9 Of Red Velvet Joy’s Achievements That Prove 2020 Is Her Year
September 3 marks the 24th birthday of Red Velvet‘s honey-voiced lead vocalist Joy, and despite her young age, she’s already achieved so much. In honor of her special day, let’s take a look at 9 major achievements that prove 2020 is her best year yet.
1. Bonsang nomination
Without a doubt, one of Joy’s biggest achievements of 2020 is her bonsang nomination. Back in July, Joy’s Hospital Playlist OST “Introduce Me a Good Person” became eligible for a Main Prize (bonsang) at the 2020 MelOn Music Awards.
Being up for any award is always impressive, but Joy’s achievement is particularly special because it makes her the first female SM Entertainment artist to ever receive a bonsang nomination without a solo debut.
2. Highest SM solo digital ranking
Of course, it’s no surprise “Introduce Me a Good Person” could be winning an award this year. After all, it’s had unprecedented success on the Korean charts.
Reaching a peak of #4 on chart aggregator Instiz iChart, the Hospital Playlist OST soon hit the highest digital points score on GAON out of all SM Entertainment solo songs released this year. As of this week, it stands at a digital index of almost 350 million and counting.
3. Five magazine shoots
Having a solo pictorial in even one magazine is a huge accolade for any K-Pop artist—but not a big enough achievement for Joy. As of September, she’s already racked up a staggering five solo photoshoots in Korean magazines this year. In March, she appeared in an ELLE Korea pictorial for Michael Kors.
In April, she had a photoshoot for GQ Korea with a “turning point” theme.
In May, Joy graced the cover of Beauty+ magazine in collaboration with one of her endorsement brands, Espoir.
In August, she showed off her visuals and unique streaked hair in Singles magazine.
And most recently, Joy was selected as a cover model for Cosmopolitan Korea‘s 20th anniversary edition.
4. A feature with Crush
Joy has released a few collab songs in the past, but her biggest to date came this year when she featured on Crush‘s summer hit, “Mayday”.
Unsurprisingly, Crush was filled by nothing with praise for Joy’s incredible talent. In an interview with Billboard, he revealed he’s always been a ReVeluv, so he knew Joy would be perfect for the song.
First, [Joy’s] got the most beautiful voice that’s impossible to replace. Second, she’s a charmer on so many levels. Third, I just wanted to have my wish come true as her biggest fan.
— Crush
5. New York Fashion Week
Joy’s ELLE Korea shoot wasn’t the only time Joy got to work with renowned luxury brand Michael Kors this year. Before the pandemic hit full swing, Joy received one of the most prestigious invitations in the fashion world: a VIP seat at Michael Kors’s New York Fashion Week show.
The star made her fashion week debut in surprisingly comfortable yet cute sweater and skirt combo from the brand. Since Joy loves all things cozy and countryside, the fit suited her vibe perfectly. And, according to fans who showed up to support her, Joy turned all the photographers’ heads.
6. “Handsome Tigers”
Joy’s career in television has really taken off since debut. She started off as a cast member on MBC‘s We Got Married in 2015 and worked all the way up to hosting positions on shows like JTBC‘s Sugarman 2 and OnStyle‘s Get It Beauty. This year, her biggest TV role was definitely on SBS‘s Handsome Tigers.
Featuring sporty celebrities like ASTRO‘s Cha Eunwoo and actor Lee Sangyoon, Handsome Tigers created a basketball team and trained them to compete in a tournament. And the manager at the helm of it all? None other than Joy herself.
7. Numerous variety features
Of course, Handsome Tigers wasn’t Joy’s only television spot this year. She’s also guested on tvN‘s Salty Tour three times, travelling with them to Spain, Jeju Island, and mainland Korean destinations.
On top of that, she got to indulge her one true love—puppies—when she appeared on KBS2‘s Dogs are Incredible to help some cute pooches get adopted.
8. Aveda endorsement
As mentioned, Joy already has a long-term solo endorsement contract with Espoir, one of the biggest beauty brands in Korea.
This year, she added another modelling job to her roster: Aveda. Since becoming an endorser for this eco-friendly haircare brand, Joy has appeared in multiple campaigns (looking beautiful in every single one).
9. Multiple brand reputation #1s
And last but not least, if all these achievements don’t prove Joy’s popularity, her brand reputation ranking will. She scored the highly coveted #1 spot on the Individual Girl Group Member Brand Reputation Rankings in January and February this year. She then remained in the top 10 for a further four months.
