Debuting in 2014, Red Velvet was originally a four-member group. Three of the original four members of Red Velvet were previously part of S.M. Entertainment's pre-debut team, SM Rookies. Seulgi, the first member who joined the agency, was brought in through an audition in 2007. Irene, the next member to join the company, was cast in 2009. Wendy auditioned through the SM Global Audition in Canada in 2012. Joy, the member who wasn't part of SM Rookies, auditioned through the SM Global Audition in Seoul in 2012. As part of SM Rookies, several clips of Irene, Seulgi, and Wendy were released on S.M. Entertainment's official YouTube account. The three members were rumored to debut as a group in July 2014, which was then later confirmed by SM Entertainment. With the addition of member Joy, the four-member group would debut as Red Velvet - SM Entertainment's first girl group in five years, after f(x).
Red Velvet's debut single 행복 (Happiness) was digitally released on August 4, 2014. The music video was released on August 1, and later become the second most viewed K-pop video worldwide in August 2014; on the same day, the group made their official debut stage on the music program Music Bank.
Red Velvet released their second digital single Be Natural on October 13, 2014. It is a remake of a song by veteran SM Entertainment girl group, S.E.S.. The track features Taeyong, former member of SM Rookies' male unit, SR14B, and currently a member of NCT. The group started their promotional activities for this release on October 9, making their first appearance on the music program, M! Countdown. The music video for the song was released on the same day.
On March 11, 2015, S.M. Entertainment released a video announcing the addition of a new member to the group's lineup - Yeri. Yeri was formerly part of S.M. Rookies with Irene, Seulgi and Wendy. On March 14, "Automatic," the group's first music video featuring Yeri, was released. The following day, they released their first mini album, Ice Cream Cake, along with the music video for "Ice Cream Cake." It was also announced by S.M. Entertainment that both "Automatic" and "Ice Cream Cake" would be promoted as double lead singles off the album.
In early September 2015, S.M. Entertainment announced that the group would be making a comeback, and on September 9, 2015, Red Velvet released their first full length album The Red. The album features ten tracks, including the title track, "Dumb Dumb." The album focuses on their "red" image, which is supposed to be the group's bright and bold side. On December 18, 2015, the group took part in S.M. Entertainment's special winter project, Winter Garden, alongside label-mates f(x) and BoA, releasing a digital single titled "세가지 소원 (Wish Tree)".
While promoting The Red, it was hinted at by the members and S.M. Entertainment that there would be a follow up album, but nothing was confirmed at that time. In March 2016, it was announced that the group would make a comeback with the group's second mini album. The Velvet was released on March 17, 2016 as a direct follow up to their first album The Red. While The Red focuses on the "red" half of the group's image, The Velvet focuses on the group's smooth and soft "velvet" image. The title track, "7월 7일 (One Of These Nights)," is described as an R&B ballad. On March 27, 2016, the group performed the track on music show Inkigayo.
On September 7, 2016, Red Velvet released their third mini album Russian Roulette. The mini album features seven tracks, including the title track of the same name, "러시안 룰렛 (Russian Roulette)". On September 13, 2016, Red Velvet took their first music show win for "Russian Roulette" on The Show. The title track peaked at #2 on the Gaon Digital Chart and Billboard's World Digital Songs chart, making it their highest rankings on both charts at the time. On January 27, 2018, the music video for "Russian Roulette" became the group's first music video to reach 100 million views.
A few months later in January of 2017, it was announced that the group would be releasing new music in February. The group's fourth mini album ROOKIE was released on February 1, 2017. The mini album contains six tracks, including the title track of the same name, "ROOKIE" and "마지막 사랑 (Last Love)," a solo track by group member Wendy.
On July 9, 2017, Red Velvet released their fifth mini album The Red Summer. The mini album features five tracks, including lead track "Red Flavor". The album was a commercial success, becoming their third #1 win, making them the K-pop girl group with the most #1 albums on a chart. All five tracks on the mini album debuted in the Top 50 of the Gaon Digital Chart.
Red Velvet revisited their "velvet" image by releasing their second full-length album Perfect Velvet on November 17 with the lead single "Peek-a-Boo." "Peek-a-Boo" peaked at #2 on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart. In South Korea, the album and the single "Peek-a-Boo" both charted at #2 on the Gaon Album Chart and Gaon Digital Chart. Through the release of Rookie, The Red Summer and Perfect Velvet all in the same year and the success of their albums overseas, Red Velvet achieved a "top girl group" status in South Korea in 2017. On January 29, 2018, Red Velvet released a repackage titled The Perfect Red Velvet, consisting of three new songs, including title track "Bad Boy", which was meant to be the most "velvet" track Red Velvet has ever put out.
