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On Wednesday, May 15, RIIZE held their first international fancon tour concert, RIZZING DAY, in Mexico City. While fans were excited to see the members perform at a country outside their home, the situation soon became controversial. Several people in the audience, more particularly the Mexican fans of the boy group, began chanting the phrase "RIIZE IS SEVEN."
This is a phrase fans have been using to advocate for the return of the member Seunghan who went into an indefinite hiatus in November 2023, after a series of controversies landed on the internet surrounding the singer. However, many fans have expressed that the events were not too unacceptable to damage the idol's career and wanted the member to resume his activities with his group.
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Moreover, they also stated that Seunghan was the victim in the situation due to the violation of his privacy. While fans have been expressing the need for the idol's return to the group activities in every way possible, some fans were not happy with the recent incident that unfolded at the RIIZING DAY concert in Mexico.
Some members of the fandom claimed that they understood the concerns of the people, however, the chanting of "RIIZE IS SEVEN" not only interrupted the concert but was also disrespectful to the other six members. On the other hand, the other half of the fandom was still happy about the audience addressing the absence of Seunghan and advocating for his return.
"RIIZE IS SEVEN" fan chant breaks out at the boy group's first international fancon tour, RIIZING DAY, in Mexico City
In November 2023, RIIZE's Seunghan entered an indefinite hiatus following the breakout of a few controversies. Some of the alleged accusations against the idol included his smoking, the leak of his picture with his alleged former girlfriend, being disrespectful to his friends, badmouthing LE SSERAFIM's Eunchae, and more.
However, the controversies of him being disrespectful towards his friends and badmouthing Eunchae were proven false. Regardless, the heavy criticism and hatred he received for the controversies had him taking a hiatus for an indefinite time. While this was already seen to be unfair by the fans, the release of albums, comebacks, and tours without the idol has angered people.
Therefore, fans have been expressing their demands to have Seunghan resume his idol activities such as online campaigns, sending protest trucks to SM's headquarters, etc. The most recent form of resistance and effort to advocate for Seunghan's return was seen at RIIZE's recent concert in Mexico City.
The rookie K-pop boy group rolled out their first-ever fan con tour, RIIZING DAY, on May 4 and 5 in Seoul. After a two-day concert in Japan on May 11 and 12, the group held their most recent show in Mexico City. While much of the events that unfolded at the show were well-received by netizens, the "RIIZE IS SEVEN" fan chat received mixed reactions.
For most parts, fans were happy that people addressed the fact that RIIZE is a seven-member K-pop group and that the return of Seunghan during the group's monumental events is necessary. However, some netizens expressed that the fan chant might've directed concentration more toward Seunghan than the six members performing on stage.
On the other hand, the K-pop boy group is expected to roll out their next concert on May 20 in Los Angeles at the Peacock Theatre.
