"Power Up" | ||||
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Single by Red Velvet | ||||
from the EP Summer Magic and Sappy | ||||
Released |
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Recorded | 2018 | |||
Studio | SM Studios, Seoul, South Korea | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:22 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Red Velvet singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Power Up" on YouTube |
"Power Up" is a Korean song recorded by South Korean girl group Red Velvet for their second special (sixth overall) Korean extended play, titled Summer Magic (2018). Characterized as an electro-pop song with elements of chip-music, the song was penned by Kenzie and was produced by production duo Moonshine, Ellen Berg Tollbom and Swedish singer-songwriter Cazzi Opeia, who worked on the group's previous single "Peek-a-Boo". It was released on August 6, 2018, as the lead single of Summer Magic by SM Entertainment and iriver as the South Korea distributor, whilst the Japanese version was later released as the third and final single from the group's second Japanese extended play Sappy on April 24, 2019, by Avex Trax.
Upon its release, "Power Up" received positive reviews from critics for its catchy and addictive nature, further commenting the song as a "perfect" delivery for the summer. It was a commercial success in the group's native country, earning the group their first "Perfect All-Kill" title. The song eventually became the group's second and fifth chart-topper on the Gaon Digital Chart and Gaon Download Chart, further staying atop both charts for two weeks. It also peaked at number six on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart, giving the group their third No. 6 entry and their twelfth top-ten entry on the chart. The song's music video was included in Billboard's 50 Best Music Videos of 2018: Critics' Picks list, with Red Velvet being the only South Korean artist to make the list.
After making their official debut in Japan with the release of their first Japanese EP #Cookie Jar , the group's company SM Entertainment announced in July 2018 that Red Velvet will release their sixth Korean extended play in the next month which they revealed would be a special summer mini album titled Summer Magic. [1] Amidst a tight schedule, the song and its parent album was recorded while the group was on tour. [2]
The song was marketed as their second special summer single after "Red Flavor" which was released in 2017. The group shared during a press conference for their second solo concert "REDMARE" in Seoul that they felt burdened by the success of their first summer single but were confident that the new track would be "another summery earworm". Member Wendy compared "Power Up" to "Red Flavor" and said that if the latter "reminded people of fresh fruits" then the former would "give energy, like its title". [3] Similarly, the group's leader Irene thought that in comparison to "Red Flavor", the song "takes a little more time to stick", initially not liking it immediately herself. [4]
"Power Up" was composed by Moonshine (Ludvig Evers & Jonatan Gusmark), Ellen Berg Tollbom and Swedish artist Cazzi Opeia with lyrics by Kenzie that had a "work hard and play hard" theme. Seulgi mentioned that the "encouraging message" came from SM Entertainment's executive producer and founder Lee Soo-man, who often told the group at a company workshop "You have to enjoy yourself whether you are playing or working" which they included in the song's lyrics. [3] [4] [6] All of its producers and its writer also penned and composed their 2017 single "Peek-a-Boo" which was the title track of their second studio album Perfect Velvet . Cazzi Opeia had previously revealed in June 2017 that she had written two songs for the group. [7] [8] The group disclosed during an interview with Paper that they had a company-wide voting to select their next title track which "Power Up" won. [9] Member Joy stated that the song was recorded in various versions as they "studied the song's nuances". [3]
Musically, "Power Up" was described as an electropop song with elements of chip-music. Tamar Herman of Billboard called the repetition of "banana-na-na" throughout the chorus "Minion-esque" and said they created a tune "built to reflect the lazy days of the season". She also noted the English-language line "level up" which she recognizes as a reference to the group's fanclub 'ReVeluv' which is pronounced similarly in Korean. [5]
To promote the album, a series of image teasers were released on July 29, 2018, through the group's official social media accounts while their company SM Entertainment also launched an interactive game on their official website. [10] Red Velvet performed the single along with other tracks from Summer Magic before its official release during their second concert 'REDMARE' on August 5, 2018, revealing them to the public for the first time. [11]
