Billboard The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s: Staff List
https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/list/8544710/best-k-pop-songs-2010s-top-100
27. Red Velvet, “Bad Boy” (The Perfect Red Velvet, 2018)
While Red Velvet had played with the idea of something darker in the occultish extravaganza of “Peek-a-Boo,” their complete surrender to the darkness in “Bad Boy” had us reaching for Holy Water. Counted as their most daring release, the sultry, sensual, and tantalizing “Bad Boy” is the perfect representation of their mature “velvet” persona. Most remarkable, however, is how tactile the sonic and visual layering of the song is -- touching on the softness of each member before swelling into a sweeping chorus of harmonies. It speaks to the underlying emotion of donning your armor for a boy who’s obviously bad news. The Perfect Red Velvet, indeed. -- L.S.
2. Red Velvet, “Red Flavor” (The Red Summer, 2017)
The best pop songs can take a basic human emotion and make it the biggest, most extraordinary thing in the world -- despite such familiarity, certain feelings can be rendered anew through precise distillation and amplification. It’s the reason “Red Flavor” was such an undeniable hit since day one and remains ever-beloved by fans worldwide -- it overflows with an exuberance that’s palpable from the very first second.
Red Velvet have one of the most impressive and wide-ranging discographies of any K-pop group ever. From the sophisticated R&B throwback “Automatic” to the frenetic Shibuya-kei-indebted “Russian Roulette,” the ornate balladry of “One of These Nights” to the brass-and-rap hypnotism of “Dumb Dumb,” they could never be pinned down by their self-imposed “Red” and “Velvet” concepts. “Red Flavor” is most akin to the dubstep cheerleader romp of “Ice Cream Cake” -- itself a symbolic baton pass from f(x) to Red Velvet as the best idol group alive -- but packages its kitchen-sink extravagance into an easily digestible form.
Most importantly, the song’s evocations of a bright summer romance are felt in every flourish and quirk. There’s swirling chimes and girlish sighs, chipper woodblocks and resounding horn stabs, drumline percussion and flagellating vocal samples -- production and songwriting duo Caesar & Loui brought everything to the table, because a lover can change everything about your outlook on life. Beyond the bricolage, “Red Flavor” features moments of sweet repose that lead to a final, heartfelt confession that the “summer flavor” they adore so much is “you.” In three short minutes, Red Velvet make tangible the most ineffable of things: love. -- J.M.K.
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