''Bloom'' is the first Japanese studio album () by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. It was released on April 6, 2022, through Avex Trax. ''Bloom'' is Red Velvet's first studio album released in four years and five months after the group's second Korean studio album ''

Perfect Velvet ''Perfect Velvet'' is the second studio album by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. Released by SM Entertainment on November 17, 2017, the record incorporates R&B, soul and hip-hop with influences from future bass, trap and synth-pop, and sa ...

'' (2017).

Background and release

On December 10, 2021, it was announced that Red Velvet would be releasing their first Japanese studio album, ''Bloom''. The album will mark the girl group's first Japanese release in almost two years, following the May 2019

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) ''

Sappy "Sappy" is a song by the American rock band, Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist, Kurt Cobain. It was first released as a hidden track on the AIDS-benefit compilation album, ''No Alternative'', in October 1993. The song was released unde ...

'', which featured the singles "

" and "Sayonara". Five of ''Bloom'''s eleven tracks are new, including the lead single "Wildside". In addition to the digest video of the premium event Red Velvet ReVeluv-Baby Party held in 2019, the first production limited edition

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

will include footage of previous activities in Japan, live videos from A-Nation, and behind-the-scenes videos of the album shoot. Each member also created individualized shots with "special" designs for the release. The album was initially set to be released on February 2, 2022, but postponed due to production issues, with no new release date stated. By March 12, the group opened their official Japanese Twitter account and announced that ''Bloom'' would be released on April 6. A content schedule was also posted, indicating that the gradual release of various promotional content for the album. The lead single was released on March 28, ahead of the album itself.

Composition

The lead single, "Wildside", is a "cool" and "seductive" song "unique" to Red Velvet, and the lyrics contain a message that they will support themselves who do not give up to reach where they want to go. "Marionette" samples a xylophone signature line from the classic song, "

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

". "Jackpot" is a song described for its "exciting" atmosphere. "Snap Snap" expresses an era that relies on social media. "Color of Love" is a song described for its "charming" and "soft" melody. In addition, there are a total of 11 existing songs including "Sappy", "#Cookie Jar", "Sayonara", "Aitai-tai", "Swimming Pool", and "Cause It's You".

Commercial performance

''Bloom'' debuted at number five on Japan's weekly

Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon Albu ...

in the chart issue dated April 4–10, 2022. It also peaked at number two on the component daily Albums Chart. The album debuted at number two on ''

Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine ''Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence from ''Bi ...

'' Hot Albums in the chart issue dated April 7–13, 2022. Additionally, it also debuted at numbers 41 and two on the component Download Albums and Top Albums Sales in the chart issue dated April 7–13, 2022.

Track listing

Notes

* "Wildside" and "Sappy" are stylized in

all caps In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in ...

. * "Cause It's You" is stylized in sentence case. * "Marionette" samples a xylophone signature line from

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

's "

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

{, class="wikitable plainrowheaders" , +Release history for ''Bloom'' ! scope="col" , Region ! scope="col" , Date ! scope="col" , Format(s) ! scope="col" , Label(s) ! scope="col" , , - ! scope="row" , Various , April 6, 2022 , , {{hlist, Avex Trax , style="text-align:center" , {{Cite web , date=March 12, 2022 , title=Red Velvet Japan 1st Full Album "Bloom" will be released on April 6th (Wednesday)! !! , url=http://redvelvet-jp.net/en/news/detail.php?id=1098390 , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220312161513/https://redvelvet-jp.net/en/news/detail.php?id=1098390 , archive-date=March 12, 2022 , access-date=March 13, 2022 , website= , publisher=Red Velvet

References

{{Reflist {{Red Velvet 2022 albums Japanese-language albums Red Velvet (group) albums Avex Trax albums SM Entertainment albums