We’ve always known RIIZE is 7.
Related: RIIZE’s ‘Love 119’ Is Bringing Pinoys Back To Their Cringy High School Days
Starting to stan a boy group takes more effort than people think, but this process can generally be condensed into three steps.
First is the lover’s encounter; you hear their hit song, possibly either in an earworm TikTok edit, on a particularly good ending fairy at a music award show, or your stantwt friend begged you to listen. If the visuals and the tunes got you hooked and charmed by one or all of the members, it’s only expected to hop onto the second step, where you’d type in the search bar and familiarize yourself with their names and other trivial facts, falling for more as your curiosity turns into heart eyes.
Usually after that make or break step, the third step, aka the warm up, starts. Despite the magical moment that happens when you begin to sort their songs in playlists or binge the group’s funny moments compilation, there’s this profound hope that as you begin to dedicate your time and affection for these idols, there’s nothing ugly going beneath– that allegations about the members remain merely as baseless rumors from antis, and the company behind them has their best foot forward for the group’s branding.
@rmivxs Riize is genuinely one of the craziest groups that has ever come around and you know that just by the way people want to keep them down and make them seem untalented and once seunghan gets back I fear they will only ever get better. rm:@em⭑ ib:@cindy #riize #riizeis7 #rii7e #ot7 #bringbackseunghan #riseandrealize #fypage #foryou #fyp #popular #viral #omgpage ♬ original sound – 🦦👛
But despite the continual challenge that the third step poses, change and hope has dawned. On October 11th, 2024, SM Entertainment announced the return of Hong Seunghan after a ten month long hiatus from his group, RIIZE. Their fandom, BRIIZE, and even other music enthusiasts all over the world cheered in unison at the surprise announcement that befell the K-pop community.
From this day forward, it’s not an exaggeration to say that history has been made. With RIIZE’s popularity skyrocketing as a leading light in 5th gen boy groups, we can’t help but say with a smile that RIIZE is not just SM’s latest, but also, a catalyst of blending both old and new.
RISING SUN
Longtime K-pop fans who have witnessed the glory of the preceding generations of boy groups would affirm there’s been quite the change in how they’re perceived nowadays. With South Korea’s entertainment industry getting embroiled in a series of sex offense-related crimes paired with the countless (alleged) upcycling of concepts and sounds, it is said that some boy groups today have lost their “it” factor.
However with K-pop’s permanence as a stand-alone genre, SM Entertainment in particular, has been regarded as a good breeding ground for successful boy groups. From TVXQ, Super Junior, SHINee, EXO, NCT, to RIIZE, we can’t deny that if there’s one thing SM is good at, it’s ensuring that everyone, K-pop stan or not, knows their boy groups (though we can’t say the same for their girl groups, but that’s a conversation for another day). Treated as an exclusive package of sorts, SM’s tactic in harboring loyal fans stems from their prestige, and we can see this happen with how they imbibe RIIZE with the nostalgic charm reminiscent of their seniors.
The ongoing joke or conspiracy (depends on how you’d look at it) is that SM clones their artists. From Kim Jaejoong to NCT’s Taeyong and now to Wonbin and Sungchan of RIIZE, fans from the the Y2K era spawns once in awhile to check out the new “versions” of SM’s idols, and more often than not they’re either of the same level or even exceed the expectations laid out before them. The OG SM Visual Shock Jaejoong even confirmed this by saying that he was surprised to witness his similarities with SM’s 4th and 5th gen idols, and acknowledged how exceptional RIIZE was at covering their legendary song, Rising Sun, at MAMA last year.
With SM’s allure and talent considered as some of the best in the industry, RIIZE covering one of the legendary boy groups’ songs is a testament that they’ll serve as a remembrance of what boy groups used to feel like.
GIVE ME THAT BEAT!
For a group who only had their first anniversary last month, RIIZE’ discography is noteworthy. Most reviews have commented on their ode to the OGs once more, specifically in the Talk Saxy music video, where they’re clad in all white fit, giving off Backstreet Boys and SHINee’s Juliette energy in the song’s bridge. YouTuber Jeff Avenue would always say in his RIIZE reactions that the group just does it for him.
@riize_official and I’m loving the combo #RIIZE #라이즈 #RISEandREALIZE #Combo #RIIZE_Combo ♬ Combo – RIIZE
Always coming out with fresher sounds, RIIZE has experimented with not just instrument wordplays from the jazzy tunes of a saxophone to the bitter strings of bass in true boy group fashion, but also, took on house music with their summer song good for an underground dance party, Impossible. LOVE 119 as their January release was a sad boy pining anthem with its theme of winter heartbreak, and more recently, the emo pop curls in their voices were heard loud and clear in their “I’m such a loser! She’s such a weirdo!” line in Combo.
RIIZE IS 7
The RIIZE is 7 craze is perhaps the strongest collective experience every 5th gen fangirl and fanboy has experienced to date. On November 22nd 2023, SM entertainment decided to put Hong Seunghan in an indefinite hiatus due to an unfolding of pre-debut pictures and an unsolicitedly recorded Instagram live conversation with idol friend Soobin of TXT. BRIIZE in that span of time were split in half; but all glimmered with the same hope that Seunghan will return and RIIZE will be seven once more.
@riize_official I'm not 19 anymore #RIIZE #라이즈 #SEUNGHAN #승한 #HAPPYSEUNGHANDAY ♬ original sound – Harrrystylees
Many fans even outside the fandom know of this movement. Despite the undoubtedly traditional layout that idols are signed to abide by, fans today are gearing up for change and a more individualistic stance for today’s groups. Dating rumors are seen more as a celebration rather than a scandal, and other actions are not as vehemently viewed, arguing that idols are humans too and should be accepted for all of their imperfections, countering the old idea that idols are there to serve as a pristine product for consumption.
Staying true to their name, Rise and Realize, RIIZE upheld that their past is a part of the creative process to become full-fledged, authentic artists. Even in just a year since their existence as a group, they’ve delightfully mastered that nostalgic boyish charm you just can’t help but fall in love with.
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