On March 20, 2018, it was announced that Red Velvet would be performing alongside other selected South Korean artists for an inter-Korean concert in Pyongyang, North Korea. This makes them the first artist from SM Entertainment in fifteen years since Shinhwa to perform in North Korea. On May 23, it was revealed that their debut Japanese extended play is titled #Cookie Jar. It was released on July 4, 2018 by the label Avex Trax, and included six new songs including the Japanese versions of "Dumb Dumb," "Russian Roulette," and "Red Flavor." The new songs are "#Cookie Jar," "Aitai-tai" and "Cause it’s You." The extended play debuted at #3 on the Oricon Weekly Albums chart and sold 26,124 copies on its first week of release in Japan.
On July 19, 2018, Red Velvet announced they would be making a comeback soon and had already filmed their music video outdoors in Gyeonggi-do. Excitement was stirred after the announcement of an English language version of previous single "Bad Boy." The songs from the new album were performed during Red Velvet's concert Redmare. They released their sixth extended play Summer Magic on August 6, 2018. The extended play contained seven tracks, including the title track "Power Up" and bonus track "Bad Boy (Eng Ver.)." The album peaked at #1 on the Gaon Album Chart.
After the release of Summer Magic, news about Red Velvet's upcoming comeback circulated in October 2018, which SM Entertainment responded to by confirming a November comeback. SM Entertainment later revealed the details of the extended play along with the title of the lead single: "RBB (Really Bad Boy)." They also teased an English version of the title track to be added as a bonus track. RBB was released on November 30 as their seventh Korean extended play overall.
On January 6, 2019, Red Velvet released their first Japanese digital single, titled "Sappy." The group released another Japanese single, "Sayonara," on February 20. Both singles are included in their second Japanese EP, Sappy, which was released on May 29; the EP also includes Japanese versions of "Peek-a-Boo," "Rookie," and "Power Up," as well as a new song called "Swimming Pool."
In February, Red Velvet embarked on the North American leg of their Redmare Tour. They went on to hold shows in Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Chicago, and Newark in the United States and Toronto and Vancouver in Canada, becoming the first K-pop girl group to hold a North American tour in three years.
On April 5, Red Velvet were featured in a remixed version of "Close to Me" by Ellie Goulding and Diplo, with Yeri and Wendy contributing Korean lyrics to the song.
On June 19, Red Velvet released their sixth Korean EP, titled The ReVe Festival: Day 1, which topped the Gaon Album Chart and features the lead single "Zimzalabim." It is the first entry of The ReVe Festival trilogy. The group's seventh Korean EP, The ReVe Festival: Day 2 and its lead single "Umpah Umpah arrived on August 20. The summery single received a Song of the Year Daesang (Grand Prize) at the 2019 Asia Artist Awards on November 26. To promote The ReVe Festival, the group embarked on their third tour, La Rouge, which began in Seoul on November 23 and 24. The third and final entry of the trilogy, The ReVe Festival: Finale was a compilation of the previous two EPs and contained four new songs, including the chart-topping lead single "Psycho." This would be the group's latest comeback for over a year.
On July 6, 2020, the group's first subunit was formed. Red Velvet - Irene & Seulgi released their first mini album with "Monster" as the title track. The album also featured a solo song for the group's lead vocalist, Seulgi. On July 19, they dropped a single titled "Naughty." It was remixed soon afterwards.
On January 1, 2021, their company, SM Entertainment, hosted the Culture Humanity free online concert featuring many of their artists. Red Velvet returned as five after the member Wendy had been on hiatus for a year and Irene had been absent for weeks due to controversy. The group preformed songs including Peek-a-Boo, Bad Boy. The long-anticipated five-member performance of their hit track Psycho was also performed. The group is nearing their seventh anniversary, and they are continuing to captivate and gain recognition domestically and around the world.
Take It Slow
Red Velvet (레드벨벳) Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Woo take it slow
요즘 들어 남자다운 척인 건데 어쩜 (어쩜)
아직 어려 동생일 뿐이랬잖아 (잖아)
설마 너? (설마 너?)