An accompanying music video directed by Kim Ja-kyoung of Flexible Pictures and choreographed by Kyle Hanagami was released in conjunction with the single. [12] [13] Tamar Herman of Billboard said it had an "easy-to-follow" dance where they "soar like an airplane along to one line, punch the air as they proclaim the song's title and look like they're about to go swimming with one move from the 'banana' part of the song". The video also featured the members in various colorful outfits such as Girl Scout uniforms, sailor-inspired clothing, and cheerleader uniforms. [5] Hong Dam-young of The Korea Herald felt that it had a coming-of-age story and pointed out the call-backs to their past title tracks such as "Dumb Dumb", "Ice Cream Cake", "Russian Roulette" and their last summer single "Red Flavor". [14] The music video was filmed on July 19, 2018, in Gyeonggi Province. [1]
Red Velvet made their comeback stage on August 10, 2018, through the music program Music Bank and continued promoting the single on Show! Music Core on August 11 and Inkigayo on August 12. [15] [16] The group accumulated over 10 music show wins for "Power Up", winning the last one on M! Countdown . It beat "Rookie"'s previous record of 9 wins. [17]
In the group's native country South Korea, critics opined that the song must be listened to more than once before it becomes addictive. Hong Dam-young of The Korea Herald compared it to "Red Flavor", saying it wasn't as catchy and commented that "One might need to push the replay button twice or three times in order to fully vibe with 'Power Up'. But soon you'll find yourself humming the song's quirky chorus anytime, anywhere, especially the part where the vocals hum "Banana-na-na" on top of the quirky chiptune. [3] Claire Chung of Haps Magazine also originally found the song "a bit childish" but thought "the youthful, refreshing summer atmosphere of the music is infectious" and admitted she later found herself "subconsciously singing the song's addictive hook line". [18]
On the other hand, Seung Park of Kotaku stated that the song "might just be their best song yet" and asserted that the group "stepped up to fill a sorely-needed niche in k-pop", calling Red Velvet "Orange Caramel's spiritual successors as the resident purveyors of the quirky and weird". [19] Billboard's included the song's music video in their 50 Best Music Videos of 2018: Critics' Picks list at number 21 in December 2018, describing the song as "the logical K-pop extreme of Diane Martel's vision of a world where typical household objects are rarely what they seem". Red Velvet was the only South Korean artist to be included in the list. [20]
"Power Up" topped all of South Korea's music charts upon its release, allowing the group to achieve a "Perfect All-Kill" for the first time in their career. [21] The single then debuted atop both the Gaon Digital Chart and the Gaon Download Chart on its first week, becoming the group's second Gaon chart-topper following "Red Flavor" in 2017. It was also the group's longest number one run on Gaon, having spent two weeks at No. 1 on both charts. [22] [23] [24] [25] The song eventually became the most downloaded song for the month of August on Gaon. [26] In addition, it also debuted atop the Kpop Hot 100 for two weeks, surpassing their highest peak and consequently giving Red Velvet their first chart-topper there.
Elsewhere, "Power Up" charted at number 6 on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart, selling 1,000 downloads in the United States in its first week. [27] It also appeared on Singapore's "Top 30 Regional Streaming Chart" component, peaking at number 16 on the chart. [28]
Credits adapted from Summer Magic liner notes [29]
Chart (2018) | Peak position |
---|---|
Singapore Regional (RIAS) [28] | 16 |
South Korea (Gaon) [22] | 1 |
South Korea (Billboard Kpop Hot 100) [30] | 1 |
US World Digital Songs (Billboard) [27] | 6 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
South Korea (KMCA) [31] | Platinum | 2,500,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Year | Organization | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Korea Popular Music Awards | Group Dance Award | Won | [32] |
Digital Award | Nominated | |||
Genie Music Awards | Song of the Year | Nominated | [33] | |
Female Dance Award | Nominated | |||
2019 | Gaon Chart Music Awards | Song of the Month - August 2018 | Won | [34] |
Genie Music Awards | The Top Music | Nominated | ||
The Performing Artist (Female) | Nominated |
Award | Date | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Weekly Popularity Award | August 20, 2018 | [35] |
Program | Date |
---|---|
Show Champion | August 15, 2018 |
August 22, 2018 | |
M Countdown | August 16, 2018 |
August 23, 2018 | |
Music Bank | August 17, 2018 |
August 24, 2018 | |
Show! Music Core | August 18, 2018 |
Inkigayo | August 19, 2018 |
August 26, 2018 | |
The Show | August 21, 2018 |
Region | Date | Format | Label |
---|---|---|---|
South Korea | August 6, 2018 | Digital download, streaming | SM Entertainment, Iriver |
Various | SM | ||
Japan | April 24, 2019 | Avex Trax |
Red Velvet is a South Korean girl group formed and managed by SM Entertainment. They originally debuted on August 1, 2014, with the single "Happiness" with the four-member line-up of Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, and Joy. A fifth member, Yeri, joined in March 2015, following the release of their first extended play, the chart-topping Ice Cream Cake. Sonically, the music of Red Velvet reflects their group name: their predominantly-pop "red" side experiments occasionally with electronic and funk, while their "velvet" side focuses on '90s-influenced R&B with elements of ballad and hip hop.
