Song Review:: RIIZE: Fame- Fame

• Release date: 2025 November 24

• Album tracklist: Something's In the Water, Fame, Sticky Like

• Album runtime: 9 minutes

 I'm still furious with SM and I don't see this dying down anytime soon. And I had to round up for this runtime because the first song is under two-and-a-half minutes, but the title track is a doable length.

That's a bold start to the song, almost overwhelmingly so compared to the vocals, so take everything with the understanding that I think it might be a touch too loud compared to the vocals. But oh my word. Who worked on this song? Inquiring minds need to know. Names I didn't recognize by sight, is the answer, but I did recognize the lyricist. Either way, this is good stuff. It's deep and dramatic, with plenty of movement and a solid beat. Like, genuinely, this so fully has my attention. That guitar alone is absolutely gorgeous and so arresting, even if it is a bit repetitious, but it's doing the opposite of irking me. The ending of this song too. It's just so incredible.

There's a reason I latched onto this group as my first from-debut group. They're showing off a range here, and I couldn't be more pleased. Frankly, I'm a little surprised that SM would let this group specifically have a song about fake fame but they probably think everyone has forgotten about it. Whatever. Eunseok's tone here? Y'all. Wow. That's so impressive. I don't know that we've heard him sound like that yet. That's really nice. He alone would have put this song into multiple playlists, but the entirety of this song is just stunning. 

Well, I loved this in about five seconds. And I just kept loving it more and more. This is fantastic. And the symbolism! But I think my favorite detail of the music video is the room with the "normal" artists. The floor in there is a giant, rotating vinyl disc. That's such a cool detail. I love it.