#m:wendy

Just about when I was about to faint because of the daily record high heat, I felt a bit cool after hearing about Red Velvet’s comeback. You can’t talk about summer without Red Velvet!!! Out of curiosity about what kind of refreshing song Red Velvet would cool us with after ‘Red Flavor,’ VIBE rushed to meet them.

Q. Please explain a little about <Summer Magic>, please.

Irene: Since it’s a summer mini album, we filled it up with bright and upbeat songs. There are seven tracks in the album, including the title song, ‘Power Up.’ We put the English version of ‘Bad Boy’ㅡwhich was released last Januaryㅡas a special track.

Q. Each song’s charming points according to Red Velvet themselves.

01 Power Up Wendy: A song that goes along perfectly with this stifling heat! A song that ‘powers you up!!’ Joy: It’s an energetic and cute summer song that makes you groove along to the beat automatically.

02 With You Yeri: Please listen closely to the lyrics because they’re charming! Irene: Like the Christmas1 in the title, it’s a sweet and cool summer carol song!! 

03 Mr. E Seulgi: It’s a fun song that reminds you of cute jungle animals! Joy: The intro is unforgettable, and it’s full of mysterious vibes!

04 Mosquito Yeri: This song will remind you of the mosquitoes who pop out every summer hehehe Joy: We’ve never tried this genre before. It’s an interesting song that has a funny concept from the start!

05 Hit that Drum Irene: It’s a good song to blast your stress away! It’s an upbeat song that makes you dance. Oh yeah~~~!!! Wendy: I want to say this is a song that blasts you away. It’s a happy song where the fun drum sounds feel like they’re hitting on your chest! 

06 Blue Lemonade Seulgi: It’s a refreshing and cool song that pops like a cool soft drink! Yeri: Its sweet and fluttering feeling is so awesome! You’ll get what I’m saying once you take a listen to it~

07 (Special Track) Bad Boy (English Ver.) Wendy: It has a different feeling compared to the original song. It’s filled with softer and groovier vibes! Seulgi: You’ll be able to feel a different kind of bad girl through this song!

Q. Do you have any memorable moments?

Joy, Wendy: While recording ‘Power Up,’ we all went into the recording booth, and had fun screaming our lungs out when recording the high notes. It was fun, but also hard, but while recording as a team, I think I subtly realized the importance of teamwork. The excitement we felt after listening to that part was....!!! I think our voices mixed with each other well and made the song even more upbeat, so I feel good whenever I listen to it.

Seulgi: This is from when we recorded ‘Blue Lemonade.’ When we were monitoring what we recorded, everybody was so surprised at how cute the vocals of the chorus was, so we all asked who did this. We found out it was Wendy who did it, the first member who recorded! I think this episode is memorable to me because Wendy’s part was so cute that even the members couldn’t recognize it. (Laughs)

Q. When to listen to each song, according to Red Velvet!

Irene: When you want to just hit the road! When you’re on a road trip, or you need a pick-me-up song! I recommend listening to ‘Hit That Drum~’

Joy: A song that’s good to listen to on a hot summer night! When you need a rush of endorphins, you’ll feel better when you listen to ‘With You~’

Wendy: When you want to go on a picnic or want to feel summer to its fullest at the cool beach, ‘Blue Lemonade’ will give you sparkling refreshment~

Seulgi: When you need some fun in your boring day! When the mosquito in your room is bothering you! ‘Mosquito!’

Yeri: When you want to feel free, and when you want to go to the zoo! ‘Mr.E.’

Born on February 21st, 1994. Wendy isn’t a stage name, but the English name that she used while she lived in Canada. She’s like the sun: bright, and constantly smiling.

1. Recently bought fashion items?

I’m about to buy a pair of overalls that has a white flower pattern.

2. People or things you get inspired from fashion-wise?

I collect styles that I like on Pinterest and look at them often.

