BigHit Music's rookie group Cortis is proving its presence as "rookie of the year" with records. Writing new records every day, they are creating a new wave in K-pop.
Cortis (Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyun, Geonho) firmly made a name for itself in the global music market beyond Korea just one month after debut. They have appeared on various global charts and have continued to show their potential by setting new records in succession. Cortis proved their worth by sweeping firsts, mosts and No. 1 records through debut activities alone.
Cortis debuted on the 8th of last month with their debut song "What You Want." BigHit Music launched the boy group as its third after BTS and TOMORROW X TOGETHER, announcing the birth of a talented young creator crew that jointly creates music, choreography and videos.
And they proved exceptional firepower right from debut. Their debut album "COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES" became a half-million seller within two weeks of release. First-week sales were 436,367 copies, and sales increased by nearly 15% in a week, reaching half a million in about two weeks. Generally, album sales drop sharply after a week of release, but Cortis steadily attracted new fandoms and set new records.
Also, Cortis reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200, Billboard's main U.S. chart, with "COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES." This is the second-highest ranking among debut albums by K-pop groups in history, and excluding project-type teams formed by popular members from different groups, it is the highest achievement. It is also the only record among rookies who debuted this year.
Notably, Cortis's records are noteworthy because they are not one-offs. Cortis charted on the U.S. Billboard charts for five consecutive weeks with their debut album. According to the latest chart (Oct. 18), "COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES" was No. 2 on the World Albums chart.
Also, on Top Album Sales and Top Current Album Sales, which track physical album sales in the U.S., they rose 11 and 8 spots respectively from the previous week to land at No. 16. Even after finishing promotions for their debut album, they reentered the Top 20, showing their potential. This indicates Cortis is building a solid fandom in the U.S. music market.
Cortis's records are not limited to the album market, which is a fandom indicator. As of the 12th, their debut album surpassed 100 million cumulative streams on Spotify, the world's largest music streaming platform. Achieved in just about a month after debut, this was also the fastest time among K-pop rookies who debuted this year. Not only the title track "What You Want" but also the B-sides succeeded in multi-hit performance, proving Cortis's powerful presence in both album and digital markets.
Cortis, writing records day after day, is expanding its activities amid a barrage of love calls from the U.S. market. On the 12th they held a "GO!" dance workshop where members taught choreography directly, and on the 15th (local time) they will perform at iHeartRadio Live at the iHeartRadio Theater in Los Angeles, meeting local fans. They will also appear on Apple Music Radio, which recently featured Taylor Swift and others. You can feel their rising popularity in the U.S.
Cortis, who solidified the title "rookie of the year" by recording multi-hit success in both digital and album markets from debut, has fully established itself as BigHit Music's new hit and proved the potential to grow into a next-generation representative K-pop group.
[Photo] Provided by BigHit Music.
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