The K-pop girl group Red Velvet returned yesterday with Chill Kill, their third studio album and first since 2017. The quintet is known for exploring the two different sides of its collective personality—the “red” representing brightness and strength, the “velvet” denoting darker, more grown-up concerns—and something like that duality seems to be driving the new LP’s title track, which quickly shot into the Top 10 of the Genius Top Songs chart.
Written by Ellen Berg, Jontan Gusmark, Kenzie, Ludvig Evers, and Moa “Cazzi Opeia” Carlebecker, “Chill Kill” is a sparse and chilly pop song that eventually hits listeners with a giant exhale of a chorus.
“The term ‘Chill Kill’ refers to a situation or a person that disrupts the silence,” Red Velvet member Joy said in a statement. “The song is about missing ‘Chill Kill’ even though it changed one’s world. It also sings about wanting hope. The duality presented in the song is something that listeners should pay attention to.”
The opening lines of the first verse, sung almost entirely in Korean, find Joy and Irene (lyrics in italics) reflecting on how Chill Kill—seemingly a person—crashes into their world and wrecks their brains. But maybe in a good way?
어디서 왔니 홀연히
고요했던 세상의 crash
Chill kill의 등장 마치 thunder
그 짜릿함에 미쳤어
On the pre-chorus, Wendy and Irene (italics) insist they want to see Chill Kill again, regardless of the pain it may cause.
다시 네가 보고 싶어
죽도록 후회하잖아
Yeah, don’t care if it hu-hu-hurts
On the chorus, as the music turns suddenly uplifting, Seulgi and Irene (italics) decide to stop thinking about tomorrow and enjoy the moment. Chill Kill still has a “sparkle” that justifies this relationship—at least temporarily.
(Hey) Don’t think about tomorrow
(Yoo-hoo) 넌 여전히 반짝여
변할 거야 이제서야
눈물이 흘러 얼음을 녹여
At the close of the second verse, Joy sings about how Chill Kill keeps running away and screaming, “I hate you.” But they never finish saying it because they lock eyes with her once again.
넌 자꾸 멀리멀리 도망치며
미워한다고 외쳐
그 말의 끝에 망설였잖아
눈을 맞춰줬잖아 (Don’t run away)
The bridge takes on a more hopeful tone, as Wendy swears she won’t cry because of this person. She only ever laughed because of them. “Yeah, it’s love,” she says.
너 때문에 (너 때문에)
울지 않아, ah, ah, ah
너 때문에 (너 때문에)
웃을 수밖에 없던 거야 (Up in the sky)
Yeah, it’s love
“Chill Kill” comes with a cinematic music video in which the ladies of Red Velvet dance and sing in a house where some kind of murder has gone down. They later achieve closure by torching the place.
“The music video centers around five sisters who are trapped in a tragedy,” Joy said. “It focuses on the process of how the five sisters overcome their tragedies and grow through the process.”
You can read all the lyrics to “Chill Kill”—and to its English translation—on Genius now.