"Happiness" is the debut single recorded by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. The song was written by Yoo Young-jin, Will Simms, Chad Hugo, Anne Judith Wik, and Chris Holsten, with the production was handled by Hugo and Simms. It was released digitally by SM Entertainment on August 4, 2014, in South Korea. The song also marked their first release under the Red Velvet moniker and their first as a quartet, introducing the four members Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, and Joy to the public.
The Red is the debut studio album by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. It was released on September 9, 2015, by SM Entertainment and distributed by Dreamus. LDN Noise, Ryan S. Jhun, Denzil "DR" Remedios, Dsign Music, Kenzie, Deekay, Charli Taft, Jinbo, Dem Jointz, as well as others, handled production of the album, with SM founder Lee Soo-man serving as the executive producer. The record primarily showcases the group's "red" image with "fun, peppy" pop-oriented musical styles.
Russian Roulette is the third Korean extended play by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. It was released on September 7, 2016, by SM Entertainment.
The Red Summer is the first special extended play and the fifth overall by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. Marketed as the group's first "special summer" release, the five-track EP was released digitally on July 9, 2017, and physically the following day by SM Entertainment. Primarily a dance-pop and EDM record, it is the second major release from Red Velvet to focus solely on their "red" concept, following their debut studio album The Red (2015). It was later proceeded by Summer Magic as both the second "special summer" extended play and the third major "red" release.
Perfect Velvet is the second studio album by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. Released by SM Entertainment on November 17, 2017, the record incorporates R&B, soul and hip-hop with influences from future bass, trap and synth-pop, and saw contributions from various songwriters and production teams. The album is a portrayal of the group's "velvet" concept, making it their second major release to follow this sonic direction since their second extended play, The Velvet (2016). The album reissued as The Perfect Red Velvet on January 29, 2018.
"Red Flavor" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Red Velvet for their first Korean special extended play, The Red Summer (2017). It was released as the lead single from the EP on July 9, 2017, through SM Entertainment and was distributed by Genie Music, along with the accompanying fruit-infused music video. Written by SM collaborator Kenzie and composed by Daniel Caesar and Ludwig Lindell, it is primarily a dance-pop song with synths and percussion. The song reflects the summer funky vibe, while the lyrics hint towards a young relationship with summer references. A Japanese version of the song, adapted by songwriter Kami Kaoru, was later included on the group's first Japanese EP, #Cookie Jar, on July 4, 2018.
"Peek-a-Boo" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Red Velvet for their second studio album, Perfect Velvet (2017). An up-tempo dance-pop track with tropical house elements, it was written by Kenzie, Ellen Berg Tollbom, Cazzi Opeia, and duo Moonshine, while production was handled by the latter contributor. The song was released in conjunction with its parental album on November 17, 2017, through SM Entertainment. It was later re-recorded in Japanese for the group's second Japanese extended play Sappy, which was released on May 29, 2019.
"Russian Roulette" is a song by South Korean girl group Red Velvet for their third extended play of the same name. Written by Jo Yoon-kyung and produced by Albi Albertsson, Belle Humble and Markus Lindell, it is primarily an 8-bit influenced synth-pop and dance-pop song which lyrically compares the process of winning someone's heart to a game of Russian roulette. The song was released as the lead single on September 7, 2016, by SM Entertainment along with an accompanying cartoon-themed music video which saw the group mimicking cartoon tricks to pull a prank and harm each other as the video progressed.
"Bad Boy" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Red Velvet from their second studio album reissue The Perfect Red Velvet, released by SM Entertainment on January 29, 2018. A hip hop-influenced R&B number, its lyrics were written by JQ and Moon Hee-yeon whilst music was handled by The Stereotypes, Maxx Song, Whitney Phillips and Yoo Young-jin.
