"Love 119" is a song recorded by South Korean boy band

Riize Riize (; stylized in all caps; pronounced as "Rise") is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment. The group consists of six members: Shotaro (rapper), Shotaro, Eunseok, Sungchan, Wonbin, Sohee, and Anton. Originally a seven-piece ense ...

. It was released on January 5, 2024, through

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1995 by Lee Soo-man. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies and has been responsible for fostering and popularizing the car ...

and distributed by

Kakao Entertainment Kakao Entertainment Corp. () is a South Korean entertainment, mass media, and publishing company founded in 2021. A subsidiary of the Internet company Kakao, it was established subsequent to the merger of the latter's two subsidiaries KakaoPa ...

and

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

. It was later included as the eighth track on the group's EP ''

Riizing ''Riizing'' is the first extended play by South Korean boy band Riize. Released on June 17, 2024 by SM Entertainment through Kakao Entertainment, the EP consists of eight tracks, including the lead single "Boom Boom Bass" and pre-released singles ...

''. A Japanese version of "Love 119" was released on January 24, serving as the group's debut Japanese single. "Love 119" was the first single released by the group without the participation of member

Seunghan Hong Seung-han (; born October 2, 2003), known mononymously as Seunghan, is a South Korean singer. He is a former member of the South Korean boy band Riize, debuting under SM Entertainment in 2023. He will debut as a soloist in July 2025 unde ...

, who was on hiatus from the group at the time of release and departed the group altogether in October 2024. The song was a commercial success, peaking at number five on the

Circle Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based on ...

, becoming Riize's highest charting song to date. The song also became the group's first appearance on a

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

chart, peaking at number 127 on the Global Excl. US chart.

Background and release

On December 6, 2023 it was reported that Riize would be releasing a new single on January 5, three months after their previous single, "Talk Saxy". On January 1,

confirmed the date, sharing a short teaser clip on their

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel showing the group's members playing in the snow. In the days leading up to the release, SM continued to tease the song, launching a "Love 119 Mailbox"

microsite A microsite is an individual web page or a small cluster of pages which are meant to function as a discrete entity (such as an iFrame) within an existing website or to complement an offline activity. The microsite's main landing page can have its ...

in the style of an early 2000s

mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...

, and sharing an extended clip of the song's

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

. The Korean version of "Love 119" was released for digital download and

streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

on January 5, followed later by the Japanese version on January 24.

Composition

The Korean lyrics for "Love 119" were written by Jeong Da-seul, ChaMane, Moon Seol-lee, and Cho Yoon-kyung, while Japanese lyrics were contributed by Mahiro. Composition and English lyrics for both versions were contributed by Jason Hahs, Colin Magalong, David Wilson and MZMC, with the latter two also handling arrangement. "Love 119" contains a prominent sample of the 2005 song "Emergency Room", as written and composed by Shin Dong-woo and performed by South Korean band Izi. The song has been described as an "easy-listening", "dreamy"

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

track reminiscent of late 1990s and early 2000s music, characterized by a "sweet" piano riff and

drum beat A drum beat or drum pattern is a rhythmic pattern, or repeated rhythm establishing the meter and groove through the pulse and subdivision, played on drum kits and other percussion instruments. As such a "beat" consists of multiple drum strokes ...

s. Vocally, the song makes heavy use of

harmonies In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

, including

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

, vocal layering, and choir-like segments. In the track's lyrics, the group sings about the feeling of first love, comparing it with an emergency situation. "Love 119" was composed in the key of

A-flat major A-flat major is a major scale based on A♭ (musical note), A, with the pitches A, B♭ (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D♭ (musical note), D, E♭ (musical note), E, F (musical note), F, and G (musical note), G. Its key signature has fou ...

, with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 99 beats per minute.

Critical reception

"Love 119" received a positive critical reception, with critics noting that the song sounded "fresh" and "exciting." Writing for ''Clash'', Robin Murray wrote that the song was "irresistibly catchy", and that the song allowed "each member of Riize to shine, building to something seamless and unified." For '' Weverse Magazine'', music critic Kim Do-heon wrote that the song was "a combination of nostalgia and reminiscence", and that it was a "move towards the revival and renaissance of

in the mid-to-late 2000s" Joanna Rose of ''The Honey Pop'' opined that the song was "magical", and that the song delivered "relatable authenticity."

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for Love 119 was first was previewed on January 1, 2024 along with the announcement of the song's upcoming release, with

publishing a 19-second long teaser onto their official

channel. The music video was also teased on the group's official website, with still images from the clip being posted to a

that was styled to look like an early 2000s

. The full music video was released simultaneously with the song, premiering on SM's YouTube channel on January 5, while the Japanese version was released on January 24 concurrently with that version of the song.

