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Red Velvet (Hangul: 레드벨벳) is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group debuted on August 1, 2014, with their digital single "Happiness" and with four members: Irene, Seulgi, Wendy and Joy. In March 2015, Red Velvet added a fifth member, Yeri, to the group.
Since their debut, Red Velvet has earned success and recognition. Their first EP, Ice Cream Cake, topped the Gaon Album Chart in early 2015. Similarly, the group's first full-length album The Red (2015) and the extended plays The Velvet, Russian Roulette, both released in 2016, and Rookie (2017) all reached number 1 on the Gaon Album Chart. Additionally, The Red, Rookie and The Red Summer (2017) also topped the Billb*ard World Albums, and with the release of their second studio album Perfect Velvet (2017), they became the K-pop girl group with the most number-one albums on the chart and tied for most number-one albums among all K-pop acts. They have received several awards for music, choreography, or popularity, including the Golden Disc New Artist Award and the Mnet Asian Music Award for Bst Female Group in 2017.
Red Velvet is known for their dual concept which has never been seen before among South Korean girl groups.These two concepts are dubbed their "red" and "velvet" sides which influences both their image and the music they release. The "red" half is their brighter and bubblier side while their "velvet" image is their softer, more mature and elegant concept.
Red Velvet has been lauded for breaking stereotypes among popular girl groups in South Korea whose concepts tend to fall under two categories which are "cute or pure" and "sexy", often to fulfill a certain fantasy. In a country where girl groups' fanbases are typically mostly male, according to Taylor Glasby of Dazed Digital, the majority of Red Velvet's fans are young women and commented that "They're neither sexy nor innocent, with music videos that are often dark, trippy, sinister, or haunting, even when they're flooded in pastel colours".The group addressed this in an interview with HYPEBAE in August 2018 and commented that they're "always in a dilemma about how to express themselves in a new way".In 2017, IZE Mag named the group as one of the successful female figures who helped transform the "passive image" of South Korean women at a time when feminism had risen as an issue in the country.The group's music also sets them apart from other K-pop artists.K-pop idols in general suffer from a prejudice that they aren't considered "real artists" by music critics in their native country.Because of the group's diverse musical inspirations and styles, they claimed that Red Velvet has pushed the boundaries of "idol music".
In February 2018,Time magazine named Red Velvet as one of the best K-pop groups, highlighting their versatile musical styles. Red Velvet was recognized for their brand recognition and marketing power,having topped the 'Girl Group Brand Power Ranking' published by the Korean Corporate Reputation Research Institute for three consecutive months.
Red Velvet performed in Pyongyang on April 1, 2018.This made them the fifth idol group to ever perform in North Korea.They performed "Red Flavor" and "Bad Boy" at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre to an audience including Kim Jong-un.The concert was billed as "Spring is Coming" and is part of a wider diplomatic initiative between South Korea and North Korea. In October of the same year,South Korea's Ministry of Culture,Sports and Tourism awarded the group the 'Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism's Commendation' for their contributions in raising awareness of the country's popular culture and arts. In the next month, the director of the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange cited Red Velvet as a major contributor and one of the country's talented idol groups who have "largely promoted k-pop" while discussing the Korean Wave and asked about K-pop receiving a significant increase in recognition around the world in 2018.
