"Zoo" is a song recorded by

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n girl group Red Velvet for their first special extended play (EP) ''The Red Summer'' (2017). It was written by Lee Seu-ran of Jam Factory, while the production was handled by

Courtney Woolsey Courtney is a name of Old French origin, introduced into England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It has two quite distinct interpretations: firstly, the surname may be locational, from places called Courtenay in the regions of Loiret and Gât ...

, Alice Penrose and production team

LDN Noise LDN Noise (pronounced ''London Noise'') is a British songwriting and record production duo based in London, England. Consisting of songwriter Greg Bonnick and DJ Hayden Chapman, the duo has worked with artists such as Nathan Sykes, Nick Jonas ...

. The tropical house-influenced song has since become a stand-out track and received favorably reviews from music critics, citing it as a "gleeful and audacious pop moment". Following the digital success of the parental extended play, "Zoo" achieved a peak at number 24 on Gaon Digital Chart.

Background and composition

Following the release of Red Velvet's fourth extended play ''Rookie'' in February, SM Entertainment confirmed through news outlet on June 23, 2017, that the girls would be releasing their first summer release and had recently finished filming a music video. After revealing both the group's image and video teasers, the song was released digitally with its parent album on July 9, 2017, and physically on July 10, 2017. "Zoo" is a tropical-influenced song which was composed in the key of C# major, 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 109 BPM. The song has been described as "playful and rhythmic", while incorporating animal sounds and member

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 roots, but is ...

's imitation of

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

's battle cry throughout the track. It also marked the first

production work for an S.M. artist in 2017 and the second time they work with Red Velvet, after the release of the group's first studio album ''

The Red The Red may refer to: Music * ''The Red'' (album), 2015 studio album by Red Velvet * ''The Red'' (EP), by William Control * ''The Red'', EP by Kaylee Bell * "The Red" (song), by Chevelle * "The Red", song from ''Champion Sound'' by Jaylib Other ...

'' (2015).

Reception

The song received positive reviews from critics following its digital release, with Lee Gi-seon of ''IZM'' magazine chose the track as one of the EP's highlights. Chase McMullen of ''The 405'' website praised the song, calling it "one of the most gleeful and audacious pop moments". Chester Chin from ''Star2'' reacted positively to the song. citing it and follow album track "Mojito" as examples for "extend the feel-good dance floor vibe". Due to the digital success of ''The Red Summer'', all five tracks from the EP charted within the top forty of Gaon Digital Chart for the week from July 9 to July 15, 2017, with "Zoo" debuted and peaked at number 24 on the aforementioned chart, while additionally charted at number 12 on the Gaon Download Chart. It also debuted at number 30 on the re-established '' Billboard K-Pop Hot 100'' for the week of July 17, and peaked at number 96 on the July issue of the monthly Gaon Digital Chart.

Live performance

The song was first performed at Red Velvet's first concert "''Red Room''" in August, 2017.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''The Red Summer''. Studio * Recorded at doobdoob Studio * Edited at Big Shot Studio * Mixed at SM Yellow Tail Studio Personnel * 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 ...

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 ...

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 * Lee Seu-ran – Korean lyrics *

– original writer, arrangement *

– original writer, background vocals * Alice Penrose – original writer * Kenzie – vocal director * Ahn Chang-kyu – recording * Lee Min-kyu – digital editing * Koo Jong-pil (Beat Burger) – mixing

Charts

Weekly chart

Monthly chart

Release history

References

{{Red Velvet 2017 songs Korean-language songs Red Velvet (group) songs SM Entertainment singles Songs written by Hayden Chapman Songs written by Greg Bonnick Song recordings produced by LDN Noise