THIS 4th-Gen Act Is Expected to 'Revive' Boy Groups Era With Rising Popularity

Will this 4th-gen group be able to bring back the "boy group craze" EXO and BTS used to serve?

Amid a tight battle of female artists, this boy group has been drawing attention for their rising popularity.

On January 9, SM Entertainment's new boy group RIIZE became a hot topic not only in online communities but also among K-media outlets for their skyrocketing status in the entertainment scene.

RIIZE, a seven-member group, debuted only in August 2023, but about five months after their debut they have been garnering lots of interest for topping music charts.

RIIZE Receives Warm Responses for New Song 'Love 119'

On January 5, RIIZE released their latest single "Love 119" on various music platforms. Four days after its release, its official MV reached about 7 million views, and the song has been reigning at the top of various Korean music charts.

The song was sampled from Izi's 2000s hit song, "Emergency Room," an OST for the 2005 drama, "Sassy Girl Chun Hyang."

This time, RIIZE reinterpreted the heartbreaking rock ballad song to a fresh pop dance track that tells the story of feelings of first love.

ALSO READ: RIIZE Dominates MelOn Hot 100, iTunes Worldwide with Comeback Track, 'Love 119'

As soon as it was released, "Love 119" was well-received by Korean music fans, the song going straight to the top of major Korean music charts such as MelOn Hot 100 and Bugs real-time chart. It also entered the Top 50 of the Genie and Flo music charts.

"Love 119" is also gaining popularity in overseas music charts, including sitting atop the iTunes' top song charts in 9 regions around the world, No. 1 on China's QQ Music Peak chart, and No. 1 on Japan's Line Music's top 10 real-time song chart.

Will RIIZE Revive 'Dead' Momentum of Boy Groups in K-pop?

In this current K-pop era, boy groups have weaker digital music power than girl groups, under the reign of IVE, NewJeans, LE SSERAFIM, and aespa.

Since boy groups usually produce music tailored to their fandom rather than the public, they are attracting less attention than girl groups.

However, RIIZE is different. Since the release of their debut song, "Get a Guitar," the team has established their position by securing a spot in MelOn, a rather hard chart to break in, especially for boy groups.

Also, not only do their fans love their songs, but they have high public awareness which is continuously increasing thanks to "Love 119."

With this, RIIZE is becoming a hot topic in online communities, about whether they are finally the act that will revive the long-lost boy group craze like EXO and BTS.

In a trending post with about 60k views, netizens wrote:

• "It seems like RIIZE will revive the dead boy groups' (era). They are the only group in which popularity can be felt."
• "Among fourth-gen, they are the first boy group with stable performance in music charts."
• "These days, when I look at male idols, the only one that comes out there is RIIZE."

Not only does K-netz acknowledge RIIZE's continuous rise but even popular media outlets do.

On January 9, RIIZE became the only K-pop singer to be selected as the "2024 Artist to Watch" announced by Apple Music and Shazam in the U.S. At the same time, its new song "Love 119" was included in the list of 50 songs of "Shazam: The Trend for 2024."

"2024 Artist to Watch" is a list of five teams that Apple Music editors analyze Shazam's data and algorithms to select with growth potential and future potential. In addition, "Shazam: Trending Playlist" selects 50 artists to lead the global music industry every year.

Earlier, Rise was selected as the only K-pop boy group in the "2024 Artist to Watch" announced by Grammy.

With these, K-pop fans and the whole music industry are focused on high expectations of how will RIIZE dominate the scene even more this year.

READ MORE: RIIZE Included in Grammy's '25 Artists To Watch In 2024'

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Written by Eunice Dawson.