Statements from Red Velvet members continue to fuel netizens’ frustration
June 24 was supposed to be a memorable day not only for Red Velvet but also for their fan community as the SM girl group officially released their 10th anniversary album, COSMIC. However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, this comeback was poorly handled by the management company, to say the least, considering Red Velvet’s status.
According to the schedule, the COSMIC album and MV were set to be released at 6 PM (KST), but while all the songs were already available on digital platforms, the MV was nowhere to be seen. After making fans wait for a long time, an SM representative finally announced that the MV release was delayed for further editing and was released 45 minutes later.
Previously, SM’s half-hearted approach to this Red Velvet album was also criticized: the announcement for the comeback was made at the end of the month, giving fans little time to pre-order the album; the album cover was poorly designed; and there was no special edition this time, unlike previous releases.
SM announces something about the top girl group’s comeback, fans are outraged and can’t sympathize!
Not only fans were disappointed, but Red Velvet members also had to voice their frustrations with SM’s approach. First, there was Joy, known for her smiley eyes.
Before SM announced Red Velvet’s June comeback, Joy expressed: “If you search for ‘Stars returning in June,’ many groups will appear, right? Some of them are from SM too, but why is there no information about our group? Is this a secret? Or did they forget to announce it? Or maybe they can’t? Or will they announce it next week?” Joy herself wondered why SM did not announce their comeback at the beginning of June.
Furthermore, when the album was released, and the MV was delayed, the idol continued to express disappointment. She shared that she and the group put a lot of effort into this 10th-anniversary album and hoped fans would listen to it a lot. However, Joy couldn’t hide her frustration: “They didn’t listen to our opinions but just told everyone to wait, and in the end, they released the MV without any edits.”
Not only Joy, but the youngest member, Yeri, also questioned SM’s approach, especially regarding the album cover: “I just want to share good feelings with fans, but I’m still sad about many aspects…” The members’ comments were the last straw; they couldn’t believe that a top Gen 3 girl group would be treated unfairly, especially with a special 10th-anniversary album.
