[ ☁ ] Heaven Delight

manothewicked 

If I were to talk about this song in a black-and-white, red-and-velvet kind of way, RBB reinterpreted the horror code-which was told in an eerie, Velvet fashion in ‘Peek-A-Boo’ and ‘Bad Boy’-in a strange and extraordinary, Red kind of way. It’s fun how ‘RBB’ differs in terms of lyrics and sound compared to ‘Peek-A-Boo’ and ‘Bad Boy.’ The three songs all talk about the same bad boy, but the way they talk about it differ significantly. If, ‘Bad Boy’ is about being calm and chic, ‘RBB’ is rambunctious and dramatic from start to finish. It’s worth noting how the three songs all have the same idea and the same attitude, but express them in such different styles and facial expressions. I especially recommend ‘Sassy Me,’ which has groovy brass sounds and egocentric, shameless lyrics.

Third 

If ‘Peek-A-Boo’ and ‘Bad Boy’ continued and completed the eerie winter image that ‘Ice Cream Cake’ and ‘Automatic’ kicked off, ‘RBB’ is like a Halloween trick with quirkiness and over-excitement like ‘Rookie’ or ‘Russian Roulette.’ ‘RBB’ also strikes a resemblance to ‘Dumb Dumb,’ because its composition utilizes echos or rounds on top of sound effects, instead of having a melody line. It also incorporated voices, like acapella or scat. It’s impressive how the sharp scream at the beginning of the song re-appears at the end and flows with the ad-lib. The side tracks are generally calm and familiar. But, out of them, ‘Taste’ caught my ears.

dis1co 

If ‘Peek-A-Boo’ added bubbly Red sounds on top of the eerie Velvet mood, ‘RBB,’ on the other hand, added the Velvet aesthetic on top of the Red vibe. The Velvet doesn’t just refer to horror-like images. It also refers to creative ways of vocalization. Wendy’s vocalization is one clear example of this. 

Red Velvet ‘Bad Boy’ (Na Won-Yeong)

Red Velvet has always chased after the trendiest music in idol pop. Similarly, in the repackage album ‘The Perfect Red Velvet,’ you can hear how much pride they have in their music-which only they can perform-and in being the perfect Red Velvet. Their confidence can be heard in ‘Bad Boy’ also.

Red Velvet has taken on countless concepts ever since their debut. The iconic confidence that they have shown in their previous releases-’The Perfect Velvet’ and ‘Peek-A-Boo’-can be seen in even more diverse layers in ‘Bad Boy.’

Red Velvet’s unique sound in ‘Bad Boy’ is notable. In ‘Bad Boy,’ they re-discovered the hidden components of their Velvet concept, actively incorporated a heavy bass and trap sounds, both which they have never given a real shot at before. Red Velvet also amplified their captivating charm better than ever by using flawless vocals, harmonies and modern synth sounds. This clean sound, which was created by a group of composers lead by The Stereotypes, is the newest result of SM’s long-running A&R team and song camps.

‘Bad Boy’s confidence-which comes from the fact that it’s well-built as a song-can be seen in its lyrics and choreography. In the lyrics, Red Velvet actively ‘bet’ and ‘play hard to get’ with the listener, and even say they’re quite confident themselves. The choreography also supports the lyrics by visually expressing the chic tone and the unique groove of ‘Bad Boy.’

On top of that, ‘Bad Boy’s music video references ‘Peek-A-Boo’s horror movie concept and amplifies the strange atmosphere that Red Velvet has been expressing from before, in various ways.

‘Bad Boy’ unabashedly shows Red Velvet’s full potential in perfect form. The reason why ‘Bad Boy’s promotion feel like they could have been done better is because through ‘Bad Boy,’ Red Velvet has reached their apex, and because of that, is expected to continue being perfect.

Seulgi, Chungha, SinB, Soyeon ‘Wow Thing’ (Jeong Gu-Won)

To me, being ‘perfect’ doesn’t mean being full of good things, but being irreplaceable, whether it is in terms of visuals or audio. It’s hard to find something as perfect as this in K-Pop-which sometimes tries too hard-but, ‘Wow Thing’ is a song that has everything in the right place.

