Anton

Anton carries a background unusual even by the standards of a genre built on carefully constructed origin stories. Born Lee Chan-young in 2004 and raised in the United States, the American-nationality member of SM Entertainment's RIIZE arrived in K-pop not through a conventional trainee pipeline but after a decade as a competitive swimmer — a path his father, veteran Korean singer-songwriter Yoon Sang, initially did not see coming.

Debut and formation

RIIZE launched in September 2023 as one of SM Entertainment's most closely watched boy-group debuts of that period. Anton joined the group as one of its core members, bringing a vocal presence shaped by a background quite distinct from his bandmates. His father Yoon Sang has spoken publicly about the surprise of Anton's pivot from competitive swimming to idol training, describing his initial reaction as "flustered" before ultimately choosing to support his son's ambitions. That family dynamic has attracted its own media attention in South Korea, with Yoon Sang appearing on television programs including *Problem Child in Rooftop* and *Problem Child in House* to discuss how his eldest son's career unfolded.

Music and discography

Within RIIZE, Anton has been noted for a vocal quality suited to melodically detailed material. His first significant solo contribution outside the group came in 2026, when he was confirmed as part of the OST lineup for the TVING original drama *Yumi's Cells Season 3* — a romance series with an established audience and a track record of high-profile musical contributors. Anton's entry, a track titled "Close to Me," marked his debut as a solo OST artist. The production framing positioned his "delicate vocal expression" as a fit for the show's emotional register, placing him alongside Stray Kids' Han in what was described as a notable lineup for the season.

Achievements

RIIZE's commercial traction has been substantial enough that questions about Anton's income became a talking point in Korean entertainment media. Yoon Sang, appearing on variety programming in early 2026, referenced the group's 1.8 million album sales figure when asked about his son's earnings — declining to comment further on specifics, noting that Anton does not share his financial details with his parents. The number situates RIIZE within the upper tier of fourth-generation boy groups by sales volume.

Members

RIIZE is a multi-member boy group under SM Entertainment. Anton, whose full Korean name is Lee Chan-young, is the group's American member. His father Yoon Sang is a well-known figure in the Korean music industry, which has made Anton's family background a recurring subject of interest in Korean variety media.

Activities

Beyond recorded output, Anton's public profile has grown in part through the visibility of his family connections. Yoon Sang has appeared on multiple programs discussing Anton's career trajectory and their relationship, including a segment on Jung Jae-hyung's YouTube channel *Fairy Jaehyung* in which he showed off a luxury watch Anton purchased for him with his first settlement earnings. The gesture drew approving commentary from the host and circulated widely as a demonstration of what Korean media tends to frame as filial piety. Yoon Sang also revealed that a second son, younger than Anton, is now expressing his own interest in pursuing an idol career.

RIIZE held a Seoul concert in early 2026, an event that drew enough attention to bring comedian and broadcaster Park Myung-soo to the venue as part of a fan-experience segment for his YouTube channel *Halmyungsoo* — during which Myung-soo confused Anton's stage name with that of trot singer Lee Chan-won, a mix-up he described as mortifying.