"Milky Way" is a song recorded by South Korean singer

BoA Kwon Bo-ah (; born November 5, 1986), known professionally as BoA, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer and actress. One of the most successful and influential Korean entertainers, she has been dubbed the " Queen of K- ...

from her third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

Atlantis Princess ''Atlantis Princess'' is the third Korean-language studio album by South Korean singer BoA, released on May 30, 2003 by SM Entertainment. Several singles were promoted off the album, including the promotional single "Lights of Seoul", "Atlantis ...

''. The song was composed, written, and arranged by

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...

songwriter Kenzie.

Release history

Red Velvet version

"Milky Way" is a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

song recorded by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. It was originally recorded and released by soloist

on her 2003 Korean single "

Double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

". Re-released and recorded by the group and released as their sixth

digital single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

on August 21, 2020, it marks the first release as a group in 2020, with member

Wendy Wendy is a given name now generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain, Wendy appeared as a masculine name in a parish record in 1615. It was also used as a surname in Britain from at least the 17th century. Its popularity ...

, who was hospitalized after a stage accident. The song is a part of their

SM Station SM Station is a digital music project by South Korean record label SM Entertainment. It undertook to release one digital single every Friday starting from February 3, 2016. The project's first season ended on February 3, 2017, with 52 songs. Its ...

project, in celebration of BoA's 20th anniversary of her debut.

Background and composition

On August 19, 2020, SM Entertainment announced that Red Velvet would be the fourth runner for

'Our Beloved BoA'. "Milky Way" was originally recorded and released by

in 2003 from her third Korean studio album ''

''. In addition, Wendy, who had a hiatus from group activities due to injury, participated in the song for the first time in about eight months. Musically, "Milky Way" is described as a combination of "colorful acappella and jazz scat with harmonious vocals". The song is composed in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

A♭ Major A-flat major (or the key of A-flat) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has four flats. The A-flat major scale is: : Its relative minor is F minor. Its parallel minor, A-flat minor, ...

with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 98 beat-per-minute. The song was produced and written by Kenzie, who worked on the original song, and arranged the song himself to recreate it into a "fresh jazz pop" song. Lyrically, the song tells a story of unfolding a "dark night" with someone just like a "milky way".

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". The ...

. * Red Velvet (

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United Stat ...

Seulgi Seul-ki, also spelled Seul-gi or Sul-ki, is a Korean unisex given name, predominantly feminine. It was the 8th-most popular name for baby girls born in South Korea in 1990. Unlike most Korean names, it does not have any Sino-Korean vocabulary, Sin ...

Joy The word joy refers to the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune, and is typically associated with feelings of intense, long lasting happiness. Dictionary definitions Dictionary definitions of joy typically include a sense of ...

Yeri Yeri may refer to: * Yeri, Cyprus * Yeri, Tajikistan *Yeri (singer) (born Kim Ye-rim, 1999), South Korean female singer, member of Red Velvet. *Yery Yeru or Eru (Ы ы; italics: ), usually called Y in modern Russian or Yery or Ery historic ...

) – vocals, background vocals * Kenzie – background vocals * Choi Hoon – bass * Hong Joon-ho – guitar * Song Young-joo – piano * No Min-ji (SM Yellow Tail Studio) – recording engineer * Lee Chang-sun (prelude studio) – recording engineer * Jung Yu-ra – digital editing * Kang Eun-ji (SM SSAM Studio) – mixing engineer * Kim Chul-soon (SM Blue Ocean Studio) – mixing engineer * Kwon Nam-woo (821 Sound Mastering) – mastering

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

{{Red Velvet 2003 singles 2003 songs 2020 singles 2020 songs Korean-language songs Japanese-language songs SM Entertainment singles Songs written by Kenzie (songwriter)