Riize debuts as SM Entertainment’s new boy group

Riize, the first newbie boy group from SM Entertainment in seven years, made its debut Monday with its first single, “Get a Guitar.”

Riize is the first idol group that has been launched by SM in three years, since girl group aespa in 2020, and the first boy group in about seven years since NCT in 2016.

The name, “Riize,” is a combination of the words “rise” and “realize,” which means a team growing and realizing dreams together, according to the group.

“I still can’t believe that we’re debuting. I’m feeling both excited and nervous. We’ll continue to work hard to show you our growth, just as we have been working hard so far,” member Eunseok said during a press showcase in Seoul to mark the debut album.

Another member, Anton, agreed, saying: “I’ve only imagined what it would be like to debut, and I’m so happy that it’s finally happening. We’ll show you many of our charms in the future, so please look forward to them.”

The group consists of seven members — Shotaro, Eunseok, Sungchan, Wonbin, Seunghan, Sohee and Anton. Sungchan and Shotaro left NCT, the K-pop supergroup managed by SM, early this year to make their second debut as Riize, while Anton is known as a son of renowned K-pop soloist, composer and music producer Yoon Sang.

The press event was held a few hours before the album’s release on various music streaming platforms at home and abroad, such as Melon, Spotify and QQ Music.

Leading the album is the title track of the same name, “Get a Guitar.”

With retro synthesizers and funky guitar rhythms, the song is about the members who gather together in the sound of a guitar, and understand and empathize with each other through music, becoming one team. It also conveys the members’ resolution to attain their shining dreams together.

“I think the album is really meaningful, because it portrays the time we spent together as trainees,” Sungchan said.

Sohee introduced the track guided by a guitar accompaniment as one that officially announces the start of the group Riize. “It has an addictive chorus that goes, ‘Get, get, get a guitar,’” he added.

The two-track album that also has “Memories” will mark the beginning of the group’s exploration of emotional pop, a subgenre of pop music that focuses on the emotional content of the lyrics, according to the agency.

Preorders for the album surpassed 1 million copies Sunday, even before the team’s launch.

Sungchan said he never imagined his new group would receive such great attention from the start.

“I’m still a little overwhelmed and can’t believe the number 1 million. We’re so grateful to our fans, and I think we need to work even harder in the future,” he said.

Asked about the group’s goal, he answered, “I know that results are also very important, but I want more people to resonate with our music as this is just the beginning of Riize.”

But Sohee said he hopes the band can win a rookie award during the annual year-end music award season in South Korea.

“Since we’re a rookie group, I’d like to receive the rookie award that we can only receive when we’re a rookie,” he added.