3. If you were to explain your personality in one word?

I think it constantly changes?! (Laughs)

4. Hobbies?

Looking for songs less exposed to the public, looking for hobbies. (Laughs)

5. Talents?

Singing!

6. Favorite things?

I don’t have preferences, so I eat anything well. I would like to thank my parents for this.

7. Recommend some places to go shopping in Korea.

I take my time a lot in shops, so I shop on the web a lot. 

8. Treasures?

Family.

9. What song do you sing the most at the karaoke?

I don’t sing Red Velvet’s songs a lot because they’re hard to sing alone. (Laughs) I reserve a lot of solo artists’ songs and only sing the first verse a lot. Because I like the karaoke a lot, I go there alone often too.

10. Favorite perfume?

Aqua-like and floral-like scents, but my preferences change according to the day. Japan has a lot of good perfume shops, so I want to look for a lot of things!

11. Favorite character?

Nothing comes to my mind immediately, but since I had fun watching the “Avengers,” I’ll start deciding who my favorite character is from that bunch! (Laughs)

12. What do you cook the best?

Before, I baked often and gave them as gifts. I want to make okonomiyaki and takoyaki.

13. Where do you want to go to in Japan?

I’ve been wanting to go to the different regions of Japan for a while, but thanks to the tour, that dream of mine has come true. It was fun, getting to eat lots of delicious things from various regions.

14. What do you want your fans to call you?

I don’t care whether they call me by my name or my nicknames. I want to be someone that can be always felt nearby, like family. 

15. Favorite snacks?

During the tour, I got lots of regional snacks, ones that aren’t in Korea. They were all so delicious, to the point where I can’t just choose one!

16. Do you have any memories from your trainee days?

WENDY

My dream was to become a singer, and I’m just doing what I love right now. But I felt so thankful for the fact that I can receive love from so many people while doing something that I want to do. I thought it was a good idea to become a singer too. I’ll never be able to forget the facial expressions of the fans.

What did you feel like before the opening stage of your first concert started? I just thought of one thing: ‘Don’t mess up the first move that I do when I appear on stage. Don’t mess that up ever!’ I had this bad feeling that I was going to get such an easy move wrong because I was so nervous. I repeated the choreography of the opening song over and over again backstage because I was worried that I might not do my best throughout the whole concert if I messed up on the first song. I didn’t mind the staff member next to me, who was supposed to guide my way. (Laughs) Thankfully, I wrapped up the opening stage well, without any mistakes.

What do you think was the most memorable or favorite part of “Red Room?” "Red Room’s” concept is ‘Yeri’s room on one summer night,’ right? I just liked the concept itself so much. It was really intriguing to express Red Velvet’s charms in a limited space, like a room. Also, the director incorporated various styles of songs in the setlist, so the concert became colorful. On top of that, the concert itself was perfect because the staff put in everything they could in making the props like the pop-up book and the stage equipment. I liked everything so much that I can’t choose just one favorite thing.

If you could keep one scene from the concert forever, which scene do you want to keep? The scene where the fans saw me on stage while waving their lightsticks! Actually, on the first day, I got to see the fans’ faces around the end of the concert because I was so nervous. They were all waving their lightsticks together and watching me, and that looked like was so pretty and touching. I tried to record that scene with my eyes. I still can remember it like yesterday. When I am on stage with other artists, I can see lightsticks of various colors. But I felt something different in “Red Room” because the whole venue was filled with Red Velvet’s color. Actually, I felt really happy because I got to perform with my membersㅡwhom I trust and like the mostㅡfor my fans who love me. I think my happiness multiplied when I saw the waves of lightsticks. I think the lightsticks have a special power. (Laughs)

You sang “Last Love” during your solo stage. It must have been hard to be on that big stage alone and to take on a song that requires great vocal technique by yourself. Before going on stage, I kept on telling myself that I should do well, but once I got on stage, I could feel the empty space of the other members really well. So, I got really nervous, but I tried to not let it show. If I’d been too nervous or had messed up, I’d be bringing the whole team down, because the other members had to do their solo performances with “Be Natural” after my stage. I think I tried my best to sing that song while thinking of the members who were up next. Although it wasn’t perfect, I’m trying to be satisfied with my performance because it’s already over.

