Red Velvet's 'Velvet Summer' Is Out. It's Their First Group Comeback in Two Years.
Red Velvet released its new mini album, "Velvet Summer," at 6 p.m. KST Monday - the group's first release as a full, five-member unit in just over two years, since 2024's "Cosmic."
The EP holds five tracks spanning reggae, bossa nova, acoustic, classical and dance, a wider genre spread than the group's past summer releases, with production credits including longtime Red Velvet collaborator Kenzie alongside Pizzapunk, Ronny Svendsen, AFTRSHOK and Bluar. Title track "Surfin' Boy" leans on reggae rhythm, bossa nova guitar and house grooves for what SM Entertainment has framed as a calmer, more mature take on the sound that built the group's "Summer Queen" reputation in the first place - the sound behind "Red Flavor," "Power Up" and "Umpah Umpah." The rest of the tracklist follows a similar mood shift: "Hawaii" stays low-key, and "Orchestra" closes the EP as its slowest, most stripped-down track. In an interview with the Korea Times published the day of release, Seulgi said the bossa nova direction felt especially fitting for the group at this point.
The comeback lands just ahead of Red Velvet's 12th debut anniversary this month - the group started with "Happiness" in 2014 - and follows a two-day fan meeting, "A Day in Red & Velvet," that the members held August 1 and 2 at Korea University's Hwajeong Gymnasium in Seoul. The physical album comes in two main packages, "High Tide" and "Big Wave," each with its own set of photocards and posters, a rollout that started with a July 6 teaser and ran through a highlight medley released July 27. SM Entertainment has described the "Velvet Summer" concept as a mermaid-and-surfer fantasy, a step away from the bright, high-energy visuals that defined earlier releases like "Queendom."
It's a quieter comeback than the ones that made Red Velvet's name as a summer act. Whether the mellower sound becomes part of the group's identity or a one-summer detour is a question next August will answer, not this one.
