| NAME | RIIZE |
|---|---|
| KOREAN | 라이즈 |
| FANDOM NAME | BRIIZE |
| DEBUT | 04. September 2023 |
|---|---|
| AGENCY | SM Entertainment |
| MEMBERS | Shotaro, Eunseok, Sungchan, Wonbin, Seunghan, Sohee and Anton. (7) |
The name RIIZE means that the boy band grows together and realizes dreams. And the team has actually grown in the short time since its debut! Meanwhile, RIIZE have achieved their first music show victory, opened an official fan club and also debuted in Japan.
Come with us and learn more about the history of RIIZE.
PRE-DEBUT
The story of RIIZE actually begins in 2020 with the boy band NCT. In October, Shotaro and Sungchan debuted as new members of NCT and stayed there until 2023. During this time, NCT released three studio albums: NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 1, NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 2 and Universe. Sungchan and Shotaro also attended NCT's first full group concert.
The two were actually supposed to debut in the new and final unit “NCT Tokyo”, which is now known as “NCT Wish”. Fans waited in vain for three years until SM Entertainment announced in May 2023 that Sungchan and Shotaro were leaving NCT. Instead, they should debut in a new boy band. This is of course RIIZE!
They were joined by five other members: Eunseok, Wonbin, Seunghan, Sohee and Anton. Eunseok and Seunghwan were previously introduced as SM Rookies - SM Entertainment trainees - and were also originally scheduled to debut in NCT Tokyo.
Then everything happened very quickly: in July the boys filmed their first music video and prepared for their debut in September. In August 2023, the boy band released their web novel “Rise & Realize” and performed at the music festival “KCON LA”. There she presented two brand new songs: "Memories" and "Siren". “Memories” is included on the debut album, but “Siren” was not officially released until 2024.
CAREER
The story of RIIZE is not that long, but exciting: On September 4th, the debut single album “Get A Guitar” was released, which, in addition to the title song of the same name, also contains the B-side “Memories”. During the debut showcase, RIIZE announced their official fandom name “SUNZ,” but due to its potential negative connotation, they changed it to “BRIIZE” just two days later.
“Get a Guitar” sold 1 million copies in the first week after its release, placing it in second place on the list of best-selling debut albums by a K-pop group! RIIZE also broke a 27-year-old record: They were the first SM artist since the boy band H.O.T. in 1996, whose debut album was pre-ordered over 1 million times.
RIIZE celebrated their first comeback in October with the digital single “Talk Saxy”, which topped the iTunes charts in several regions.
This was followed by another single titled “Love 119” in January 2024. Unfortunately, Seunghan wasn't involved as he stopped all his activities as a member of RIIZE in November. The reason for this was an explosive photo with a strange woman that made the rounds on the Internet. The remaining six members didn't let it get them down and won their first music show trophy on M Countdown with “Love 119”! On January 24th, RIIZE debuted a Japanese version of the single in Japan.
In February, SM Entertainment announced that the boy band would release their first mini album in the near future. “Riizing” contains six new songs, including the title track “Boom Boom Bass”. All other tracks have already been released in advance. This also includes the single “Siren”, which RIIZE performed before their debut.
The first mini album “Riizing” will be released on June 17th.
DISCOGRAPHY
| YEAR | TITLE |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Get A Guitar (Single Album) |
| 2024 | Riizing (Mini Album) |
FILMOGRAPHY/ VIDEOGRAPHY
| YEAR | TITLE |
|---|---|
| 2023 | WE RIIZE (Reality Show) |
| 2023 | RISE & REALIZE EP.1 (Game Show) |
| 2024 | RIIZE IN TOKYO (Reality Show) |
| 2024 | RIIZE IN PARIS (Reality Show) |
| 2018 | RIIPLY (RIIZE Playlist) |
FUN FACTS
- Shotaro and Sungchan were in NCT for 3 years.
- RIIZE is international: Shotaro comes from Japan and Anton from America.
- Eunseok has a black belt in Taekwondo.
- Wonbin plays guitar.
- Anton originally wanted to become a professional swimmer.
- Sohee left SM Entertainment in 2020 to study but returned in 2022.
- Seunghan’s role model is D.O. from EXO.
- Sungchan is left-handed.
OUR FAVORITE PERFORMANCE
With their successes so far, Sungchan, Wonbin and Co. have shown what they are made of. But their career has just begun and there are certainly still many surprises in store. We hope that RIIZE will be with us for a long time and can't wait to hear more from the boy band!
Sources: RIIZE social media channels, SM Entertainment, Naver, Hanteo, NCT