The other members were worried that you might have been under too much pressure because of your solo stage. They even asked the director if there was anything that they could do to help you. Did you know about this? Really? I had no idea. I knew that the members were worried about me, but I haven’t heard about this before. Actually, I had a hard time while preparing for the concert and started to talk less because I picked up the choreography the slowest. I think the members took care of me more because, in the midst of all that, I was feeling even more pressure because of my solo stage. Actually, the other members had a hard time while practicing their solo performances for “Be Natural.” Cheering and encouraging each other while practicing is actually really motivating, but I couldn’t do that. So, I felt really sorry for that, and hearing about how the other members were worried about me is making me emotional.

Your parents came on the last day of the concert. Yes. It was the first time they got to see me perform. Back in Canada, if I have a radio schedule they don’t even sleep to listen to me on the radio. They see every performance I do and monitor it in detail, and say things like, “You look puffy today,” “You did well today,” which is all the more why I felt excited when they told me they were going to see me perform themselves. I really did my best because I wanted to show them an awesome performance. After seeing the concert, they told me that I’d done well while wiping their tears. Later, my mom sent me a text message, and I cried after reading it. It said, ‘It was such a wonderful stage that made me even regret why I tried to stop you from becoming a singer. I’m so proud that you’re my daughter, and I hope you’ll be able to do what you like happily. Thank you for being my daughter.’

You’ll be doing even more concerts in the future, so is there a specific stage that you want to do? I want to perform something that I couldn’t do in “Red Room.” There are other tracks in the albums that couldn’t make it on the concert setlist, and because “Perfect Velvet” was released after the concert, there are more songs to perform. My wish is to do a performance that has never been done before. Or, I want to re-arrange the songs that I’ve done before differently. Like doing a medley stage with an acapella version, or doing something where the fans could sing along to. I also want to do a fun, festival-like style performance too.

How did you feel like when you saw the fan event? I felt that I was being loved up close. I saw the faces of the fans who were holding the banners up, and their gazes were so warm. I was touched by the fact that these many people liked me too. Although I can’t know what everybody felt like, I could know for sure how much they cared for me.  My dream was to become a singer, and I’m just doing what I love right now. But I felt so thankful for the fact that I was able to receive love from so many people while doing something I want to do. I thought it was a good idea to become a singer too. I’ll never be able to forget the facial expressions of the fans.

Special / Idols whose Solo Debut is Anticipated! [webzine weiv] 

Now, it’s common for members of idol groups to debut as a solo singer after their groups’ career has been built up. It’s natural for idol members to balance their solo career with their group career even if the group is still active, or still promoting. These kinds of opportunities provide the members with a new kind of musical motivation, and with also a chance to show a new side of themselves to the public, one that they might have not been able to express as a member of an idol group.  

So, today, this article is going to be about four idol group members whose solo debut is being looked forward to, members who have the potential to show a different charm compared to the performance that their group takes on. Will we be able to see these idols’ solo debuts within this year?

Written by | lacelet (Editor-in-chief of webzine weiv)

# Continuing the tradition of SM Vocalists / Red Velvet WENDY

Like how SNSD has Taeyeon and f(x) has Luna, Red Velvet has Wendy. Like any other idol group, SM has a tendency to push the member that serves as the vocal core of a group musically. Likewise, Wendy has also followed that path, by releasing a solo song within Red Velvet’s album (Last Love), and also collaborating with various artists such as Eric Nam, Kangta, and Baek A-Yeon through the SM STATION releases. Through these kinds of opportunities, Wendy has showcased her own, unique voice.