Directed Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...

by Byul Yun, the music videos were shot in December 2023 at various locations across Japan, including scenes in Ōta and at Fuchūkeiba-seimommae Station in Fuchū, both located in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. The music video opens with Riize member Sohee sleeping in a bed (Shotaro in the Japanese version). A radio broadcast begins to announce a satellite launch, and he is awoken by a strange message on his cell phone. Startled, he throws ping pong balls at it. The video then cuts to the rest of the group members riding a train, receiving a similar strange message. In other scenes, the group is seen observing a love interest from afar, and practicing the song's choreography. The video ends with the group playing in a snow-covered forest. The group noted that "Love 119" was their first music video with a storyline, and the first time they had tried acting.

Live performances

Following the release of "Love 119", Riize performed on four South Korean music programs: KBS's ''

Music Bank ''Music Bank'' () is a South Korean music program which airs every Friday at 17:15 KST on KBS2. the show is also broadcast in more than a hundred countries through KBS World. Episodes are filmed at the KBS New Wing Open Hall in Yeouido-dong, Ye ...

'' on January 5 and 12, SBS's ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' (; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform on stage. ...

'' on January 7 and 14,

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

's ''

M Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet from the CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. It features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. First hosted by Leeteuk ...

'' on January 11 and 18, and MBC's ''

Show! Music Core ''Show! Music Core'' (), or simply ''Music Core'' is a South Korean music television program broadcast by MBC. It airs live every Saturday at 15:30 (KST). The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. I ...

'' on January 13 and 20. In Japan, the group performed the song on

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

's ''Venue101'' on January 27, and FNS's '' Mezamashi TV'' on April 15. To further promote the song, the group also performed the song on MBC's ''It's Live'', and Dingo Music's ''Dingo Live'', as well as the Japanese version on ''

The First Take ''The First Take'' (stylized as ''THE F1RST TAKE'') is a Japanese YouTube channel that invites singers to perform a song recorded in one take in a white studio. ''The First Take'' is a trademark of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Concept The ...

''. At the

13th Circle Chart Music Awards The 13th Circle Chart Music Awards () was a award ceremony organized by Circle Chart, held at Busan Exhibition and Convention Center in Busan on January 10, 2024. It recognized the best artists and recordings, primarily based on Circle Music Ch ...

on January 10, the group performed "Love 119" in a medley along with previous single "

Get a Guitar ''Get a Guitar'' is the debut single album by South Korean boy band Riize. Released on September 4, 2023, by SM Entertainment through Kakao Entertainment, the single album consists of two tracks, "Memories" and the title track of the same name, ...

." The song was also included in the setlist of the group's 2024

Riizing Day Riizing Day was the first concert tour by South Korean boy band Riize. The tour began on May 4, 2024, at Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, and held 31 shows across 19 cities in Asia and North America. The tour concluded on September ...

concert tour.

Accolades

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the

liner notes and

Naver Vibe Naver Vibe (Hangul:네이버 바이브) is a music streaming service developed by Naver Corporation. The service was operated alongside Naver's other music service, Naver Music, until the service ended on November 1, 2020 and merged with Vibe. Na ...

. Studio * SM Yellow Tail Studio –

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

, engineered for mix * SM Droplet Studio – recording * Doobdoob Studio – recording,

digital editing In mass communication, digital media is any communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronic d ...

* Sound Pool Studio - digital editing * SM Concert Hall Studio – mixing * Sterling Sound – mastering Personnel *

–

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

* Jang Cheol-hyuk – executive supervisor * Tak Young-jun - executive supervisor *

– vocals * Jason Hahs - lyrics,

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

* Colin Magalong - lyrics, composition,

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

* David Wilson - lyrics, composition, arrangement * MZMC - lyrics, composition, arrangement * Jeong Da-seul - lyrics * ChaMane - lyrics * Moon Seol-lee - lyrics * Cho Yoon-kyung - lyrics * Mahiro - lyrics * Esbee - background vocals * Oh Jin-seong - background vocals * Jason Hahs - background vocals * Shin Song-eui -

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

* Noh Min-ji – recording,

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

* Kim Joo-hyun - recording * Kwon Yu-jin - recording, digital editing * Jeong Ho-jin - digital editing * Nam Gong-jin - mixing *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in New Jersey. Gehringer is known for having mastered recordings by popular artists such as AJR, Dua Lipa, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Gwen Stefani, Harry Styles, ...

– mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

Notes

References

{{Riize Riize songs 2024 singles 2024 songs SM Entertainment singles Songs in Korean Songs in Japanese Kakao Entertainment singles RCA Records singles South Korean dance-pop songs