Known for their two distinct musical sides, Red Velvet is praised for their compelling and dynamic talent, which is reflected through their distinct music, choreography, and album concepts which are categorized into “red” or “velvet. While Red Velvet’s discography is abundant with fan favorites and chart toppers- we picked five of the group’s B-Sides that are essential to any and every playlist!
Lucky Girl
Sprinkled with “shooby doo-wops,” hiccuped background vocals, and vintage horns, “Lucky Girl” is an undeniable B-Side sister to the group’s timeless track, “Russian Roulette.” Both tracks from ‘Russian Roulette – The 3rd Mini Album,’ showcase the group’s ability to lean into their “red” roots. Red Velvet even performed a shortened rendition of “Lucky Girl” as a set opener at the 2017 Seoul Music Awards.
La Rouge
Laced with seemingly hundreds of euphonious vocal runs, “La Rouge” is yet another B-Side from the group that exudes glamorous energy with glittering guitar riffs and booming drum beats. “La Rouge” can be found on the group’s 2019 album, ‘The ReVe Festival Finale.’ While we believe “La Rouge” is an absolute essential, this album contains a plethora of close contenders, including “Sunny Side Up!” and “Ladies Night.”
Zoo
Aside from creating captivatingly “velvet” songs, Red Velvet has proven time and time again, that they truly know how to make the pop song of the summer, and the group’s 2017 track, “Zoo” is no acceptation to this fact. Packed to the brim with animal sounds, whistling, and of course, Seulgi’s truly iconic Tarzan-esque scream, “Zoo” is a fresh summer tune teaming with vibrancy.
Cool Hot Sweet Love
Pulled from one of the group’s earlier bodies of work, “Cool Hot Sweet Love” is the second track off of their 2016 album, ‘The Velvet – The 2nd Mini Album.’ Just as the album title implies, this track showcases the group’s trademark “velvet” sound before bleeding into a dreamy, deep chorus.
Marionette
Aside from the “red” and “velvet” dynamics of the group’s sound, Red Velvet has a special talent for bringing an element of haunting playfulness to their music. As seen in title tracks such as “Peek-a-Boo,” the group loves to take on storytelling through seemingly common scenarios such as falling in love or dancing with a partner, and bring to them a whole new feeling and meaning. Beginning with tight violin plucks, “Marionette” is the spooky yet sultry first track off of their Japanese album, ‘Bloom.’ With lyrics such as, “It’s painful and scary, Confined in a narrow box, (I go) Don’t sit down, Let’s soar high and high with just one step,” the listener is entranced by the haunting harmonies of this evocative song.
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