Nicknamed the “Korean Grammys,” the 38th Golden Disc Awards will take place on Jan. 6 in Jakarta, Indonesia, to honor the passion and talent that shone bright in the world of K-pop during the year of 2023.

Organized by the JoongAng Group, the Golden Disc Awards is considered one of the most prestigious awards in Korea with its unique format where dozens of nominees and multiple winners are chosen for three main categories — music, album and rookie of the year.

In this series, Golden 2023, the Korea JoongAng Daily’s entertainment arm Celeb Confirmed looks at K-pop’s biggest and brightest stars who are potential nominees, and their achievements this year.

Rise and realize: Riize is the newest star rolled out by SM Entertainment, home to some of the biggest boy bands in K-pop, famed for their exquisite talents and meticulous music that never fails to impress.

The name "Riize" is a combination of the words "rise" and "realize," with the message of "making something come true" and hoping it becomes a team "that grows together and fulfills its dreams," according to SM Entertainment.

The band was the talk of the town even before its debut when SM Entertainment revealed its trainees, referred to as SM Rookies, with charming looks and matching performance skills as the latest addition to the agency's long line of K-pop boy bands.

Heated attention led to a rocky start for the band, which turned into awe when the band revealed its first "prologue single" titled "Memories" on Aug. 21 to give a little taste of Riize and its concept prior to its official debut. The song topped the iTunes Top Songs charts in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Peru, Belarus, Luxembourg and Colombia.

Riize consists of members Shotaro, Eunseok, Sungchan, Wonbin, Seunghan, Sohee and Anton. Two of its members, Shotaro and Sungchan, debuted in 2020 as members of boy band NCT. Seunghan recently announced an "indefinite" hiatus from group activities.

Riize "Get A Guitar"

"Get A Guitar" was released on Sept. 4 as Riize's debut single containing title track "Get A Guitar" and a B-side pre-release song titled "Memories."

"Get A Guitar" sold more than a million copies in the first week of its release, making it the second-most-sold debut album by a rookie band on the first week of its release.

Riize has nabbed nominations at major music award ceremonies such as the 2023 MAMA Awards and the Melon Music Awards 2023 as one of the most promising boy bands to rock the K-pop scene of 2024.

The band released its digital single "Talk Saxy" on Oct. 27, topping the iTunes Top Songs charts in Thailand, Vietnam, Peru, Uzbekistan, Macau, Belarus and Hungary. An English version of "Get A Guitar" was also released on Nov. 9.

Riize “Get A Guitar” (Sept. 4, 2023)

• First-week sales of “Get A Guitar” 1,016,849

• First-week streaming of "Get A Guitar" on Spotify: 1,859,539

• Music video views for lead track "Get A Guitar" on YouTube: 4,613,860 (as of Nov. 30)

• Major nominations: 2023 MAMA Awards (Artist of the Year, Worldwide Fans’ Choice, Best New Male Artist), Melon Music Awards 2023 (MMA 2023; Rookie of the Year, Kakao Bank Favorite Star) 

• Other: Digital single “Talk Saxy” lands atop the iTunes Top Songs charts in Thailand, Vietnam, Peru, Uzbekistan, Macau, Belarus and Hungary 

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]