Umpah Umpah
Red Velvet's summer single with swimming-themed lyrics.
"Umpah Umpah" is a song by South Korean girl group Red Velvet, released on August 20, 2019, as the lead single from their EP The ReVe Festival: Day 2. The track, written by Jeon Gan-di and composed by Christoffer Lauridsen, Andreas Öberg, and Allison Kaplan, is an uptempo dance song with disco house rhythms. It peaked at number 18 on the Gaon Digital Chart and became the group's second number-one on the Billboard K-pop Hot 100.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- Red Velvet
- Language
- Korean
- Released
- August 20, 2019
- Recorded
- 2019
- Studio
- SM Studio Center
- Seoul
- South Korea
- Genre
- Nu-disco, electropop
- Length
- 3:40
- Label
- SM; Dreamus
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- The song debuted at number nine on the US World Digital Song Sales chart, extending Red Velvet's consecutive top-10 string to 15 entries.
- Red Velvet performed "Umpah Umpah" at the 2019 Asia Artist Awards in Hanoi, Vietnam, marking their first award-show performance of the single.
- The song was ranked at number 185 on the year-end Gaon Digital Chart for 2019.
Background and release
After The ReVe Festival: Day 1 was released on June 19, 2019, fans found hints for the next installment through clue tickets in the album package, one mentioning "Umpah Umpah". Following the group's five-year anniversary in early August 2019, reports of a speedy comeback were confirmed by their label that same day. On August 12, an introduction video for The ReVe Festival: Day 2 included a snippet of the then-unknown title track. The music video was released on August 20 at midnight KST, 18 hours before the EP's digital release.
Composition
"Umpah Umpah" was composed by Jeon Gan-di, with production by Andreas Öberg, Christoffer Lauridsen, and Allison Kaplan; Öberg had previously produced the group's "One of These Nights" and "Sappy". The song is in G major at 120 beats per minute, and is Red Velvet's seventh single under the "Red" sonic concept and their third summer-inspired single. Lyrically, it tells a love interest who fell for the girls' eyes and charms how to breathe normally, using "umpah umpah" like controlling breathing while swimming. The rap section in the second verse references past singles "Happiness", "Ice Cream Cake", "Dumb Dumb", and "Red Flavor".
Critical reception
Music critics gave "Umpah Umpah" positive reviews. Kirsten Spruch of Billboard called it "outlandish" and praised its explosive chorus and infectious melodies. The Korea Times described it as a bright, energizing disco number with electric rhythms and summer imagery. Gallup Korea ranked it number eight on their Best Songs of 2019 list, and SBS PopAsia placed it at number 47 on their Top 100 Asian Pop Songs, calling it an "onomatopoeic earworm".
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