Inspired by artists like En Vogue, Destiny's Child, and Gwen Stefani, South Korea's Red Velvet are a five-member, all-female vocal group who make dance-oriented contemporary R&B and rap-infused pop. Formed by music management giant S.M. Entertainment in Seoul, South Korea in 2014, Red Velvet feature the talents of former S.M. Rookies Seulgi (Kang Seul-gi), Irene (Bae Joo-hyun), and Wendy (Son Seung-wan), as well as Joy (Park Soo-young) and Yeri (Kim Ye-rim). The group's two initial singles, 2014's "Happiness" and "Natural," fared well with audiences and became some of South Korea's most watched online videos during the month of their release. In March 2015, Red Velvet released their debut EP, Ice Cream Cake, which included the single "Automatic" and debuted at number two on Billboard's World Albums chart.
Their first full-length, The Red, arrived in September 2015. The album topped both the Billboard World Albums and the Korean Albums charts atop the success of the single "Dumb Dumb." An R&B-influenced follow-up, The Velvet, arrived in 2016, with EP number three, Russian Roulette, released just months later. Another chart-topper, Rookie: The 4th Mini Album, was issued in January 2017. Several months later, Red Velvet delivered their sophomore album, the aptly titled Perfect Velvet: The 2nd Album. Buoyed by the single "Peek-a-Boo," the album topped the Billboard World Albums chart. The Summer Magic EP arrived in 2018, and included the single "Power Up," as well as an English version of "Bad Boy."
