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With flaming hot, elegant stage, Red Velvet reclaims 'queendom'

By Hong Yoo
Published : April 3, 2023 - 14:01

Red Velvet kicks off the last day of their 4th concert, "R to V," with their track "Pose." (SM Entertainment)

Thousands of people cheered as the lights of the KSPO Dome in Seoul shone bright, signalling the beginning of Red Velvet’s fourth concert, “R to V.”

The excitement from the audience was palpable as the long-awaited concert kicked off after three years and five months of hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On a lift, the queens appeared on stage wearing stunning jet-black outfits that made them look like five black swans.

Red Velvet began their last day of the gig on Sunday with “Pose,” the sidetrack of the quintet’s sixth mini album “Queendom” giving a little twist to the original set list.

“The name of our concert is ‘R to V’ which stands for red to velvet. From flaming red to elegant velvet, we wanted to show that we can do everything,” explained Joy of Red Velvet.

As this concert was being live-streamed via Beyond LIVE, Wendy did not forget to greet their global fans.

“Are you guys having fun? This is just the beginning! Hope you guys enjoy our concert today,” said Wendy in English.

The quintet performed a series of sidetracks from their mini albums for the first time on stage including “Beg for Me,” “Bamboleo,” “Zoom,” “Bye Bye,” “On a Ride” and “Celebrate.”

The “Red” section of the gig which was the first half of the concert was filled with seductive and powerful performances.

Red Velvet, K-pop veterans who made their debut in 2014, showcased the perfect balance between their vocals, performance and energy.

When the girls performed their hit tracks such as “Peek-A-Boo” and “Psycho,” their fandom Luvies shouted out special cheer chants for Red Velvet.

The K-pop queens did not forget to satisfy their fans with individual dance breaks as they performed “Bad Boy.”

Each of them demonstrated smoothly flowing dance moves that were breathtaking.

There was not a single moment for the dome to cool down as even when the girls went backstage to prepare for their next set, a mega dance crew performance filled up the gap with dazzling dance performances.

The mega crew consisted of 25 dancers led by the renowned performance director Choi Young-jun.

Creative use of the main stage was also a feature to watch out for.

The “Velvet” section of the concert started off like a musical when Red Velvet appeared on stage on a lift decorated as a music box.


Red Velvet appear as princesses on a music box for the second section of their concert "R to V." (SM Entertainment)

The members were dressed as princesses as they stood on the music box.

“How do we look? We changed into human cherry blossoms! We look like princesses don’t we?” said Seulgi.

Just as the girls pampered up as princesses, the vibe of the concert took a different turn.

“Are you going to stay seated throughout the whole concert?” Seulgi shouted when performing their track “Queendom.”

The audience stood up and started to jump and dance, enjoying the concert as if it were a festival.

Once the audience started to enjoy the concert to the fullest, Red Velvet also seemed to burst with energy bringing the concert to its climax.

“This concert comes after 3 years so we prepared really hard for it. It was fun preparing for our gigs. After this, we are hitting the road for a world tour. Will you keep supporting us?" said Yeri.

Red Velvet is set to embark on a world tour, holding 13 gigs across a total of 10 different cities.

Their first stop is Singapore on April 21.

During the concert, Joy seemed to be distracted by her gear as it kept falling off during performances.

“I think my headset does not like me today. It is bothering me so much, so I am going to use my customized hand mic from now on,” said Joy.

As if nothing has happened, Red Velvet continued their concert as K-pop veterans, showing off their unique spring-themed, cute colors.

Once the curtains went down, Luvies began to sing “Remember Forever” to call the girls back on stage.

Then they raised up card posters for a card stunt event they had prepared for Red Velvet.

From the stage, the cards read “Thank you, our pride.”

The surprise event brought Joy to tears of happiness.


Red Velvet gets back on stage for a double encore during their 4th concert "R to V." (SM Entertainment)

“Today’s concert was definitely different from the first day. On the first day, we were a bit tense because we were nervous. Also, the cheers from the audience were much louder so we had more fun performing on stage. I will try to keep this beautiful memory with me for a long time. Thank you for making this moment beautiful,” remarked Joy.

At their concert, Eunhyuk of Super Junior and Doyoung of NCT were there to show their support for Red Velvet.

Red Velvet did not hesitate to perform a double encore as they wanted to stay longer with their fans.

They even performed “Zimzalabim” which was not on the set list, at the request of their fans.

“We get to feel a lot of emotions during concerts and that’s why I especially like doing them. Thank you for your unconditional love and we will always do our best to pay back your love and support,” said Wendy.




By Hong Yoo (yoohong@heraldcorp.com)

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