Red Velvet's latest album 'Chill Kill' combines 'tragedy and hope'

For girl group Red Velvet, its latest full-length album "Chill Kill" is an album showing its growth, the members said Monday, the day of the album's release.

Girl group Red Velvet [SM ENTERTAINMENT]

For girl group Red Velvet, its latest full-length album "Chill Kill" is an album showing its growth, the members said Monday, the day of the album's release.

"We aim to showcase our growth and unique style to fans, which we have undergone by exploring our past and present throughout the album's creation," Seulgi said in a press release celebrating the release of its new full-length album.

"Although it has been six years since our last full-length album, we kept releasing music and tried out different concepts," Irene, the leader of the group, said. "We worked hard to showcase a new side of ourselves through this album."

"Chill Kill" is the group's first full-length album after six years since its second full-length album "Perfect Velvet" on Nov. 17, 2017.

Members of girl group Red Velvet, Wendy, left, and Seulgi [SM ENTERTAINMENT]

"The key word of this album is duplicity, showing both tragedy and hope," Wendy said. "We put our minds on showing both sides of the album through all the content, including the songs and choreography, connected to the album."

The album tends to showcase both the bright "red" side and the dark "velvet" side of the group, which are concepts that the group displayed throughout its career. The "red" side is concepts that are strong, powerful and bright such as its song "Ice Cream Cake" (2015). The "velvet" side depicts a softer and more mature concept including songs like "Peek-A-Boo" (2017).

The album consists of 10 tracks, including its lead and title track "Chill Kill," which is a pop dance song with a cold but also warm hopeful melody, according to the agency.

"The term Chill Kill refers to a situation or a person that disrupts the silence," Joy said. "The song is about missing Chill Kill even though it changed one’s world. It also sings about wanting hope. The duality presented in the song is something that listeners should pay attention to."

Members of girl group Red Velvet, Yeri, Joy and Irene, from left to right [SM ENTERTAINMENT]

"The music video centers around five sisters who are trapped in a tragedy," Joy added. "It focuses on the process of how the five sisters overcome their tragedies and grow through the process."

"The group plans to participate in various activities, including TV shows, YouTube and radio shows. A number of fan events are also scheduled," Seulgi said about its promotional activities.

Red Velvet debuted in 2014 under SM Entertainment with four members and welcomed member Yeri in 2015 to make the five-member system it has now with Irene, Wendy, Seulgi, Joy and Yeri. It is known for its hit songs such as "Red Flavor" (2017), "Psycho" (2019) and "Feel My Rhythm" (2022).

To find out more about Red Velvet, visit Celeb Confirmed!

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]