It will be the agency’s first new boy group in seven years.
On Tuesday, August 1, Korean talent management agency and recording label SM Entertainment announced the official lineup for its new boy group named RIIZE. According to SM, RIIZE will be composed of seven (7) members, namely Shotaro, Eunseok, Sungchan, Wonbin, Seunghan, So Hee, and Anton.
Shotaro and Sungchan were former members of SM’s other boy group, Neo Culture Technology (NCT). They both joined the group in 2020, but were not assigned to any permanent NCT unit during that span. They then departed the group in May as part of the reshuffling, which includes them being part of RIIZE. Meanwhile, Eunseok and Sunghan were both announced as then-soon-to-be idols through SMROOKIES.
The official debut date for RIIZE has not been set yet.
RIIZE will become SM’s first group in what is now considered to be the “fifth generation of K-pop.” It will also be the company’s first since aespa in 2020, and first boy group since the 2016 debut of NCT.