‘Wow Thing’s 90s R&B sound-which has hints of brass sprinkled on top-resembles Ariana Grande’s first songs. The jiggy beat harmonizes the dull texture and fast composition of the song. Seulgi smoothly slides against and plays with the syncopation. SinB and Chungha show off how deft they’re at controlling their voices. Last but not the least, Soyeon’s rap, despite being short, is intense and leaves a lasting impression inside the listeners.

We especially requested you to be interviewed out of Red Velvet. Why do you think we chose you? I don’t know. Maybe it was because I’m popular among women but it’s GQ...

Maybe it was because of your coolness. You don’t look fussy, anxious nor easily swept away by things.  I value doing my end of the work as well as I can a lot. I think there are people who notice that I think a lot about what my role is, what I’m good at and what I’m trying to express the most out of this job. 

If that were true, we’d simply say you were hard-working. People might have found some charms that I haven’t discovered about myself. But I personally look up to people who do their part of the job the best they can. And that’s the kind of person I think of when other people tell me that I’m cool.

Who’s the coolest person to you out of all the people in the world? Mom and dad. When I said that I wanted to be a singer when I was young, they supported me with everything they could. They even signed up for auditions in my place. On top of that, they even packed lunch boxes and fed them to me whenever I finished practicing and went back home. I spent my seven years as a trainee like that.

It looks like they took care of you like a sports star. Yeah, at first I thought my parents were being too extra, because I thought I was all grown up. I even worried that I might not be able to survive on my own if they kept doing things like that to me. But, even these days, when I tell them that I’m stressed over my singing, they talk to me like a vocal coach. Nowadays, they trust me and leave me alone. They just say that they hope I come back to them whenever I feel down.

What has changed the most about you while being a part of Red Velvet? I really think I’m changing constantly. I can feel that I change depending on what kind of mindset I have at that moment. A lot of things cross my mind because of that. These days, I don’t know what kind of person I am. But then again, I’m sure everybody’s like this. Sometimes, I’m confident to do something, but other times, even if the littlest thing goes wrong, I lose confidence and look timid. Then I figure out what’s wrong with me and get better. Stuff like these just all exist inside of me.

The fact that your job requires you to present every aspect of yourself to the public is what makes it harder, isn’t it? Yeah. But that’s also how I get energized.

During your trainee years, did you learn how to get interviewed? No. Before, I took a look at the questions ahead of time and wrote all of my answers below it, in fear that I might forget them. But these days, I think I’m able to speak without going through all of that because I think about these things casually. If, when I first debuted, I censored myself to say typical things in case it could cause controversy, nowadays, I find out what I’ve been thinking about these days while getting interviewed. I like interviews like these because they’re like short logs of my life. Before, I did hide myself a lot. I mean, I still have some sides of me that I haven’t revealed. I think that I’ll look pretty doing this, but then again, I realize, I don’t look pretty when I smile. Things like that. I know I have things that I’m still hiding right now, but I’m planning onto not put too much effort in covering them up. I’m learning how to show those things naturally.

You look comfortable being interviewed. Is there anything that people don’t know about you well despite your efforts to not cover yourself up?  Um... If I were to list one thing, I’m not as hard-working as people think I am. I’m the kind of person who gets things done, even if it means I have to rush through it. But, the thing is that it takes me a long time to summon the energy to motivate myself to get that done... Really, I’m not the kind of person who plans everything out in advance.

But I heard that you make sure to do everything the best you can, whether it’s a variety show or a special stage. I try to do whatever it takes to make that happen. Even if that means I have to stay up all night. But that doesn’t mean that I’m hard-working.

Maybe it’s because you’re known for being a trainee for a long time. Lots of people take pity on me by saying things like, “Oh, how did you go through all that,” “That must have been rough,” but I wish they wouldn’t. I, myself, don’t think it was that much of a hard time. Of course, there were some rough patches, but it’s like how someone who’s been a trainee for three years has their own three years of hardship and trouble. Let’s say someone who’s been a trainee for three years debuts with me. Then that means that that person has to get used to working with me, a person who has trained for seven years. That, in other words, means that that person had to condense what I had to go through seven years and get it done in three years. Everybody has their own pace and time. If I had really debuted after just three years of practice, I would have been more lost than I am now.

