Red Velvet’s bittersweet first concert in Singapore

Things took a shocking and emotional turn almost halfway through South Korean girl group Red Velvet’s REDMARE concert in Singapore last night, when member Joy suddenly emerged on stage with her right arm in a sling.

Then, in a heart-breaking sight, the visibly upset 22-year-old tearfully told the audience that she had experienced a sudden pain in her shoulder in the middle of one of their performances.

“I really wanted to perform today, but I heard that I have to go to the hospital,” she said, before apologising with a bow. “I was really looking forward to meeting our Singapore fans, so I’m really sorry I got hurt.” Fans responded encouragingly by chanting “it’s okay” in Korean, and after Joy left, the show went on with the remaining four members.

Near the end of the three-hour showcase, Seulgi shared that Joy had arrived safely at the hospital, and urged fans not to worry about her. “I’m sad we couldn’t show a perfect stage because of this unexpected accident, but thanks to all the energy and excitement you gave us, we could finish the concert really well; you guys are the best!” she gushed. “We’ll take whatever happened today as experience and come back as an even stronger Red Velvet.”

“I’m really sad, Joy is sad, we are all sad, but when we were singing ‘Red Flavor’ just now, I could hear you singing along with us, so I turned off my earpiece and danced along to your singing,” smiled Irene, drawing cheers from the crowd. “You’re the only reason we could finish that performance so well.”

After thanking fans for their “precious time” together, Wendy declared that the next time Red Velvet return to our sunny shores, it will be the five of them again - including Joy. “I promise you we will come back and do another concert here,” she said.

Concert organisers ONE Production later released a statement regarding Joy's injury, sharing that doctors have diagnosed that her pain was caused by sudden pressure on the muscle. They also assured everyone that "Joy is in good condition, and has returned to Korea as scheduled".

#GetWellSoonJoy!

​Although Red Velvet have been to our little red dot several times (their last visit was in November last year), REDMARE marks their very first full-fledged concert in Singapore, and also the first opportunity for ReVeluv (the official fandom name) to use the quintet’s official light stick, which was just released a few months ago.

It certainly did not escape the attention of the group, who shared that their nickname for the device is “Kim Nam Bong”, which is short for “kimchi dumpling light stick” in Korean, thanks to its shape. “It’s such a cute name right? But you guys are cuter!” Awww, these girls are as sugary sweet as their name, concept and songs.

That said, cheerful and candy-coated displays like ‘Russian Roulette’, ‘Ice Cream Cake’ and latest single ‘Power Up’ weren’t all they had to offer: they slowed things down with ballad ‘Moonlight Melody’, and showed off smoother, more sensual choreography on numbers such as ‘Bad Boy’ and ‘Look’.

There was even an utterly terrifying pre-recorded video showing the girls making their way through a haunted house, complete with bloodied walls, corpses and other creepy details. “I was scared!” Yeri later admitted when they addressed the clip. Seulgi, on the other hand, thought “it was fun”. “That was the first time we were in such a scary atmospheric place together,” she explained.

Well, we guess if we had to venture through a horror park, it might not be so bad if we had Red Velvet by our side. Just sayin’.