The Velvet

Background and release

While promoting their last album at a press conference on September 8, 2015, the members and the company hinted at a follow-up album to The Red, although an S.M. Entertainment representative clarified that nothing had been scheduled yet. In October 2015, Wendy confirmed on an interview that an album was "coming after The Red".

On March 2, 2016, an S.M. Entertainment representative revealed that the group had completed filming a music video for the album's title track. S.M. Entertainment began dropping teasers of the members on the group's official Instagram account on March 10 and later confirmed a March 16 release date and the title track "7월7일 (One of These Nights)". The single is described as an R&B ballad with a polished rhythm.

Delay

Ten minutes before its intended release on March 16, S.M. Entertainment announced that the music video and album's release would be delayed to March 17 "to guarantee a high quality of work". The band apologized to their disappointed fans on the March 16 broadcast of 'Good Morning FM', where they talked about their new album and its title track.

Promotions

Red Velvet held a special broadcast through the Naver app V on March 15, showing their new hairstyles for the first time as they talked about their preparations for their 'comeback'. After the announcement of their album's delay, the group appeared on the March 16 broadcast of 'Good Morning FM' to talk about the album and the title track, "7월7일 (One of These Nights)". The group also held another special broadcast on the V app hours before the album's release. Red Velvet started their promotions on music shows through M! Countdown where they performed both the title track and "Cool Hot Sweet Love".

Composition

The title track "7월7일 (One of These Nights)" is described as an R&B ballad with a polished rhythm. The song was composed by Hwang Chan-hee, Andreas Öberg & Maria Marcus and penned by Seo Ji-eum of Jam Factory, who also wrote the lyrics for "Dumb Dumb". The album includes four versions of the song; the normal version, the De-Capo version, the Joe Millionaire version and the Piano version. The song also drew inspiration from the Korean festival Chilseok, which is celebrated on the seventh the day of the seventh month ("7월7일"). The original tale tells the story of lovers Jiknyeo and Gyeonwu, who were separated by the heavenly king and only allowed to meet on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar.

The album also includes R&B tracks "Cool Hot Sweet Love" and "Light Me Up". "Rose Scent Breeze" is a ballad sung only by Wendy, Seulgi and Joy and is a remake of a 1989 song by S.M. Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man.

Music video

The music video for "7월7일 (One of These Nights)" gives off a vibe similar to the music video of their song "Automatic" with its transitions and dream-like scenes. Some members' styling appears to have been inspired by classic Disney princesses, where Irene is Snow White, Yeri is Sleeping Beauty, and Wendy with her bright red hair is Ariel. Yeri also mentioned this resemblance on the group's special V episode on Naver.

Reception and commercial performance

Billboard called the title track "the group's most expressive vocal performances to date" and The Velvet debuted at number 8 on its World Albums Chart. The Star's Chester Chin praised the album's "languorous build-up", adding that One of These Nights' "indie sensibilities" is an "assured step in the right direction" for the girl group. The album topped Gaon's Weekly Albums Chart and "7월7일 (One of These Nights)" debuted at number 10 on the Gaon Singles Chart. The other songs except the other versions of the title track also charted.

Red Velvet won their first music show trophy for the song on March 22 on The Show.