You once said that you were having a hard time keeping up with the busy schedules. How do you manage to keep calm and get things done when you have tons of things to do? I just say to myself that this is my job. Actually, that’s something that I always have in mind. I push through by thinking that I can’t let go of this for the people around me, like my fans and the staff. And it feels really good when people notice what I’ve worked on. I became a singer for people to notice my hard work and also because I enjoy getting my hard work being noticed. 

Is there a habit you have kept without fail ever since you’ve debuted? Hmm... Ah! I tried to make the people who know me like me! My personality is like that. Even when I was young, I had a good relationship with my classmates too. People who don’t know me could not like me. But I’ve always told myself to try to leave a good impression of myself in the people who do know me. I don’t like being on bad terms with people. I’m more of a people person. If there’s someone who’s talking bad about me, I want to listen to what that person has to say too, and ask, “Why don’t you like me?” (Giggles)

Do you have anything that you’ve learned to let go after debuting? My looks? Of course, I think that everybody has their own characteristics and charms. But you know the generic kind of beauty that people have, right? I’m trying to not think too much about that. I’m trying not to focus too much on pretty things.

Wait, what? I’m getting more and more surprised because the more I look at you, the more you resemble the actress Lee Young-Ae. My looks are constantly exposed to the public because of my job, so if I didn’t have that kind of mindset, I’m sure I would have been really stressed. But, it’s the era of individuality now. If there’s one thing that I’m confident in my looks, it’s the locations of my ears, eyes, mouth, and nose! When I debuted, I got lots of hate comments and got called out for my looks, which made my self-esteem plummet. But I’ve let go of all of that. In the “Laws of the Jungle,” I was just like, ‘Here goes nothing,’ and revealed my no-makeup face in front of the camera. I find people who are honest about themselves cool and pretty. And they look much more charming when they’re like that. It’s way cooler to see people not blindly follow other people. 

If there’s one ability that you really need right now, what would it be? Being able to say what I want right away. 

You can’t? No. I wish I could just say what’s in my head well. From a long time ago, I thought I was a bit boring. I like chatting quietly like this, but I think that makes me look shabby compared to the other bright people in the music industry. I also feel like I ruin everything because I’m not good at telling stories well. It got to the point where I was convinced that I had a talent for making everything awkward. So, I want to say what I want right away, without hesitation. I’m wondering about whether drinking will help me get over this problem, because when I’m drinking with other people, that bright and relaxed atmosphere helps me be more honest.

If you could steal someone’s abilities, whose would you steal? Beyonce’s. Wow, I wonder what she feels like being able to dance and sing like that. She must feel really happy being the best at everything...

In a past interview, you said that you wanted to learn how to play the guitar. Have you made any progress on that? This proves why I’m not hard-working. (Giggles) You see, if I make a plan, it becomes a long-term plan no matter what, because there isn’t a date that I have to accomplish it by. 

It might be risky for you to make any plans without setting an urgent deadline.  Yeah, I think so. Then again, even when I was young, I always crammed for my exams, but I have a reason for that. I only had one week to study for my exams while being a trainee. Instead of going to the company for that week, I’d get tutored and study till dawn. I’ve gotten too used to that now, so, if I have something that I need to do, I set a deadline and make sure it gets done by then.

Then what are some of the extra long-term goals you have as being a part of Red Velvet? Red Velvet is a group that tries out a variety of concepts, right? I mean, it’s gotten to the point where I can’t figure out what to wear when I have to perform ‘Peek-A-Boo’ and ‘Power Up’ in one performance. But concentrating on every moment of that is really fun. When else would I be able to dance intimidatingly and make those kinds of facial expressions if it wasn’t for ‘Bad Boy?’ I think Red Velvet is a group where unique people have come together to sing unique songs and express uniqueness. I don’t like cliche things, so I like the direction that the company is leading Red Velvet to. Although now I’m only able to pitch in a few opinions while performing at concerts, I hope that in the future I’ll be able to participate more in building the direction that Red Velvet will take, since we’ve been in the industry for quite some time and we’re starting to understand what our color is like.

