The Velvet
The Velvet is the second Korean extended play by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. Released on March 17, 2016, by SM Entertainment and distributed by Dreamus, the extended play is the spiritual successor of their first full-length album The Red, which was released in September 2015. In contrast to their vivid and bright "red" image on The Red, The Velvet finds the group embracing their smooth and softer "velvet" image, incorporating mainly the R&B genre. S.M. founder Lee Soo-man continued to act as the executive producer of the extended play, with Andreas Öberg, Daniel "Obi" Klein, Charli Taft, Deez, Maria Marcus, Kenzie, as well as others contributed both lyrics and production.
Upon its release, The Velvet received positive reviews from critics for clarifying the girl group's dual musical concept and their sophisticated R&B sound. The extended play also achieved commercial success, becoming their third consecutive number one on Gaon Album Chart. It also peaked at number eight on the Billboard World Albums Chart, earning the group's third top-ten entry on the chart.
Promotion for the album was preceded by the release of the lead single "One of These Nights" on the same release day, along with live performances on weekly music shows for both the single and the album track "Cool Hot Sweet Love". The lead single was a moderate commercial success, peaking at number ten on the Gaon Digital Chart and number six on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart.
Background and release
While promoting The Red at a press conference on September 8, 2015, the members and the company hinted at a similar follow-up concept release to their previous release, although an SM Entertainment representative clarified that nothing had been scheduled yet. In October 2015, Wendy confirmed on an interview that an album was "coming after The Red", seemingly clarified that a similar concept album was in the process.On March 2, 2016, an SM Entertainment representative revealed that the group had completed filming a music video for the album's lead single. SM Entertainment began dropping teasers of the members on the group's official Instagram account on March 10 and later confirmed a March 16 release date and the lead single "One of These Nights". The single is described as an R&B ballad with a polished rhythm.
Delay
Ten minutes before its intended release on March 16, SM Entertainment announced that the music video and album's release would be delayed to March 17 "to guarantee a high quality of work". The band apologized to their disappointed fans on the March 16 broadcast of Good Morning FM, where they talked about their new album and its lead single.Composition
Concept
As their first extended play introduced both the "Red" and "Velvet" musical concept, follow-up full-length release The Red in September 2015 saw the group embrace their quirky, "fun, peppy" pop side. With The Velvet, the group focuses solely on their "velvet" sound and image, incorporating mainly the R&B genre with a more sultry, smooth and elegant approach. It was later proceeded by the group's second studio album Perfect Velvet in 2017, and their fifth extended play RBB in 2018, which focus on the group's more mature "velvet" sound.Songs
The extended play consists of five new songs and three remixes for "One of These Nights". Described as an R&B ballad with a polished rhythm, the lead single was composed by Hwang Chan-hee, Andreas Öberg & Maria Marcus and penned by Seo Ji-eum of Jam Factory, who also wrote the lyrics for their hit "Dumb Dumb". Jeff Benjamin of Fuse described it as a standard ballad which opens "with strings and piano before evolving into a sweeping, orchestral arrangement" until a trap beat kicks in at the 1:40 mark "to give the strings a modern flavor". Three other versions of the song: the normal version, the De-Capo version, the Joe Millionaire version and the Piano version were all included. The song also drew inspiration from the Korean festival Chilseok, which is celebrated on the seventh the day of the seventh month. The original tale tells the story of lovers Jingnyeo and Gyeonu, who were separated by the heavenly king and only allowed to meet on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar.Other compositions of the extended play include the Daniel "Obi" Klein and Charli Taft-assisted "Cool Hot Sweet Love", the 90's R&B flavored "Light Me Up" and "First Time". "Light Me Up" marked the first production from songwriter and producer Deez to the group, who would later participate more frequently in many of the quintet's releases, while "First Time" was written and produced solely by S.M.'s longtime songwriter and producer Kenzie. Initially a 1989 song by SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man, "Rose Scent Breeze" was covered by member Wendy, Seulgi and Joy and included as the last song for the extended play.