Korean) Originally from Gaon Music Chart (July 2017). Retrieved on August 12, 2017.
  18. ↑
  19. ↑
  20. ↑
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