Even just watching their faces is super fun: Level Up Project Season 3

Your fav doesn’t change. It accumulates. I’ve always stanned male idols (Shinhwa-TVXQ-EXO-Wanna One etc). But recently, I seriously fell hard for someone. I simply watched it because, after hearing that Red Velvet traveled to Slovenia, I was curious what the place was like. And that’s how I became a luvie. The best stans aren’t the Western artist stans, but the girl group idol stans. Everybody! Come check out how adorable RV is! I’ll kindly point out Red Velvet’s each and every charm!

From Episode 1: The Bummed out Sexy Dynamite

Joy looks like a preppy, refreshing character, but in real life, she’s easy going and hilarious. She speaks her mind out and bosses the other members around. For “Level Up Project Season 3,” Red Velvet head for Slovenia. The staff try to make it a surprise, but clever Red Velvet doesn’t fall for the trap. For laughs, the staff say that they’re heading to Jeju Island. Because Red Velvet had believed without a doubt that they’d be going to Europe this time, they are disappointed at the news. But quickly, they recover by saying, “I wanted to go to Jeju island too.” But in the midst of all this, our Joy exudes chicness, saying “We’re not going to Europe? I said that I’ll get mad if we weren’t going to Europe....”

From Episode 2: Baephrodite who Slept for 12 Hours

Excited at the news of going to Slovenia, Red Velvet record how and what they packed through the self-cameras. Yeri takes this chance to introduce her room (Adorable!), while Wendy explains each piece of clothing that she’s packing. While the other members are busy, Irene, who just woke up, just talks about what she’s looking forward to in this trip. But come on, isn’t Irene’s face so fun to watch? Even though Irene couldn’t dry her hair because she slept for 12 hours after her busy schedules ended, her face still remains fun to watch, and mysteriously entrancing. I hope they’ll show lots of Irene’s close up self-cams! All hail the face genius, Irene!

From Episode 3: Red Velvet talking all at once in the car

After a long flight, Red Velvet finally arrives at Slovenia. (Is it possible to look so pretty after such a long flight?) On their way to the city from the airport, Red Velvet can’t stop talking in the car. Although Yeri, the youngest member, is reading information about Slovenia like a tour guide, no one seems to care. The other members are all busy looking out the window and sharing their own comments about the view. They only say what they want, like how pretty the clouds are, how beautiful the flowers are, and how many trees there are. Eventually, Wendy bursts into laughter inside the hectic car while saying, “This is what Red Velvet is like everybody.” You can see how beagle-like Red Velvet is from the way they all say what they want, out of excitement.

From Episode 4: The Passionate Photographer, Yeri

After arriving at Ljubljana, the heart of Slovenia, Red Velvet can’t help but awe at how clean and cute the streets are. Just see how happy there are after getting candy at a famous chocolate shop♥ Our Yeri leaves the shop alone, ahead of the other membersㅡwho are paying for the chocolateㅡto take pictures. Although they have to get going, she still passionately takes pictures of every nook and cranny. It’s so cute to see how she bends her knees and even her back down to take a picture of a cute flower pot she walked by. 

From Episode 5: Red Velvet scuttling around Ljubljana

Mano: Pick!

The album starts off with five girls hopping and skipping on top of the 8-bit games sounds (Power Up). Then the background quickly changes into the Waikiki beaches of Hawaii (With You), then into a thick jungle (Mr. E) and the festive festivals of Rio de Janerio (Hit That Drum). The whole album, as shown above, travels through time and space however it likes. 

The album also stirrs up the nostalgic feelings of early 2000s pop music (Mosquito), and pumps up everybody with dull drum sounds and samba rhythms (Hit That Drum). The songs of the album make the album itself more colorful and vivid. What’s especially notable is how the bonus trackㅡwhich is bound to mess up the whole mood of the album usuallyㅡmixes in well with the album inconspiculously. I am especially pleased at how the album itself remains organic as an album, but also diverse and colorful at the same time. It’s like drinking a glass of ade, one that’s easy to swallow. 

Some might complain that this album has less impact compared to thier last summer album. But what’s clear here is that with this album, we owe a lot to Red Velvet and that it is thanks to them that we all got to love summer just a tad bit more. Please don’t miss ‘Hit That Drum,’ㅡan interesting hybrid of samba and K-Popㅡand ‘Blue Lemonade’ㅡwhich, like the title, is nice and refreshing, like a mix of the sweet sea breeze and sour lemon.

