"Happiness" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. Composed by songwriterYoo Young-jin, Anne Judith Wik, Chris Holsten with production from Chad Hugo and Will Simms, the song was released digitally by SM Entertainment on August 4, 2014 as their debut single in South Korea. It also marked the group's first release under the "Red" concept and their first as a quartet, introducing the four members Irene, Seulgi, Wendy and Joy to the South Korean public. Upon its release, the song became one of the group's most well-known songs and played a part as the group's introduction in most interviewing and greeting occasions. It also charted moderately in its home country, becoming the group's first top five entry on both the Gaon Digital Chart and Billboard'sWorld Digital Songs chart.
Background
Through SM Entertainment's trainee group SM Rookies, member Irene and Seulgi were introduced initially to the public in 2013, and member Wendy in 2014. Rumors have since sparked out that the three members were to debut as a group in July 2014, which was then confirmed by SM Entertainment. A music video teaser for the song was then uploaded on July 28, 2014, including the three aforementioned members and new member Joy, whom would debut together as Red Velvet. The official music video for "Happiness" was then released on August 3, 2014. The then-quarter girl group was SM Entertainment's first girl group since f in 2009, and the label's first idol group since the introduction of EXO in 2012.
Composition
Musically, "Happiness" is described as a vibrant urban Euro-pop song with fusion of "an intense synth sound" and elements from African music beat, representing the group's "Red" sound. The song was produced by Will Simms and Chad Hugo, with the latter being known as one half of American production duo The Neptunes, composed in the key of B♭ minor with a tempo of 121 beat-per-minute. Lyrically, the song was written by songwriter Anne Judith Wik and Chris Holsten, with Korean lyrical adaption by SM songwriter and producer Yoo Young-jin, conveyed a message that how you can feel empowered and love yourself more by appreciating the small joys in life.
Music video and promotion
The music video for "Happiness" was released on August 3, 2014, one day before the official digital release on all South Korean digital streaming platforms. Directed by Woogie Kim, the music video is filled with fantastic color schemes, diverse footage and animated scenes, exciting and energetic dance routine consisting of reggae steps and rhythmic movements. The beginning of the music video also featured a few of then-SM trainees including Kim Ye-rim, whom would join the group shortly after. The video was initially released on August 1 but then re-released due to the controversial imagery concerning the Japan bombing. The original music video for "Happiness" originally had more than 2 million views on YouTube in its first 24 hours before being removed and replaced with an edited version, which became the second-most viewed K-pop music video worldwide for the month of August 2014. As of April 2020, the music video has accumulated over 92 million views.
Live performances
Red Velvet started the promotion for "Happiness" first on Music Bank, making it their debut stage. They also performed on several music programs in South Korea including The Show, Show Champion, Show! Music Core, Inkigayo, and M Countdown.
Critical reception
Jacques Petersen of Popdust called the track "mish-mash of different sounds and styles that you wouldn't expect to work, but somehow does."
Commercial performance
On the week of August 3, 2014, "Happiness" debuted and peaked at number five on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart, marking their first top-five entry on the chart. It also debuted at number three and number twenty-two on Gaon Download Chart and Gaon Streaming Chart, respectively. The single has since sold 433,336 downloads as of 2014. In addition, the song debuted at number four on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales Chart, making Red Velvet the first K-pop girl group to send their debut single to the Billboard charts, and has since sold 15,000 copies in the United States.
