Red Velvet (Korean: 레드벨벳) is a South Korean girl group formed and managed by SM Entertainment. They originally debuted on August 1, 2014, with the single "Happiness" with the four-member line-up of Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, and Joy. A fifth member, Yeri, joined in March 2015, following the release of their first extended play, the chart-topping Ice Cream Cake. Sonically, the music of Red Velvet reflects their group name: their predominantly-pop "red" side experiments occasionally with electronic and funk, while their "velvet" side focuses on '90s-influenced R&B with elements of ballad and hip hop.

Red Velvet's Korean-language discography includes three studio albums, one reissue album, one compilation album, and thirteen extended plays—all of which have topped the South Korean Circle Album Chart. Their singles "Red Flavor" and "Power Up" were number one hits on the Gaon Digital Chart, whilst "Dumb Dumb", "Russian Roulette", "Rookie", "Peek-a-Boo", "Bad Boy", "Psycho", and "Feel My Rhythm" all reached the top three. The group also ventured into the Japanese music scene with the extended plays #Cookie Jar (2018) and Sappy (2019) as well as the studio album Bloom (2022).

Red Velvet have received numerous accolades, most notably the Golden Disc New Artist Award in 2015, the Mnet Asian Music Award for Best Female Group in 2017, the Korean Music Award for Best Pop Song in 2018, and the Asia Artist Award for Song of the Year in 2019. Their wide domestic influence has been recognized by Forbes Korea Power Celebrity (placing 11th in 2018 and fifth in 2019); internationally, they were named one of the most popular K-pop groups by Time and Billboard, and the fifth most streamed K-pop artist worldwide on Spotify in February 2020.

Red Velvet began forming in 2007, when Seulgi was cast as a trainee by SM Entertainment via audition. Irene was cast in 2009, and Yeri in 2011. In 2012, Wendy and Joy were cast through the SM Global Auditions in Canada and Seoul, respectively. Preparations for Red Velvet's debut began in late 2013, with the introduction of Irene and Seulgi in December 2013 and Wendy in March 2014 through SM Entertainment's trainee group SM Rookies. Irene and Seulgi made cameo appearances in the music videos for "1-4-3 (I Love You)" and "Fantastic", respectively, by then-labelmate Henry; Seulgi also featured in Henry's "Butterfly". In March 2014, Wendy, then credited as a member of SR14G, was introduced through the release of "Because I Love You", her first solo soundtrack for the Mnet drama Mimi. Rumors of a group debut gained traction in July, which were subsequently confirmed by SM Entertainment. With the addition of member Joy, the quartet went on to debut in 2014 as SM Entertainment's first girl group in five years and first idol group since 2012.

Red Velvet made their official performance debut on August 1, 2014, on the program Music Bank. Their first single, "Happiness", was released digitally on August 4. It is an urban Europop song with "strong synth sound" and "African tribal beat",^{[better source needed]} penned by Yoo Young-jin and composed by Will Simms, Chad Hugo (The Neptunes), Chris Holsten, and Anne Judith Wik (Dsign Music). The original music video for "Happiness" gained more than two million views on YouTube in its first 24 hours of release before being removed due to controversy over problematic background images and replaced with an edited version. "Happiness" was the second-most viewed K-pop music video worldwide in August 2014. Red Velvet became the first K-pop girl group to chart a debut single on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart, where it peaked at number four. The group released their second digital single "Be Natural" on October 13, 2014. The song, which includes a rap verse from then-SR14B member Taeyong, was a remake of the 2000 single of the same name by S.E.S., SM Entertainment's first girl group. The music video for the song was directed by Kwon Soon-wook and Shim Jae-won, choreographed by Kyle Hanagami, and featured original choreography seen in a pre-debut SM Rookies teaser of Irene and Seulgi. The group began promoting the release on October 9, making their first appearance on M Countdown. The song peaked at number 33 on the Gaon Digital Chart and at number six on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart. Red Velvet won Rookie of The Year at the Golden Disk Awards and Seoul Music Awards.

Following news reported that the group was filming in a desert just outside of Palmdale, California, in February 2015, SM Entertainment announced that former SM Rookies member Yeri would officially join the group on March 11, 2015. Yeri had been one of the remaining SM Rookies female trainees to appear in the group's music video for "Happiness" and was first introduced to the public through a Rookie Station video and a group performance on SM Town Live World Tour IV. Preceded by the release of "Automatic", the group's first extended play (EP), Ice Cream Cake, was released on March 17, 2015, to critical and commercial success. The EP's second single, "Ice Cream Cake", marked their commercial breakthrough. On March 19, the group held an album showcase on Ice Cream TV, a program streamed through Naver Music and hosted by Shinee's Minho. On March 27, they won their first music show trophy on KBS' Music Bank, and the EP became the best-selling album by a girl group in South Korea in the first half of 2015 on the Hanteo Chart. In August 2015, Red Velvet held their first US performance during the annual KCON convention and music festival in Los Angeles, California.

The group released their first studio album, The Red, on September 9, 2015, also to critical and commercial success. Billboard's Jeff Benjamin praised The Red "an impressive, solid debut album", stating that it "indicates big things for the act that needs to follow in the footsteps of their beloved female label mates Girls' Generation and f(x)". The album debuted at number one on the Billboard World Albums Chart and South Korea's Gaon Album Chart, and appeared on Billboard's list of the "10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2015". Lead single "Dumb Dumb" peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and number three on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart, topping the list of the "Top 20 K-pop Tracks of 2015" by Dazed. The music video for "Dumb Dumb" was the only non-English language entry in Rolling Stone's "10 Best Music Videos of 2015". Red Velvet went on to take part in the SM Entertainment's special Christmas project, Winter Garden, releasing a digital single titled "Wish Tree" on December 18, 2015.

Red Velvet's second EP The Velvet was intended to be released on March 16, 2016; however, SM Entertainment announced that the music video and album's release would be delayed "to guarantee a high quality of work". The EP and its lead single "One of These Nights" (7월 7일) was released on March 17. The Velvet showcased the smooth R&B-influenced "velvet" side of the group's concept as a direct follow-up to The Red, which highlighted the group's bright and bold "red" persona. On May 2, Red Velvet released the soundtrack Yossism for the children's animation series Telemonster. The group released their third EP, Russian Roulette, on September 7, 2016. It consists of seven tracks, including the lead single of the same name. On September 13, 2016, Red Velvet won their first music show trophy for "Russian Roulette" on The Show. The song peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and Billboard's World Digital Songs chart, making it their highest rankings on both charts at the time.