Mimyo

Compared to the other recent releases, this album for real feels like a summer special mini album. If ‘Red Flavor’ was a festival pop song, ‘Power Up’ is more like a concert number, a song that you can jump and scream along to, a song that can flip the stage upside down. ‘Power Up’ was also mainly consisted of low beats, leaving room in the mid-ranges for the vocals to frolic around. 

Another song that uses that formula is ‘Hit That Drum.’ It doesn’t take the listeners on a rollercoaster ride, but instead, sprints towards a clear goal, but nonetheless, leaves the listeners quite thrilled. I like how ‘With You,’ ‘Mosquito,’ and ‘Blue Lemonade,’ㅡwhich seem to be placed in turnㅡhas a touch of Velvet’s unique elegance, which mesmerized the public last year. I’m just curious whether ‘Bad Boy’s English lyrics need to really sound so translated.

0ohmyheart

With a hook that feels like minions are running around my head, refreshing beats that hit every corner of your body, and a top line that bends, but always stays exciting, Red Velvet, who dyed last summer with ‘Red Flavor,’ made a comeback with a boom called ‘Power Up,’ an energy drink like song.

If, with the previous summer song you were able to experience a summer day, this time, it’s like they’ve mashed together bits and pieces of summers from all kinds of times and backgrounds. Although this might give the song a choppy feel because it’s mixed with different sounds and genres, it widens your summer spectrum in a fun way. The albumㅡexcept for the bonus trackㅡfeels like a summer special pop-up ade store, one that has everybody’s favorites. Honestly, ‘Hit That Drum’ easily stole my heart away with their rambunctious drums and adrenaline rushes, but I recommend ‘Mosquito,’ which wittily described an unwanted summer guest, and ‘Blue Lemonade,’ which has a clean outro, like a slice of lemon. 

“Summer Magic” doesn’t represent every summer moment, but with their creative interpretation of summer, Red Velvet succeeded in disguising summer as a fun season. Well, I guess there’s no choice but to fall for Red Velvet again this summer. 

eax7: Pick!

The lone star is bound to shine even brighter.

Red Velvet Seulgi has been chosen to be the first female ambassador for Converse Korea. Her first work can be seen in the Converse ‘RATED ONE STAR’ campaign, which was released last week. In the photoshoot, she embodied the ideals of the ‘RATED ONE STAR’ campaign, which emphasizes the free and creative value that one star has within its own standards. The lone star is bound to shine even brighter than countless stars. Below is an introduction about 25-year-old Kang Seulgi.

Introduce Kang Seulgi, not Red Velvet Seulgi. Everybody who has met me will know this, but I’m Kang Seulgi who’s spending her 25th year like any other friends. If there’s a difference, that would be that because of my job, some people can’t relate to my worries. But that’s the only difference. The way I worry about my future, and wonder about what I like and what kind of person I am is like any other my age.

What kind of age do you think 25 is? A time where you try out things you like one by one? If, when I debuted I hid out of cautiousness, now I’m meeting lots of friends, eating delicious things and watching movies a lot. I’m just normal. No different from any other person.

I noticed you were pretty easygoing during the photoshoot. What’s your normal personality like? I like to enjoy how I grow. One of the key points of my job is that a lot of people watch me. I feel much better when the fans notice my hard work or how much I’ve grown. Growth is a keyword in my life.

As you grow, you’re bound to feel growing pains. This isn’t something new to idols, for they are faced with endless competition from their trainee years to debut. Even after debuting, they have to compete to get more love than others. What growing pains have you gone through? I worried a lot about whether I’ll be able to debut. I trained for seven years in total. For the first two years or so, it was fun how I got to practice all day. But after five years passed, I started to worry about whether I’ll be able to debut or not, receive lots of love if I ever get to debut, if my skills right now are worthy of being loved after debut, and what else I could do if I wasn’t doing this right now. Eventually, I realized there was nothing else that I could do except this, since I did it from elementary school. No matter how much I thought, the arts were something that I liked and was good at. I continued because I thought I would feel the happiest when I show others what I’m the best at and what I enjoy doing the most. My company supported me a lot, so based on that, I started to trust myself. Thanks to that, I think I overcame my growing pains.