Summer Magic is the second special extended play and the seventh overall by South Korean girl group Red Velvet, marketed as their special "summer" EP following The Red Summer, which was released in July 2017. The EP is also the group's third major release to focus on their "Red" concept, following The Red Summer and the group's debut studio album The Red (2015). Released on August 6, 2018, the EP contains seven tracks, including the lead single "Power Up" and the English version of "Bad Boy" as a bonus track, making it their first song to be released in English.
RBB is the fifth Korean extended play and the eighth overall by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. The six-track EP was released on November 30, 2018, by SM Entertainment with iriver and Dreamus as the domestic distributor. Musically, the EP consists of five new original tracks which varied in different genres, mostly R&B and dance-pop, which became the group's third major release to focus on their "Velvet" sonic concept, following their second EP The Velvet (2016), their second studio album Perfect Velvet (2017) and its repackage The Perfect Red Velvet (2018).
The ReVe Festival: Day 1 is the third special extended play and the tenth overall by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. Released on June 19, 2019, through SM Entertainment, the extended play served as the first installation of the group's The ReVe Festival trilogy, which was later followed by Day 2 and Finale. An electro-pop and dance-pop record, the EP contains six tracks that sees the group exploring new genres. Its production was handled by various songwriters and production teams, including Caesar & Loui, Ollipop, Moonshine, Trinity Music, Ylva Dimberg, Cazzi Opeia, Ryan S. Jhun, amongst others.
The ReVe Festival: Finale is the first Korean-language compilation album by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. The album was announced and became available to pre-order on December 12, 2019, before being released by SM Entertainment on December 23, 2019, with Dreamus serving as the South Korea distributor. As the third and final release of the group's trilogy The ReVe Festival, the set contains all twelve tracks taken from two previous extended plays The ReVe Festival: Day 1 and The ReVe Festival: Day 2. With SM founder Lee Soo-man serving as the executive producer, Finale includes four new songs—"Psycho", "In & Out", "Remember Forever", and a previously unreleased "La Rouge", with the first being the lead single for the album. The album was released in two versions with different packaging artwork, while a digital EP including only the four new tracks was also released on the same date.
"Umpah Umpah" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Red Velvet for their seventh Korean extended play (EP) The ReVe Festival: Day 2, which serves as the second installment of the group's The ReVe Festival album trilogy. The song, alongside its vacation-themed music video, was released on August 20, 2019, as the lead single from Day 2. Written by Jeon Gan-di and composed by Christoffer Lauridsen, Andreas Öberg and Allison Kaplan, "Umpah Umpah" is described as "an uptempo dance song with disco house rhythms", with the group's "lovely and cool vocals doubling the freshness". The songwriting, which includes swimming motifs, portrays somebody falling in love with the eyes and charms of the girls, using the phrase "umpah umpah" as if their love interest was learning how to control their breathing while swimming.
"Psycho" is a song that was recorded by South Korean girl group Red Velvet and was released as the lead single from their first compilation album The ReVe Festival: Finale (2019), which is the third and final installment in the group's album trilogy The ReVe Festival. The song was composed by Andrew "Druski" Scott, Cazzi Opeia, and EJAE; was arranged by the former Druski and long-time SM Entertainment record producer Yoo Young-jin; and the Korean lyrics were written by Kenzie. "Psycho" is an R&B track that incorporates elements of pop, trap and future bass, and is about a couple who are in a complicated romantic relationship. A gothic-themed music video accompanied the single's digital release on December 23, 2019.
Queendom is the sixth Korean extended play and twelfth overall by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. Marketed as the group's sixth "mini album" release, it consists of six tracks, including the lead single of the same name. The EP was released digitally by SM Entertainment on August 16, 2021, and physically on August 17, 2021.
"Queendom" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Red Velvet for their sixth Korean extended play (EP) of the same name. Composed by minGtion, Anne Judith Stokke Wik, Moa "Cazzi Opeia" Carlebecker, and Ellen Berg with Korean lyrics adapted by Jo Yoon-kyung, the dance-pop song was released as the titular EP's lead single on August 16, 2021, by SM Entertainment, along with its accompanying music video.
"Pose" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Red Velvet for their sixth Korean extended play (EP), Queendom. It was released as part of the EP on August 16, 2021, by SM Entertainment. The up-tempo dance-pop song is written by Lee Seu-ran and composed by Fabian Torsson, Harry Sommerdahl, Ylva Dimberg, and Moa "Cazzi Opeia" Carlebecker.
"Chill Kill" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Red Velvet for their third studio album of the same name. It was released as the album's lead single by SM Entertainment on November 13, 2023.
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