I love being able to introduce our readers to new talent. In this case, it’s Zak of Toronto’s pop and R&B group rIVerse.
Zak makes up 1/4 of rIVerse alongside Justice, Khadija and Monroe – all of whom identify as part of the LGBT community. I recently found out about this group thanks to their YouTube cover of ‘Golden’ from the Kpop Demon Hunters soundtrack. It was good, if not great, but my only complaint is they sang the song acapella while sitting down… and truly the song makes me want to bounce off the walls whenever I see it.Â
Let’s watch together, shall we?
rIVerse was formed in 2013 after the group met as individuals auditioning for a stage production of High School Musical 2. This fact alone is remarkable to me because most pop groups, especially boy-girl groups, rarely – if ever – stay together for 12+ years. They’re like the Spice Girls except really, really dedicated to the friendship aspect. And if there was ever to be a Hot Spice or Daddy Spice, well, obviously it would be Zak.Â
rIVerse has released a number of original music on streaming platforms, although they’re most known for their covers and reaction videos. So far, they’re released two albums – 2018’s Glad to Meet You and 2020’s Poison IV – and have at least one hit under their belt with ‘BaeBeeBoo,’ which has amassed millions of streams. Together, rIVerse has 3,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, which is not bad considering they haven’t released new tunes in 5 years, and 690,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Zak, specifically, works as an investment advisor and CFA when he’s not performing as a pop star across Canada and The United States. CFA stands for chartered financial analysist, I think. And, as of June 2025, he officially stepped into the world of competitive body building. You know what I did today? Slept and got my car inspected. I couldn’t imagine dancing, mathing and working out. Good for him!
I think it would be really cool to see rIVerse go on tour with other boy-girl groups like Vengaboys, S Club 7 (if they get back together again) or even SZN4 from Netflix’s Building the Band. I mean, if we’re doing this, let’s really do this.Â
We Like to Party: The Everlasting Love of The Vengaboys – Instinct Magazine
Are you a longtime fan of rIVerse?
Again, it’s astounding to me that they’ve been together for so long. They could literally have fans from different decades at this point. And I really enjoy the fact that they stick it out together – whether they’re front-page news or just going along for the ride. Have you seen the group live or during a virtual show? What was the experience like for you? Most importantly, what do you think of hottie Zak? He’s my favorite… for completely obvious and slutatious reasons.
Here’s hoping we get new music from Zak and the gang in 2026! I’ll be checking for it.
