Russian Roulette by Red Velvet is a pop ballad that was released on November 3, 2017. The song was written by Kim Chung-hyun, and produced by the group’s leader, SM Entertainment.
The song is about the protagonist’s love for someone who is forbidden to be with them. The protagonist goes against society’s expectations and risks everything for their love.
The song lyrically explores the fear of losing someone and the fear of dying.
The song was well-received by music critics. They praised the group’s vocal abilities and composition.
Some reviewers also noted the song’s similarity to other SM Entertainment projects, such as “I Love You” by EXO and “Heart Attack” by BTS.
The song peaked at number one on many music charts, including the South Korean Gaon Chart, Billboard Korea, and World Wide Web Song Chart. It became the group’s first number one single in both Korea and China.
It also reached the top five in countries such as Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia. Russian Roulette has been certified platinum by the Korean Recording Industry Association (Korea) for selling over 600,000 copies in South Korea.
In December 2017, Red Velvet released their second Japanese single, “Bad Boy”. The single featured Japanese versions of two songs from their debut album—”Red Flavor” and “Russian Roulette”.
“Bad Boy” peaked at number two on the Oricon Singles Chart and has since been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).
