After seven years, SM Entertainment’s newest boy group, Riize, debuted with their first and proven hit single, “Get a Guitar.”
Riize is the first idol group launched by SM in three years since Aespa’s debut in 2020 and the first boy group in seven years since NCT in 2016. Their name “,Riize,” is a combination of the words “rise” and “realize,” and according to the group, it means that their team is growing and realizing dreams together.
During their press showcase in Seoul for their debut album, member Eunseok expressed, “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 Anton agreed and said, “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 comprises seven members: Shotaro, Eunseok, Sungchan, Wonbin, Seunghan, Sohee, and Anton. Sungchan and Shotaro left NCT, and Anton is the son of renowned KPop soloist, composer, and music producer Yoon Sang.
The album’s title track, “Get a Guitar,” was created with retro synthesizers and funky guitar rhythms. The song is about the members gathering together in the sound of a guitar, understanding and empathizing through music and becoming one team, conveying each member’s resolution to attain their dreams together.
Sungchan said the album is meaningful as it portrays the time they spent together as trainees.
The two-track album’s second song, “Memories,” marks the beginning of the group’s exploration of emotional pop, a subgenre of pop music focusing on the emotional content of the lyrics, said to SM Entertainment.
Preorders for their album surpassed 1 million copies on Sunday, and their song entered Melon’s Top 100, garnering favorable reviews. The song also reached 8.9 million views on YouTube, ranking #18 on YouTube Music.
Source: Yonhap News