After a long wait, you debuted and have been receiving attention. What does this feel like? When I debuted, I had more negative comments than positive ones, because before I debuted, I was coincidentally mentioned at Radio Star. Back then, trainees had little to no contact with the media, but starting with me, the company started to create a pre-debut training team. After that, a lot of people looked forward to my debut, but I think they were disappointed when I did. That was a rough time for me. I felt that I should do even better more. That was the only thing in my head as I continued. It feels good to see how this gets more fun the more you do it, and how the fans notice how I’ve grown and compliment me on it.

People call you ‘God Seulgi.’ You’re especially perfect on stage. Is there anything about yourself that the press doesn’t know about? I feel confident on a scheduled performance. But, when there’s a lot of people or press, I have a hard time letting myself go. I struggle with showing the person I am, the way it is. When I’m with the members, I relax a little, but I can’t help but to freeze when I’m alone. I can’t even keep track of what I’m saying.

I couldn’t notice that at all when you were on stage and during the photoshoot. That’s only because I’m doing something that I like. I’m trying to learn how to not freeze. I’m proud of myself because I’ve improved. I’m trying to open myself up more because my job requires me to show an even cooler side of myself.

How do you manage to not freeze? Is there anything you do especially for that? I look up a lot of videos. While watching other foreign and domestic artists, I think about what I can express better. When I was filming “Secret Unnie” with Sunmi a few days ago, we talked about a lot of things. She said that I should ‘stan’ myself. I think knowing a lot about myself and expressing it well is important.

Don’t you want to do better in terms of music too? I really do. Recently, I’ve been talking about music with some people that I’ve grown close to, and it’s really fun. I get even more motivated when some people say they think I can make a song one day. (Laughs) I’ve grown fonder of music. If I try to listen to more of it, I think I’ll be able to grow again.

Is there any music in particular you enjoy listening to? I listen to a variety of music. I go into music sites and listen to the playlists automatically generated according to the occasion, like ‘songs to listen to when it’s raining,’ ‘songs to listen to when you’re taking a walk.’ Before, I only listened to the things I like, but now I just like to go with the flow.

Do you have any favorite genres? City pop. I would like to try it out someday if I can.

What brings you happiness these days? I feel happiness from the little things, like eating something yummy after my schedules are done, and chatting with my friends. I didn’t know this before, but these days, I feel like these things are what brings you joy. Of course, I’m happy when I work, but I feel even happier when I get to have time to relax, no matter how little that may be. Even if it was for a couple of hours, if I got to relax, a lot of my stress disappears.

What kind of person do you think you’ll be in the far future? I hope I’ll be someone who knows herself better, and knows how to enjoy relaxing.

When I was in my twenties, I thought it was OK to be tired and hurt, because I thought that that was how I could become stronger. There are times when the things I’m enduring become burdening, but I overcome it by thinking that there are times like these too. 

When I first debuted, I felt pressure and responsibility as the leader, but as time passed, I realized that the teamwork with the members was more important.

How was your trip to New York? The weather was really nice. Even though I stayed there for a short while, moving from one place to the next for the photoshoot, I think I never stopped having fun. I ate a lot of yummy things, saw good things, and did everything that I should. I’m completely satisfied!

Even during the day, you didn’t rest for a moment at the hotel. You really enjoyed your trip to the fullest. Although it was for only three days, that was all I needed. While staying in Soho, I went to Brooklyn and Williamsburg, went through Midtown to take a look of Central Park, shopped at 5th Avenue, and went sightseeing at West Village, where we had the photoshoot. (Laughs) Then again, I really do think I did my best to look around New York in that short period of time. It was good and energizing.

What’s the most memorable place you’ve been to in New York? After finishing the photo shoot, we went to Dumbo, right? This thought came into my mind while I was sitting there, looking at the Brooklyn bridge. ‘This stunning view should be something normal to the people living here, right? And here I am, in their everyday lives...’ I felt happy, because I could let go of my worries, and live without thinking about much. It was especially better because of the good staff that I got to work with. I want to go there again in the fall. The weather would be better in the fall, wouldn’t it?

