Red Velvet

Red Velvet is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group debuted on August 1, 2014, with the digital single "Happiness" and four group members: Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, and Joy. In March 2015, Yeri was added into the group. Since their debut, Red Velvet has released two studio albums, one reissue album, and eight extended plays in Korean, with nine of them topping South Korea's Gaon Album Chart. Their singles "Happiness", "Ice Cream Cake", "Dumb Dumb", "Russian Roulette", "Rookie", "Peek-a-Boo", and "Bad Boy" have all charted in the top five on Gaon Digital Chart, while their singles "Red Flavor" and "Power Up" topped the chart upon their releases. Additionally, they made their Japanese debut in July 2018 with the extended play #Cookie Jar. Red Velvet is regarded as one of the most popular K-pop groups worldwide by Time and Billboard and have received several awards for music, choreography, and popularity, including the Golden Disc New Artist Award in 2015 and the Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Female Group in 2017. The director of the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange cited Red Velvet as a major contributor and one of the country's most talented idol groups who have "largely promoted K-pop" while discussing the Korean Wave in 2018. Red Velvet is known for their 'dual concept' dubbed as their "red" and "velvet" sides which influences their styling and the music they release. The group's "red" half produces singles predominantly of the pop genre due to its bright and more youthful nature. Their singles "Ice Cream Cake", "Dumb Dumb" and "Red Flavor" are such examples. Their more mature "velvet" concept has spawned tracks primarily in the R&B genre. Their singles "Automatic" and "Bad Boy" are considered to be part of the "velvet" concept. They often incorporate other genres for the two sides, mixing them with genres such as electronic pop, hip-hop and disco. This dual concept has earned the group international praise for their versatility and diverse music. Seulgi was the first member to be cast as an SM Entertainment trainee through an audition in 2007, while Irene was cast in 2009, and Yeri in 2011. In 2012, Wendy and Joy were cast through the SM Global Auditions in Canada and Seoul respectively. Preparations for Red Velvet began in late 2013, through SM Entertainment's trainee group SM Rookies. Irene and Seulgi were introduced initially to the public through the said project team in 2013, followed by Wendy in 2014. With the addition of member Joy, the four-member group would debut as Red Velvet, SM Entertainment's first girl group in five years since f(x). On March 11, 2015, SM Rookies member Yeri was officially announced as part of the group.