Profile of RIIZE: Constant Rise in Popularity yet Messy Member Situation (2024 Updated)
About
RIIZE is a 6-member boy group under SM Entertainment. The boy group originally had a 7-member lineup, but former member Seunghan departed in October 2024.
They officially made their debut on September 4, 2023 with the single album “Get Guitar”.
The name “RIIZE” is a combination of “RISE” – which represents growth, and “REALIZE”, which means “a team that grows and realizes dreams together”.
Biography of RIIZE
- Group name: RIIZE (라이즈)
- Debut date: 04/09/2023
- Company: SM Entertainment
- Total member: 6 (previously 7)
- Members: Shotaro, Eunseok, Sungchan, Wonbin, Sohee, Anton
- Former member: Seunghan
- Fandom name: BRIIZE
Official SNS channels of RIIZE
- Youtube: @RIIZE_official/@SMTOWN
- Instagram: @riize_official
- X (Twitter): @riize_official
- TikTok: @riize_official
- Website: riizeofficial.com
RIIZE’s Discography (Not including remix releases and other language versions of the same songs)
Mini-albums
- Riizing (2024)
- Riizing: Epilogue (repackage) (2024)
Single albums
- Get A Guitar (2023)
- Lucky (2024) – Japanese
Digital singles
- Memories (2023)
- Talk Saxy (2023)
- Love 119 (2024)
- Siren (2024)
- Impossible (2024)
OSTs
- “Happy! Happy! Happy!” and “Look at Me Sealook” – Sealook OST (2023)
- “Same Key” – Makeup with Mud OST (2024) – Japanese
Special information about RIIZE
Members Shotaro and Sungchan previously debuted in SM’s boy group, NCT, being unveiled as part of the lineup in October 2020.
Meanwhile, member Anton (real name Lee Chan-young), draws attention for being the son of veteran composer and singer Yoon Sang, who has previously written songs for SM artists such as BoA and TVXQ!.
Eunseok and Seunghan were also revealed as new members of SM Entertainment’s trainee team SMROOKIES back in 2022.
RIIZE gained rapid popularity right after their debut with “Get A Guitar” and secured various rookie awards at Korean awards ceremonies. They faced a bit of a struggle during the release of “Talk Saxy”, but quickly regained momentum with the popularity of “Love 119”.
RIIZE Controversies
Prior to RIIZE’s debut, a netizen who claimed to have attended the same school as Wonbin alleged that the male idol was a bully in the past.
Meanwhile, another RIIZE member, Sohee, faced various accusations of going to hunting bars (bars where people find s*x partners) as old photos of him were leaked.
These accusations were never verified, however, and fans and netizens was vigilant of the claims.
- Fandom name:
Back in 2023, RIIZE unveiled their fandom name to be SUNZ at their debut showcase, but SM Entertainment later released a new statement, changing the fandom name to BRIIZE. This is because many fans and netizens find the previous name to be controversial.
In particular, when combining the group name “RIIZE” and the fandom name “SUNZ”, the combination reminds people of the term “Rising Sun”, a flag used by Japan during various historical conflicts with Korea.
- Plagiarism
RIIZE has been accused of plagiarism on various occasions.
In particular, the group was accused of copying NewJeans due to various similarities, including the latter’s famous Y2K concept.
Later on, a local brand alleged that RIIZE’s merchandise plagiarized one of their designs.
- Personal life controversy of former member Seunghan
In August 2023, various photos of Seunghan being intimate with a person suspected to be his ex-girlfriend started to surface, and there were even accusations of Seunghan bringing the alleged girlfriend, who was supposedly underage, to a motel.
The controversies of Seunghan also led to several HYBE idols being dragged into the mess.
However, only the intimate photos were confirmed to be real, leading to Seunghan apologizing for his past actions. Other allegations were never confirmed.
Following these accusations, Seunghan halted his activities for 10 months, before SM Entertainment announced that he will be returning to RIIZE.
