[instiz] REMAKING SM’S DEBUT SONGS FROM TVXQ… DID THE DIGITAL CHART TASTE AS SWEET? [TEN STARFIELD]

There have been many cases where SM artists, such as NCT Dream’s “Candy” and aespa’s “Dreams Come True,” remade songs by sunbae groups, but RIIZE’s “Hug” is a bit different. Even the original singers of the song also found it difficult to perform it comfortably. Kim Jaejoong and Kim Junsu, who left SM, held a joint concert in November last year and performed TVXQ songs. At the time, Kim Junsu confessed, “Although it’s our song, we didn’t have any data on it, so we had to create the concert from scratch, almost like creating something out of nothing.” With this context known to both SM and the public, the company asked its hoobae group to remake a debut song to commemorate its 30th anniversary. This is why RIIZE’s “Hug” was not completely well-received.

It also did not benefit RIIZE’s image. When a remake song is released, comparing it to the original track is inevitable. As expected, right after the song was released, there were people comparing the vocal abilities of TVXQ and RIIZE. If they had to remake a song, some believed it would have been better to choose a song that emphasized RIIZE’s strengths in performance rather than a song like “Hug,” which highlights vocal ability.

Some of the public began to associate RIIZE with an image of frequently releasing remakes or sampled songs. Last year, RIIZE made it to the upper ranks of the charts with “Love 119,” a track that sampled the hit song “Emergency Room” by the band Easy. The song ranked #5 and #10 in Melon’s monthly charts for February and March, respectively, placing in the top 10. Although RIIZE had gained significant public recognition within boy groups through their easy-listening tracks, it was “Love 119” that truly caught the public’s attention. The original song’s pre-existing popularity also played a major role in this.

While RIIZE didn’t frequently cover songs or sample tracks, the ones they did had a strong presence, leaving a lasting impression on the public. RIIZE had also previously performed the “Rising Sun” stage. They made headlines when they performed with their senior group TVXQ at the “2023 MAMA Awards.” They achieved better results with their remake songs than with their original tracks. While the attention they received was high, from a long-term perspective, it wasn’t necessarily beneficial to the team’s image.