Song of the Winter? It Belongs to RIIZE’s “Love 119”
The rookie SM group balances nostalgic flourishes and the pangs of first love with their latest comeback.
SM Entertainment
Last December, as Christmas songs trended and Mariah Carey heralded a new season, the rookie girl group NewJeans released their first comeback “Ditto”. NewJeans was already a sensation in K-Pop because of forward-thinking debut that dropped seemingly out of nowhere. But “Ditto” dug into a Jersey club sound that separated them from mainstream K-Pop: The mid-tempo pop track was a sort of antithesis to the term “song of the summer” because of its nostalgic sound and an arthouse-style music video that resembled a Sofia Copolla film.
Yet for how gigantic NewJeans' mark has been on mainstream pop music, very few K-Pop groups have followed their path over the past year. Maximalism and heavy lore is still omnipresent in the group’s biggest comebacks. But this year one group is taking a similar approach that, much like NewJeans, leans heavily into nostalgic flourishes. RIIZE, SM Entertainment’s newest rookie group, winks at the long line of groups like SHINee who came before them through clever music videos like “Talk Saxy”. Their debut single “Get a Guitar”, too, stands far apart from what is trending among male K-Pop groups. Where powerful masculinity and athletic choreography is still highly esteemed, RIIZE leans into rich harmonies and an emo-aesthetic.
Last week, RIIZE released “Love 119”, a single that makes a strong case for why it should be what I’d define as “the song of the winter”. The song hits a sweet spot for me with a shout-chorus reminiscent of ‘90s K-Pop and a music video that is filmed like a K-drama. In the video, the boys are styled in overcoats and scarves as they dance on rooftops and sing in karaoke bars before glumly taking the train home. “It’s starting,” they sing, trying their best to not get busted for falling for a girl. “This is a love emergency!”
SM Entertainment
Like “Ditto”, RIIZE’s comeback is designed for the winter season. It’s a cozy and romantic track about the feelings of how scary a first love can be. I’ve almost lost count of how many times I’ve listened to it since its release and it’s quickly become the most instantaneous hit for me. SM Entertainment certainly knows how to create addictive beats - look no further than the controversy that SHINee’s “Ring Ding Dong” did to Korea’s exam system. “Love 119” has the same elements that make me want to turn it up louder and hit replay as soon as it’s over. While it has not reached the giant heights of NewJeans, if there is any sort of K-Pop justice in online fandoms, it should.
“Love 119” is notably RIIZE’s first comeback since vocalist Seunghan took a leave of absence after personal photographs about his dating history were illegally leaked online. This sort of harshness in K-Pop is hard to overlook in a song that is so perfectly designed, but the six remaining members do their best to distract you. Each member convincingly portrays the innocent concept by displaying a winning amount of charm. It’s hard to not root for Sungchan as he timidly places a note in his crushes desk and waits outside the classroom with baited breath or laugh at Sohee’s spot-on performance as he wakes up, shaken, by his phone.
But it’s Wonbin, the group’s breakthrough heartthrob with his hair styled into a bob that almost threatens to overpower him, who delivers the star-making performance. Watch as he grows from a smug confidence to a boy crushed by love in the video and you’ll begin to see his potential. It’s the final shot of Wonbin, though, that stayed with me: Waiting for a train, his tear streaked, unwavering gaze meets ours. Perhaps he’s learned the secret that just like our youth, our first love also fades away into our memories.
