Martin of the group CORTIS captivated fans with his attractive tone and conviction about music.
Martin appeared on "Limousine Service," which was uploaded on the YouTube channel KBS Kpop on Dec. 16. That day Martin decorated the first stage with "Lullaby," a track from CORTIS's (Martin, James, Juhun, Sunghyun, Geonho) debut album. He then proved his skills by performing a variety of genres, including Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud," Lee Juck's "Back then I didn't know," Big Bang's "Haru Haru," and Saesoyeon's "Nanchun (亂春)." Viewers' ears were captured by his sweet and rhythmic voice, boyish tone, and the explosive sound that host Lee Mujin praised as "a point of the music."
Martin said he is "in the midst of working on the second album these days," sparking curiosity, and he shared in-depth stories related to music. Asked, "You seem like you could have succeeded as a composer, so why did you choose to be an idol?", he replied, "I enjoy making music, but for me the finale is going on stage. The adrenaline I feel from the cheers is addictive." In fact, Martin has credits participating in a total of six songs during his trainee days: TOMORROW X TOGETHER's "Deja Vu" and "Miracle (miracles happen every time you and I are together)," "Beautiful Strangers," ENHYPEN's "Outside," LE SSERAFIM's "Pierrot," and ILLIT's "Magnetic."
It was also revealed how CORTIS came to adopt the identity of a "young creator crew" that jointly creates music, choreography and video. Martin explained, "When I was a trainee I wanted to form a 'crew' and create our own culture. Even before we became the debut lineup, we voluntarily gathered with friends to work on music and shoot music videos. After the team was formed, participating in album production came naturally."
Finally Martin offered a heartfelt greeting, saying, "We will continue to show cool and good sides of ourselves. As you have become our 'core' (fandom name COER), I hope you stay strong and be with us for a long time." He also expressed his ambition, saying, "The rookie award is an award you can receive only once. I think it is significant enough to be a starting point for our future career. I will work hard so we can win the award."
As Martin wished, CORTIS grabbed the "Best New Artist" trophy, the rookie award, at the 2025 MAMA Awards. At the "10th Anniversary Asia Artist Awards 2025" they have solidified their position as "this year's best rookie," winning two awards: "AAA Rookie of the Year" and "AAA Best Performance."
According to the latest chart released by U.S. music trade publication Billboard (Dec. 20), CORTIS's debut album "COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES" rose one spot from the previous week to No. 4 on the World Albums chart, marking its 14th consecutive week on the chart. It landed at No. 32 on Top Current Album Sales, which tracks physical album sales in the U.S.
[Photo] Provided by BigHit Music.
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