Music: Red Velvet - Happiness Review

Oh God, what a complete mess.

While I wasn't excessively excited about their debut, their teasers (that were constantly charting on news websites) actually piqued my interest. I, for one, actually rather liked their styling. They definitely went for the more trendy and youthful vibe with the mixed-media dada style (kind of Gaga Artpop) which I appreciated. Tropical prints has one of the largest fashion trends during Summer, so it was interesting that they revolved their entire concept into what will definitely be just a passing fad. The dip-dyed hair were also a rather interesting touch, though slightly overused when SM wishes to give off a quirky pop vibe. I thought they looked experimental and would bring something new to the table.



But everything after the still posters were, to reiterate, a complete mess.

Firstly, the music video. It retained that same experimental aspect that I liked about it, but they should have properly grasped the degree to which hypnotising Kyary Pamyu Pamyu style can be executed as a fresh and intriguing aspect without causing the viewer's eyes to roll. It was as though the concept designers played and went overboard, before realising that midway through and decided to include very awkwardly placed cuts that weren't as well edited. The quality of the dance cuts, both in the set design and in the actual filming, did not match the high contrast CGI they were sandwiched between, causing a definite disruption in quality. There was also this very, very out-of-place chorus which featured a girl in a well lit studio in a ugly modern day clubbing outfit. Not to mention the rather careless allusions to terrorism.

It would have been fine for me if the music was actually good, but it was not at all. I heard a lot of different references in the song, none of which really meshed well together. The hook (lalalas) were decent and catchy, a plus point for a pop song definitely, but that's the only real positive thing I can say for it. They brought in some f(x)-esque rap-singing, but decided that their main vocalist needed to belt -> hence a awkwardly placed high note that eventually transited to some (annoying and autotuned) excessively high note.

Perhaps with the brand SM, financial prowess and proper promoting they can become something, but this debut has been (as much as I wished it wasn't,) a huge nope for me.