SM to debut new boy band Riize in September

SM Entertainment's new boy band Riize, whose name combines "rise" and "realize," will debut in September. (SM Entertainment)

SM Entertainment is debuting a new boy band, Riize, in September.

The K-pop powerhouse on Monday announced the new group will be a seven-piece act that will carve out a new niche in emo-pop, an unconventional sound yet to be explored inside the K-pop scene.

According to SM, the group's name compounds "rise" and "realize" to convey the group's ambition to rise up and realize its dreams.

Consisting of seven multinational individuals with different strengths and characteristics, Riize is anticipated to retake a fresh approach with its "real-time odyssey," the agency said in a statement Monday.

The septet is set to be the first K-pop band defining itself with the genre of "emo pop," which is a fusion genre putting together punk rock and pop elements to emotional lyrics.

Making music inspired from all parts of their lives, these rookies hope to become emotional pop artists who can empathize with listeners all around the world, the agency added.

Riize is set to be the first novice team from SM Entertainment since aespa in December 2020. It will be the first boy band in seven years from the company, since the launch of NCT.

The rookies are set to take the stage at the SMTown Live 2023 joint label concert in September. In announcing the event, which will take place on Sept. 26 at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, SM said its new boy band will join the lineup alongside aespa, Red Velvet, NCT 127, NCT Dream, WayV, Super Junior and TVXQ.

Meanwhile, SM is gearing up to unveil more groups from its roster of trainees in the coming months.

The final subunit of NCT -- a global multigroup boy band brand -- is currently in the making through the pre-debut reality show “NCT Universe: Lastart." Four members from the initial 10 candidates are set to be selected through the series and debut along with SM Rookies' Sion and Yushi as an NCT subgroup this year. A new girl group is also expected to come out as early as the end of this year.

By Choi Ji-won(jwc@heraldcorp.com)