SEOUL — SEPTEMBER 2026
RIIZE spent the first half of 2026 closing out Riizing Loud, the world tour behind debut album Odyssey — a run that ended with the fastest Tokyo Dome entry ever by a K-pop boy group, 120,000 fans across three nights in February, before wrapping in Seoul in March. By June the group was back with second mini-album II, led by "Do your dance" — a track whose lyrics carry a solo credit for Haru, daughter of Epik High's Tablo, after she won a blind songwriting screening at SM. A third Japanese single, "Sunburst," followed on August 26, and the group's sold-out 3rd anniversary fanmeeting ran in Incheon on September 12–13 — where RIIZE confirmed a new digital single for October 26 and a second full-length album, "EMOTIION," for spring 2027. This page is a working build of how RIIZE Wire tracks all of it for English-speaking BRIIZE — translated, sourced, and converted to whatever timezone you're reading from.
A note on the lineup: RIIZE debuted in September 2023 as a seven-member group. Member Seunghan left in October 2024 and now performs independently as XngHan; RIIZE has continued as six members (Shotaro, Eunseok, Sungchan, Wonbin, Sohee, Anton) since. The fandom name was also changed from an earlier name to "BRIIZE" after fans raised concerns about it.
The desks
Korean and English coverage, translated and summarized — always credited back to the original outlet.
DESK 02Track-by-track reads on every era, from Get a Guitar to whatever's coming next.
DESK 03Official videos only, curated and embedded — never reuploaded.
DESK 04A running clock on the II era's key dates, converted to your local time.
DESK 05Quick, shareable quizzes built for the group chat, not the algorithm.
DESK 06Where to buy official merch abroad, without the guesswork.
Desk 01 · News
Every dispatch below links back to its original source — this desk summarizes, it doesn't replace.
SEOUL — OCT 30
The 'RIIZE into INSOMNIA' pop-up ran Oct. 26-29 at Space S50 in Seongsu-dong. The members gave the song's first public performance and held a late-night-radio-style talk on opening day, while the other days offered sleep-themed activities in pairs. Starnews Korea says the two-story exhibition averaged over 1,400 visitors daily.
Summarized from Starnews Korea by RIIZE Wire staff.
Read the original source ↗SEOUL — OCT 26
RIIZE's digital single 'Insomnia' and its music video went live at midnight KST on Oct. 26, per SM Entertainment. The song is an emotional acoustic pop piece, and the cinematic clip follows people who cannot sleep, with each of the six members taking an acting role. A fan event called 'RIIZE into INSOMNIA' runs through Oct. 29 at Space S50 in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. Music show stages are lined up for Oct. 30 (Music Bank), Oct. 31 (Music Core) and Nov. 1 (Inkigayo), ahead of the spring 2027 album EMOTIION.
Summarized from The Korea Times by RIIZE Wire staff.
Read the original source ↗SEOUL — OCT 19
RIIZE have begun their comeback rollout with the first teaser video and image for a digital single called Insomnia. The track lands at midnight KST on October 26, as the opening move before the group's second full-length album, EMOTIION, due in spring 2027. Details beyond the title and release slot have not been revealed yet, so more teaser content should follow over the coming week.
Summarized from Soompi by RIIZE Wire staff.
Read the original source ↗K-WIRE NETWORK — OCT 14
K-Wire Network's sister project, K-Trail Seoul, is officially live and free to use — no account, no paywall. It's an offline-ready map of real K-pop pilgrimage spots: agency HQs, concert and broadcast venues, cafes and culture stops, plus curated hotels and restaurants near the busiest clusters (Seongsu, Hongdae, Myeongdong, K-Star Road, Jamsil), now covering five cities — Seoul, Busan, Goyang, Incheon and Jeju. It installs straight to your home screen as an app (Share → Add to Home Screen on iOS, the install banner on Android/desktop), saves map areas for offline use before you lose signal, and lets you save and share individual spots. With Fanomenon set to bring a wave of international fans to Korea in December 2027, this is the time to start building your own trail.
Posted by RIIZE Wire staff.
Open K-Trail map ↗SEOUL — OCT 7
Park Jin-young, co-chair of the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, appeared before the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee to explain the process behind "Fanomenon" — a government-linked joint venture between HYBE, JYP, SM and YG for an annual K-pop awards show, concert series and exhibition set to debut in Seoul and Gyeonggi in December 2027. Park told lawmakers that his solo filing of the "Fanomenon" and "Pandemonium" trademarks overseas, ahead of any transfer to the joint entity, was a rushed but necessary step to stop the names from being taken by someone else before the joint venture could register them itself. On the selection of the four agencies without a public tender, Park argued the arrangement was a sacrifice rather than a favor, noting the four labels stood to earn two to three times more running individual concerts on their own. Lawmakers also raised questions about the committee’s projected 520,000 visitors and roughly 1 trillion won in economic impact, which organizers have described as provisional, midpoint estimates.
Summarized from the Korea JoongAng Daily by RIIZE Wire staff.
Read the original source ↗PARIS — OCT 2
Anton attended the Saint Laurent Women's Summer 2027 show at the Trocadéro Fountain in Paris on September 29 local time, officially invited as the French luxury house's newly named brand ambassador. Dressed head-to-toe in the collection's black, he kept a composed presence through the show and greeted creative director Anthony Vaccarello, staying on through photo calls and the after-party. "It's a brand I have liked for a long time, so I'm happy and grateful to be given the chance to work with it," Anton said of the partnership. The news broke October 2 as the group preps its October 26 single.
Summarized from allkpop by RIIZE Wire staff.
