Red Velvet’s 3rd album Chill Kill, released on November 13, 2023, consists of 10 songs, Knock Knock (Who’s There?), Underwater, Will I Ever See You Again?, Nightmare, Iced Coffee, One Kiss Bulldozer, Wings, Scenery and Chill Kill. Their title track, Chill Kill provides a sense of haunting yet cheery tune, followed by its meaningful lyrics described as a blend of tragedy and hope, says Wendy, the main singer and leader of Red Velvet that’s presented in the music video.
The South Korean girl group Red Velvet from SM Entertainment has released banger songs since the beginning, claiming the title as the Queen of Concepts due to the fact each release perfectly demonstrates a wide range of concepts. Debuting in 2014, with their release, Happiness with the four-member-line-up, Wendy, Irene, Seulgi, Joy, and Yeri started their career beautifully. Their name purposefully underlines their broad ideals; “Red” represents their upbeat, poppy side, and “Velvet” represents their slower, soulful sounds. Recognized in the West, they voiced the K-pop trolls in Trolls World Tour, their choreography from Russian Roulette became a TikTok trend in 2021 as well as their B-side Day 1 from their 1st album, The Red.
Chill Kill refers to a person or incident that suddenly breaks the silence, a phrase describing something that completely changes the course of what is interrupting. In this case, the Chill Kill is the person whose love changes their life. In the lyrics, Red Velvet misses the Chill Kill that broke their routine, and although their love is toxic, they wait for this person to come back so they can have their happy ending. According to Joy, the lead rapper and sub-vocalist, the story is about five sisters who are trapped in a tragedy and once the Chill Kill breaks the silence, it forces them to face the reality they’ve lived in for so long, and overcome their trauma and grow.
In the beginning of the music video, the video opens with five sisters in a photograph and a man whose face has been blackened out. As the girls get ready to perform to an empty chair, the picture cuts, excluding the man by the head, suggesting he has been taken out of their lives. In the story, the girls are trapped in a basement where they celebrate Yeri’s birthday quietly with a fake cake, indicating this is kept a secret. Thunder strikes and the girls are still. They know their capture is home and are scared they may be discovered. While the others freeze in fear, Wendy quietly opens the door. Yeri tries to stop her but it seems she’s had enough of isolated treatment. As she exits the basement, the girls listen carefully through the door and after a while join Wendy upstairs where they see her holding a bloodied rock and blood gently splattered on her face. Thus foreshadowing the Chill Kill with the picture. Joy screams in horror at the realization but after a while of recovering from the shock, the girls get rid of the body. Joy seemed to be the most affected out of the five, possibly developing Stockholm Syndrome. As she attempts to hide the murder weapon, Seulgi catches her at the door, starting a confrontation where Joy breaks down as Seulgi manages to keep it together. In the corridor, Wendy has difficulty dealing with what she’s done because although she saved her sisters, she also destroyed the reality they are so familiar with. Transitioning to Yeri, we see her watching television in the basement and although she’s free to wander around, she decides to stick with what she knows. When Irene brings her dinner, she switches off the TV in an attempt to make her get out but Yeri snaps, angry at Irene for forcing her to acknowledge changes caused by the Chill Kill, and because Irene understands, she hugs Yeri instead. In many respects, the story is a tragedy with many layers. It’s an abuse that the sisters had to endure due to the men. It caused Wendy to save her sisters, but also without him, the girls are still not free. They only know the reality provided by the man and without them, they still aren’t free.
Over the next few days, the girls regain happiness by dancing together. Take note, in the beginning, the girls danced for an empty chair. This suggests they used to dance for the man and are attempting to hold onto the life they once knew. The dark undertones reveal that his presence still looms over them, thus his face blackened out. Thus the lyrics:
“But I wanna see you again
Regretting so bad I could die
Yeah, don’t care if it hur-hur-hurts
Perfect soul looks perfect on you
Could I make you stay one more time?”
Time passed and on November 13, the girls made their way back to the house where they finally let go of the trauma. As night approaches, they dress up and retrieve their belongings where the house ignites brightly. The girls flee the scene and finally enjoy their freedom in the woods. However, when they get to the road, they’re surrounded by the police. Understanding that they’re about to lose their freedom again, they perform one last time; Dancing together was their happy place through the dark times and their final time. In the final shot is a recording of them frozen in a moment of happiness, the girls were each other’s happy endings. In their tragic life, they found peace in the company of each other, cheerfulness in their dance, and comfort. Burning the house allowed them to set the Chill Kill free and move on.
Many view this as one of the worst comebacks along with Birthday. I asked Hazel, a close friend, how he liked this album compared to the others they’ve released, and she said, “I love their music but this one is very catchy. I love how the music video is always entertaining and love the storylines they give in here.” She also says “ I didn’t expect much because I knew the song could be amazing like all the others,” when I asked her what she expected.
When I asked Hayley, another close friend, she stated, “While I do enjoy other Albus from Red Velvet more, I do enjoy listening to this album occasionally. I feel as if the other ones have more of a kick and have me hooked more than this album did; not saying any complaints besides that however,” and “I feel the vibes of this album were what I was expecting, however, the songs themselves were different when I had them visioned in my head. I thought the songs would be more intense, but they didn’t feel that intense actually listening.”
We are told the story of 5 sisters escaping the tragedy they lived in. The life they were given caused an eruption of emotions and the reality the girls had to face. Although they were physically free, their mind was occupied with the life they were given. There will always be a disturbance in our lives that changes the course of our everyday routine whether it be the death of a family member, moving out, or even getting married. Good or bad, change is change and it will affect the person in many ways. With time, you will be able to overcome these challenges and become a better version of yourself.
