RIIZE’s Wonbin has revealed that he nearly quit after his first day as a trainee at SM Entertainment after meeting his then-future bandmates, Sungchan and Eunseok.
The rookie boyband uploaded a vlog yesterday (February 29) that captured the band’s time in Paris, France. In one segment, Wonbin and Sohee were chatting about their first impressions of each other and of the other RIIZE members, which led the former to reveal why he had almost given up on becoming an idol.
Wonbin recalled feeling dejected after seeing his then-fellow trainees on his first day training under SM Entertainment. “I remember it clearly. When I first joined the company, I called my parents and said, ‘I don’t think I can do this’. The very first day. I was so shocked,” he told his members.
“It was the first time I saw people that handsome. Eunseok and Sungchan,” he than revealed. Wonbin continued by admitting that he genuinely thought he wouldn’t be able to make it as an idol, after seeing fellow trainees. “They were tall and handsome, and the way I saw it, it was the first time I’d seen such people dance so well too. I thought I couldn’t make it,” he said.
RIIZE most recently released their latest single ‘Love 119’ in January this year, marking their first music of the year. The new song samples the 2005 track ‘Emergency Room’ by South Korean band Izi, which was originally released for the soundtrack of the K-drama Delightful Girl Choon-hyang.
‘Love 119’ also marked the rookie boyband’s second comeback since they debuted with ‘Get A Guitar’ in September 2023. They later made their first comeback last October with the single ‘Talk Saxy’.
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Their latest single is also their first release without member Seunghan, who began an indefinite hiatus in November 2023. At the time, SM Entertainment said that this was “related to his private matters that were recently leaked and distributed through online channels.”