Show Review: Red Velvet showcases red and velvet duality in Singapore show

Red Velvet 4th Concert: R to V in Singapore
The Star Theatre
21 April 2023

After a five-year wait, K-pop girl band Red Velvet is back at Singapore’s The Star Theatre, playing to a sell-out crowd of more than 4000 fans.

They last performed at the same venue for their second concert tour Redmare in 2018.

The concert crowd saw a good mix of ladies and fanboys – some of whom are long standing fans of Red Velvet. The others have recently found a liking for the quintet and this show marked their first concert.

Regardless, their concert, titled R to V, which stands for Red to Velvet, served as a comprehensive introduction to the duality of the quintet.

Here are four highlights from their 2½-hour set, at their first overseas stop out of South Korea.

1. From red to velvet, they served it all

Like the title of their show suggests, Red Velvet served up both red and velvet. The red aspect is usually accompanied by louder colours and is generally more upbeat and vibrant. 

We see this concept shine through in tracks like Red Flavour (2017), On A Ride (2022) and Ice Cream Cake (2015).

On the flip side, the group morphed into a more sophisticated and mature outfit. Some tracks that fall into that category include Bad Boy (2018), Peek-A-Boo (2018) and Pyscho (2019).

“Red Velvet is a group that can pull off different concepts,” said vocalist Wendy. She explained that the concert title was chosen in such a way to encapsulate everything the group is capable of.

“We want to perform as many songs as we want,” she added in fluent English.

2. Theatrical, whimsical and at times funky performances

Sitting at Red Velvet’s concert got me wondering if I am really at a concert. No doubt, they are performing their hits one after another live without much pause.

But at times, watching the girls felt more like a whimsical theatrical play.

They first opened the set with Feel My Rhythm (2022) and Bamboleo (2022) , with full pink ballerina-like dresses. They were probably just missing a tiara to complete the look.

It’s also worth noting that the Singapore leg of the tour was held on a smaller scale as compared to their Seoul show.

The girls came on stage straight out of a music box in their two-day Seoul concert. So it was a pity that I couldn’t witness that in the flesh in the watered-down version of the concert in Singapore.

3. An unlikely repeat of history

Back in 2018, member Joy had to leave the show midway due to a shoulder injury to receive treatment. And history has repeated itself again this time around.

When there were only four members on stage near the end of the show for I Just (2017), members in the audience were visibly confused.

Joy was not feeling well today so she couldn't complete the full performance in the Singapore show tonight. But she still performed great whilst she was on stage! Get well soon Joy❤️#RedVelvet #RtoV #RtoVinSG #RedVelvet4thConcert_RtoV #Joy pic.twitter.com/F2LDVRMBy4

— ヒロ (Hiro) (@Ochiai_H) April 21, 2023

To quell fans’ worries, member Wendy light-heartedly said: “She’s not feeling well, she worked out too much I guess”.

“She’s not going to be on stage for the rest of the concert”, she added. The 29 year-old vocalist offered a brief explanation, but did not reveal too much about what exactly happened.

It did seem a tad bit awkward that there was a deliberate space left out for Joy in some dance routines. 

But props to the four members for pulling it off and soldering strong despite her absence.