With a unique concept and the ability to shift between multiple genres every comeback, Red Velvet definitely have amazing tracks in their repertoire. They've grown to be known as "trust-and-listen" singers, and their versatility and amazing live performances make both fans and casual listeners anticipate every comeback.
Title Tracks
- "Happiness" has Wendy's iconic bridge.
- "Ice Cream Cake"'s electronic beats and "Automatic"'s 90's slow jam vibe both perfectly capture the duality of the group.
- "Dumb Dumb" has a highly addictive hook and a beat that can instantly hype up its listeners.
- "Be Natural" is an elegantly sensual rendition that does the original S.E.S. song perfect justice.
- "One Of These Nights" is beautifully haunting and melancholic. The harmonies take the song to another level.
- "Sappy" is unpredictable but super groovy, with soulful vocals.
- "Rookie", two words: that bassline.
- "Red Flavor" is the perfect summer track, fresh and uplifting. It's been called, by both critics and the public, the song that defined 2017.
- "Peek-A-Boo" proves that the Velvet concept doesn't necessarily mean ballad. It manages to take the tropical influence that oversaturated 2017's K-Pop music scene and not become dull.
- "Bad Boy" is sultry, confident and slick, a perfect mixture of hip-hop beats and the R&B style they do so well. Billboard picked it as the best song released in 2018. The English version for "Bad Boy" has a sub-fandom of its own. For some, it's even better than the original, which is already a critically acclaimed smash hit. A key point in its amazing reception is the fact that the English lyrics, rather than Bowdlerize-ing the single's "Ambiguously Evil Femme Fatale" theme, take it up to eleven.
- "Russian Roulette" heavily incorporates video game-inspired sounds, like "Power Up", but the manner in which they're used in the former has a vastly different end result from the vibrancy of the latter song. You don't even have to watch the awesome music video, which juxtaposes brilliant colors and polished Retraux with creepy Emotionless Girl shots as they callously attempt to kill one another for one guy's affections, to appreciate the track's lovely darkness. Highlights include: beautiful layered instrumentals, a deliberately stuttering hook evocative of (more likely intentional than not) a speeding vehicle (or something equally dangerous), and an understated synth climax that calls back to both old video games and classic soaring electric-guitar solos.
- "RBB" is purposely quite simple melodically to let the girls' vocals shine. Irene's monster of a scream (a D7) is considered the highest note ever registered in a K-Pop song.
- The "Reve Festival" trilogy presents: "Zimzalabim", a polarizing track to say the least, that literally pushed the industry's creative boundaries and that only Red Velvet could pull off; "Umpah Umpah", an uplifting and addictive summer track chosen by the Asia Artist Awards as Song of the Year; and finally "Psycho", dark and seductive, nominated as one of the best songs of 2019 despite being released near the end of the year.
- "Feel My Rhythm" samples Bach's "Air on the G String" to create a perfect blend of classical music, trap beats, and their trademark vocal harmonies.
B-sides
- "Candy" and "Take It Slow" are very mellow and relaxing.
- All of "The Red". It's been called a cohesive masterpiece by music critics and casual listeners alike. It jumps from "Huff n' Puff"'s dubstep break, to "Oh Boy" and its melismatic vocals, to "Time Slip"'s hip-hop rhythms, all the way down to "Cool World" with its uplifting lyrics and harmonies.
- "Cool Hot Sweet Love" and "Light Me Up" show just how powerful and charismatic these girls' voices are, even with slower songs. "Rose Scent Breeze" showcases Seulgi, Wendy and Joy's ablities beautifully.
- "Lucky Girl" has a show-girl vibe and "Some Love" proves the group can adapt to a tropical feel without missig a beat.
- "Talk To Me" shows just how good this group is at R&B Pop, while "Happily Ever After" follows the fairytale theme beautifully. "Body Talk", on the other hand, emphasises the members' voices and its lyrics are very deep, describing the end of a relationship through body language. Wendy's solo "Last Love" is the perfect example as to why Wendy is highlighted as the main vocalist of the group. She provides the swelling vocals required to shine over the orchestral arrangment of the song.
- From "The Red Summer" Mini Album there're "Zoo", an absurdly fun track in which Seulgi channels her inner Tarzan and "Hear The Sea", a jazz tune reminiscent of a summer evening.
- Perfect Velvet, yes, the entire album. It's considered their strongest effort yet, with all the members reaching a new peak in terms of vocal quality that's showcased in the different genres of songs the album offers. Critics mention how this release made the group straight up leap over the boundary between idol and artist, and the members got to personally pick the tracks in order to make the album as personal as possible. Also "All Right" and "Time to Love" from the repackage album: the first sounds like it came straight out of the 80s, with a sound reminiscent of Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", while the second emphasises the harmonies, and boy do the members do a great job.
- "Wow Thing". You know a song is gonna be awesome when four of the best performers from the 4th generation collaborate on it. Seulgi, SinB, Chungha and Soyeon absolutely kill the 90s' vibe of the track.
- All of "RBB" is really good; stand out parts include the future bass combined with an R&B base for "So Good" , the vocal frying in "Sassy Me" and the 90s vibes of "Taste". "Butterflies", though, is probably the most appreciated track, probably due to its amazing choreography.
