Is Red Velvet Going to be Able to be As Popular As SNSD?

SM entertainment's new girl group Red Velvet released its debut single 'Happiness' on August 4. Well, do you think the girl group is going to be able to be as popular as its senior girl groups such as Girls' Generation(SNSD) and f(x)? Let's talk about Red Velvet's potential.



Prior to the album release, Red Velvet performed 'Happiness' on KBS' 'Music Bank', MBC's 'Show Music Core', and SBS' 'Inkigayo'. 'Happiness' is an Euro pop music that has strong synth sound and African beat. As rookie Kpop idols, the members showed off fresh and cute charm. The sparkle rap parts were nice addition to the music, while each member dyed hair blue, yellow, pink and green.

Recently, most of Kpop girl groups just try to show sexy performance, while the public do not even know each girl group member's name because there are too many girl groups in the world of Kpop. In that sense, Red Velvet certainly succeeded in differentiating itself from other girl groups.

Red Velvet also showed its own unique character in comparison with Girls' Generation and f(x). In 2007, Girls' Generation caught eyes of people by showing off its innocent when it performed its debut single 'Into the new world'. And f(x), who debuted in 2009 with its hit 'La cha ta', received attention from people with its distinctive music.

Seulgi, who was selected as SM's trainee through the agency's open audition took place in 2007, can sing, dance, play a guitar, and speak Japanese, while Irene, who was chosen by SM in 2009, can sing, rap, and perform modern dance. And Wendy passed the agency's global audition took place in Canada in 2012, and she speaks fluent English and can play various instruments such as flute, guitar and saxophone. SM said that Joy is also talented in various fields including singing and dancing.

All of them are versatile, and it is expected that the members will be able to be recognized in the music industry for their musical talents. Having proper musical ability is very important for rookie Kpop idol group because it can be used as a foundation for the group's long-running activity. There are so many female idols who just have pretty faces. As Red Velvet has members who are fluent in English and Japanese, it is expected that the group will be active in the foreign countries too.

In 2014, a generational shift is a big thing in the world of Kpop. The big 3 Kpop agencies, SM, YG, and JYP, are all focusing on generational shift because their representative singers such as TVXQ, Girls' Generation, Big Bang, 2NE1, and 2PM became the old-timers without quite realizing it.

Actually, SM has already kicked off its generational shift 2 years ago. The agency's new boy group EXO debuted in 2012 and became one of the most popular Kpop idol groups. However, JYP's GOT7 debuted in early 2014 and YG's Winner will release its debut album on August 12, while both of the groups can't rank with EXO yet.

Meanwhile, by producing its new girl group Red Velvet, SM got one up on YG and JYP once again. It is considered that SM has benefited from its systematic star-incubating system in the process of its generational shift.