Up-and-coming K-pop group RIIZE is ready to shine with their new mini album, RIFFING. The guys sat down and shared who their musical influences are, what to expect from their new album, how they knew they wanted to sing and more in their korea billboard cover interview!
Anton:
The team motto is, more or less, stand up and take notice. I think we are doing quite well and little by little we are going up. That is our goal.
Shotaro:
Since high school, I have always loved being on stage. I think high school was when I specifically had the thought of wanting to become an artist. Hello, I'm Shotaro. Music I'm into lately… I listen to a variety of genres. The artists that have inspired me are Justin Timberlake, Usher, pH-1.
Sohee:
First impression… I think we were very shy.
Shotaro:
At first we didn't talk much. It took us some time to get to know each other.
Anton:
I think we got closer once we started practicing dance together. All of us sweating and dancing, that was a really natural way to open up.
Shotaro:
There was also that nonsense together.
Sohee:
The first moment I realized I wanted to be an artist was when I was a student. I sang in front of other people for the first time. The music I normally enjoy changes from time to time, but recently I've been listening to Justin Bieber. I think K-pop was just a part of our lives growing up naturally. For me in particular, I think when I was a trainee, I started to research more and I started to like it more. I think we naturally admired the veteran artists on our label.
Keep watching to learn more!
thanks to our partners at www.billboard.com
