SM Entertainment announced in May 2023 that they would debut their new boy band, seven years after the debut of NCT, with the announcement that former NCT members Shotaro and Sungchan would withdraw from the group to join the lineup and SM Rookies members Eunseok and Seunghan would make their debut.[3][4] On August 1, the label revealed the seven-member boy group name "Riize", with three more members; Wonbin, Sohee, and Anton.[5][unreliable source?][6][unreliable source?]
On August 7, SM announced that Riize would be making their debut with their first single album, Get a Guitar, which is slated for release on September 4, 2023. The single album would contain a total of 2 songs, with "Memories" was released as the pre-release single on August 21, and the title track with the same name was released on the same date as the album.[7][8][9]
Composition
The pre-release single, "Memories", is a song with synthesizer and guitar sounds, and lyrics about cherishing the memories of preparing and practicing together while dreaming the same dream.[10] "Get a Guitar", the album's title track and the group's official debut single, is a song with retro synths and funky guitar rhythm, with the lyrics that show the process of understanding and empathizing with each other and becoming a team through music, and at the same time, the members gathered in one place according to the sound of the guitar, while conveying the message that they will realize their shining dreams.[11]
Promotion
Riize began the promotional cycle for Get a Guitar by attending the KCON 2023 in Los Angeles on August 20, 2023, where they performed "Memories" and the group's introduction performance "Siren".[12] The group also performed "Memories" and "Siren" on national television for the first time at SBS's Inkigayo on August 27, 2023, a week prior their official debut.[13]
Carmen Chin of NME wrote that the EP's "expectations were high – and they were successfully met", and she added that the group "have successfully highlighted their ability to craft a distinctive sound and establish themselves as emerging talents worth keeping an eye on".[14]
Commercial performance
Prior to its release on September 4, 2023, it was reported that Get a Guitar received 1.03 million pre-order sales, setting a new record as the most pre-ordered debut album out of any SM artist, and made Riize the first SM artist since H.O.T. in 1996 to have sold over a million copies with their debut album.[15]
^Kim, Min-ji (August 7, 2023). "'SM 신인' 라이즈, 9월4일 첫 싱글 '겟 어 기타' 발매" ['SM Rookie' Riize to release first single 'Get A Guitar' on 4 September]. News1 (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 8, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023 – via Naver.
^年間 アルバムランキング 2023年度 [Annual Album Ranking 2023] (in Japanese). Oricon. p. 8. Archived from the original on December 19, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