Read the original source ↗INCHEON — SEPT 14
Follow-up Korean coverage of "Ch. RIIZE: ON AIR" put the sold-out Inspire Arena crowd at roughly 23,000 across a 360-degree stage set over September 12–13, with the group running through "Get a Guitar," "Fly Up," and member solo showcases. The October 26 release was clarified as a "prologue single" ahead of the group's second full-length album in spring 2027, with members telling fans, "let's go until our 300th anniversary."
Summarized from Newsbuzz by RIIZE Wire staff.
Read the original source ↗INCHEON — SEPT 12
At the sold-out 3rd anniversary fanmeeting "Ch. RIIZE: ON AIR" at Inspire Arena, the group told BRIIZE a new digital single is coming October 26. They also confirmed a second full-length album, titled "EMOTIION," for spring 2027 — no exact date or tracklist yet.
Summarized from Soompi by RIIZE Wire staff.
Read the original source ↗SEOUL — AUG 18
The "II" title track entered the US Mediabase Top 40 at No. 40 for the August 9–15 tracking week — logged as the most-played K-pop song that week across roughly 130 US radio stations, including Most Requested Live and iHeartKPOP.
Summarized from allkpop by RIIZE Wire staff.
Read the original source ↗BUSAN — SEPT 19
RIIZE took home two honors at the 2026 The Fact Music Awards in Busan on Sept. 19: Muse of the Year, one of the night’s four grand-prize Daesang awards, and Artist of the Year, given to eleven acts recognized in the ceremony’s secondary category.
Summarized from Forbes by RIIZE Wire staff.
Read the original source ↗TOKYO — SEPT 2
Third Japanese single "Sunburst" opened at No. 2 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 for the chart week of August 24–30, trailing only =LOVE's "Koi, Hajimemashita" at No. 1 — the group's highest placement on the tally to date, Billboard Japan reported September 2.
Summarized from Billboard Japan by RIIZE Wire staff.
Read the original source ↗INCHEON — SEPT 12–13
Previewing the sold-out "Ch. RIIZE: ON AIR" fanmeeting at Inspire Arena in Incheon, NOL World describes a broadcast-style show built around performances perfected from the group's latest tour — the group's biggest standalone fan event since Riizing Loud wrapped.
Summarized from NOL World by RIIZE Wire staff.
Read the original source ↗PARIS — SEPT 2
Anton made a solo appearance in Paris at Saint Laurent's event for its Andy Warhol exhibition on September 2 — a rare individual fashion outing outside a group promotional schedule.
Compiled by RIIZE Wire staff from event coverage.
INCHEON — SEPT 12–13
A broadcast-style variety fanmeeting marking three years since debut sold out its Inspire Arena dates in Incheon within the presale window, following July's on-sale announcement — the group's biggest standalone fan event of the year outside the Riizing Loud tour.
Summarized from allkpop by RIIZE Wire staff.
Read the original source ↗TOKYO — AUG 26
The single carries two B-sides alongside its title track: "Rise Over," the theme for Japan's SoftBank Winter Cup 2026 basketball championship, and "Kill Shot," the ending theme for the anime series Kill Blue. It's the group's first Japanese release in six months, following February's "All of You," and arrived with an Osaka showcase.
Summarized from Korea JoongAng Daily by RIIZE Wire staff.
Read the original source ↗Desk 02 · Review
Text only, always — no reposted photos or video frames on this desk.
"A six-track burst of confidence that trades Odyssey's widescreen ambition for something looser and more danceable — exactly what a title called 'Do your dance' should sound like."
II (2026): RIIZE's second Korean mini-album, and the group's first comeback since the Riizing Loud tour wrapped. Where Odyssey leaned into a wide sonic palette across ten tracks, II is tighter and more direct — six songs built around hip-hop-inflected pop. "Do your dance" is the most straightforwardly fun title track the group has released, and it's carried in part by an unusually personal credit: Haru Lee, daughter of Epik High's Tablo, wrote the Korean lyrics after joining SM's in-house songwriting team through a blind screening process.
Coverage has centered as much on that songwriting story and the tour records that preceded it — the fastest-ever K-pop boy group Tokyo Dome run — as on the record's own chart performance, which arrived too recently for a full picture at publication.
Desk 03 · Screening Room
Every clip here is an official YouTube embed, verified against the SMTOWN channel (@SMTOWN). If it isn't published there, it doesn't play on this desk.
The group's third Japanese single, paired with SoftBank Winter Cup and Kill Blue tie-ins.
The teaser cut ahead of the full "Sunburst" music video, published on SMTOWN's official channel.
The title track from second mini-album II, co-written by Haru Lee.
The lead single from debut album Odyssey, and the anthem behind the Riizing Loud World Tour.
Desk 04 · Signal
A running timer on the II era's key dates — auto-converted to your local timezone. Past dates automatically flip to a "time since" count; a future date would switch to "time left" the moment one is confirmed.
First "Insomnia" stage on KBS2 Music Bank Estimated time
"Insomnia" on MBC Show! Music Core Estimated time
"Insomnia" on SBS Inkigayo Estimated time
Detected timezone: — · Fanmeeting details: NOL World ↗ · TMA lineup: Oppa Store ↗ · Oct. 26 single & "EMOTIION" album: Soompi ↗
Desk 05 · Quiz
Three questions, no email required — built to demonstrate the interaction, not to collect data.
QUESTION 1 / 3
Pick a late-night activity.
QUESTION 2 / 3
Pick a concept.
QUESTION 3 / 3
Pick a feeling you want from a comeback.
RESULT
Desk 06 · Market
Links go to official storefronts. On the live site, tagged links here are where affiliate revenue would come from.
II album versions, photocards, and official merch, shipped worldwide.
Visit store ↗ Affiliate link (example)Member updates, live broadcasts, and tour recaps, straight from the group.
See official updates ↗SM Entertainment's own global storefront for RIIZE albums and merch.
Visit store ↗ Affiliate link (example)