What kind of image is New York to you? It was a city that I’ve never been to before. I think it has a colorful, cute, and warm image, possibly because I stayed in Soho.

Because you had the nickname ‘Cold Beauty,’ we were kind of worried before meeting you. I think I got that nickname because I’m shy and because I’m not the talkative type. But compared to before, I got better.

It didn’t seem like that at the photo shoot. I like jewelry, and I liked this photoshoot especially because it highlighted pretty jewelry, and it was comfortable because I was with close people. I think I laugh brighter and louder in those situations. I had a lot of fun skipping rocks. Anything can be fun if you do it with good people, right?

I heard you’re very strict when you work. (Laughs) I don’t know. I think they said that because I like to plan everything ahead. Whenever a schedule is set, whether it’s recording, a photo shoot or a performance, I only move once I have a plan. I have a checklist for workout days, practicing days, studying days and hair care days. I get ready for them in advance and fill my memos with things to do. Even when I’m busy with schedules, I’ll sacrifice my time to eat to write down things to do.

For this schedule, you didn’t even drink champagne or coffee and worked out every morning. Hmm. I think I protect myself with those kinds of things. I try not to get stressed and be satisfied with myself. I know I’ll get the results I want through that.

I think it’ll be hard on you when things don’t turn out the way you planned them to. I’m the kind of person who just does it. I feel like I’m letting myself go when I don’t meet the quota that I set, no matter what that quota may be. Even on the day I came back from New York, I went to work out straight from the airport. Results come out well only if you do your best. I also do it for self-satisfaction.

In one interview, you said you should become a hard-working person. How can you become an even harder working person from here? I was a lazy and introverted person, but one day I realized that I shouldn’t live like this. I thought that I shouldn’t just stay in the dorms doing nothing, because I was someone who was supposed to achieve and express things. I felt like I was going to never stop sinking. That’s how I started to work out, and I also promised myself to become a person who’s more suitable for her job, someone that listens and speaks well. I want to become someone who returns the fans’ love and help from other people well. I have to give the people who work hard for me a clear result, because that’s the right thing to do.

I don’t know if this is another effort of yours to keep in shape, but you don’t eat much too. Do you have a short appetite? No. I let myself go when I eat. So, when I’m getting ready for an album or a performance, I go on a diet. I’m still on one.

Is it because you think you have to satisfy the public’s expectations? I can’t say no to that, seeing how the public’s expectations have risen, and how I’ve been slowly stricter to myself.

You must feel proud as the leader, seeing how Red Velvet is steadily growing. Actually, even if I’m a leader, actually I’m one of the members too. Teams only grow when all of the members work hard together. In the end, I think the five of us need to come together as a team to energize each other and to make the team do better. I’m happy to see the huge amounts of love and support that we’re getting, especially after how the team and the members each used their strengths to work hard. I’m thankful to the other members who always do their best too.

Red Velvet is strong on the streaming charts. Do you have any songs that you’re especially attached to? I like ‘Peek-A-Boo’ and ‘Bad Boy’ the best, so I hum them often. I like music styles like that.

Is there anything we should watch out for when listening to your new song, ‘Power Up?’ ‘Power Up’ is a song with the message that you need to play hard to work hard. We came back with a summer song in a year after ‘Red Flavor.’ If ‘Red Flavor’ was upbeat from the start, ‘Power Up’ is an addicting song that you’ll fall in love with as time goes by. You’ll be able to have more fun listening to it if you watch the parts with the point choreography, which are cute and easy to do. Please spend this summer with Red Velvet too. (Laughs)

Recently, your second concert, ‘Redmare,’ finished successfully in Korea, right? How do you feel like after wrapping it up? I think we were able to finish the concert with no trouble thanks to the lots of people who loved and waited for it. Since we did the concert in a bigger venue, and showed a lot of the songs in the new album including ‘Power Up’ for the first time, we were really nervous. But we really powered up after hearing the fans’ cheers and applause on stage.

Is there anything else you want to try out, outside of singing? First of all, thankfully, I’m starring in a lot of CFs now, so I want to work even more in that field too. (Laughs) I think it’ll be nice to be an MC too. I think I could show a more mature and better side of myself compared to before.