갑자기 어른스러운 니 말투
너는 이런 내가 싫겠지만
어리게만 보이는 걸 (걸)
Oh 나 있잖아 사실 말이야 싫지 않아
왜 자꾸만 나를 그런 눈으로 바라봐?
Oh 나 알잖아 쉽게 맘 안 여는 사람 (사람)
천천히 와줘 날 더 지켜 줘
아직 난 겁이나 take it slow
요즘 부쩍 잦아진 너의 연락 어쩜 (어쩜)
자꾸 말이 짧아지는 이유는 뭔데?
Don't know why (don't know why)
서툴게 진지한 척 하는 눈빛
귀여워 나도 몰래 웃음이 나
너는 이런 내가 싫겠지만
조금만 더 기다려 줘
잠깐 고민해볼게
천천히 널 보며 그리 어리지가 않아
진심인 것 같아 그래
이젠 내 맘 열어볼게 don't let me down
달콤하게 떨린
내 입술만은 네게 보여줄게 (줄게)
Oh 나 있잖아 사실 말이야 싫지 않아
왜 자꾸만 나를 그런 눈으로 바라봐?
Oh 나 알잖아 쉽게 맘 안 여는 사람 (사람)
천천히 와줘 날 더 지켜 줘
아직 난 겁이나 take it slow
Ah stop
Woo whoa ah take it slow (falling slowly)
The song "Take It Slow" by Red Velvet is about a girl who is falling for a guy who is acting like a man when in reality, he is just a younger brother. She is confused about her feelings towards him since he looks old but is still young. He suddenly starts texting her frequently and she wonders as to why he is doing so. She tells him to come to her slowly and protect her more because she is scared to take the next step. She wants him to understand and respect that she needs time to process her feelings and take the relationship slow. The girl in the song is hesitant to let her guard down and give into her feelings, but she is willing to open up if he doesn't let her down.
The lyrics in "Take It Slow" blend a resonating vocal arrangement with their engaging, sweet harmonies as they describe what it feels like to be afraid that you'll be let down. It's all about taking relationships slowly, not rushing or pushing for something that you're not yet ready for, and being honest with your feelings. The song is a beautiful, delicate blend of addictive beats and lyrics that capture the essence of what it truly means to be swept off your feet. It is a powerful reminder that taking relationships slow and steady is the key to making them meaningful and long-lasting.
Line by Line Meaning
Ah stop
Pause for a moment
Woo take it slow
Don't hurry, progress at a steady pace
Lately you've been pretending to be a man, why? (why)
Why have you started acting like a grown-up man?
You said that you're still a young sibling (you know)
You have always considered yourself younger than me
Could it be you? (Is it really you?)
Are you the one who is now pretending to be a grown-up?
Suddenly your tone of voice became grown-up, it's cute
Your way of talking has become more mature, but it's still cute
The atmosphere only gets weirder
Even though you are acting grown-up, I can tell you're not comfortable with it
You may hate what I have become, but
You might dislike me for acting immature
I still like who I am, to be honest
I actually like who I am and I am not ashamed
Why do you keep looking at me like that?
Why do you keep giving me that particular look?
Oh I know, I'm one of those people who are hard to approach
I understand that I'm not the kind of person who is easily approachable
Come to me slowly and protect me more
Take things slowly and care for me more because I am still scared
Lately, you've been contacting me frequently, why?
I am curious why you have been trying to contact me more lately
Why do your words keep getting shorter?
Why do you keep speaking less than usual?
Don't know why (don't know why)
I really don't know why you are acting this way
Your gaze tries to look serious, but it looks cute
You're trying to act serious but it's endearing
When you're not looking, I smile too
I secretly smile when I see you trying to act grown-up
You may hate what I have become, but just wait a little longer
Please be patient, I will try to change slowly
So let me think for a second
Give me a moment to figure things out
As I slowly look at you, I don't feel like a child anymore
As I watch you, I can see myself becoming more mature
I think this is real
I believe that my feelings are genuine
Now, I'll open up my heart, don't let me down
I'm willing to share my true feelings with you so please don't disappoint me
I'll show you my trembling lips in a sweet way
I'll show you my vulnerability in a sweet way
Why do you keep looking at me like that?
Why do you keep giving me that particular look?
Oh I know, I'm one of those people who are hard to approach
I understand that I'm not the kind of person who is easily approachable
Come to me slowly and protect me more
Take things slowly and care for me more because I am still scared
Take it slow, falling slowly
Take things slowly, enjoy the moment
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Ji Sang You, Joo Hyung Lee
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind