'this year's best rookie' CORTIS is getting focused attention from U.S. Billboard as the year ends.
According to Billboard's latest chart released on Dec. 27, CORTIS (Martin, James, Juhun, Sunghyun, Geonho)'s debut album 'COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES' took No. 4 on the 'World Albums' chart and has been on the chart for 15 consecutive weeks. It showed strong staying power by landing at No. 35 on 'Top Current Album Sales,' which tallies physical album sales in the U.S.
CORTIS also performed well on Billboard's 'The 25 Best K-Pop Songs of 2025: Staff Picks.' The debut album's intro track 'GO!' ranked No. 2, the highest position among male artists who entered that chart this year.
Billboard said the song "sticks in your head after one listen and breathed fresh air into K-pop," and added that it "exploded on social media and made waves on the Billboard charts." In fact, 'GO!' ranked on Billboard's 'Global 200' for two consecutive weeks (Sept. 27, Oct. 4). That song chart ranks tracks based on online streaming and digital sales from more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, including the U.S., making a rookie's charting very unusual.
Interest in 'GO!' can be seen in foreign media beyond Billboard. British fashion and culture magazine Dazed praised it in 'The 30 best K-pop tracks of 2025,' saying "they broke free from molds and seized control of their music." British music magazine NME, Apple Music and Spotify also named 'GO!' among the year's best K-pop.
U.S. magazine Teen Vogue selected their debut album as one of the '15 Best Non-English Albums of 2025.' It lauded, "It is a work that shows the potential of the musical world CORTIS will present in the future. The impression it leaves is so strong that saying we are paying attention would be an understatement." All five members also made Teen Vogue's 50 Best Dressed of 2025, showing their influence extending into the fashion world.
Meanwhile, CORTIS plans to delight fans with cover performances of senior artists' songs on year-end music shows. They are scheduled to appear on '2025 SBS Gayo Daejeon' on Dec. 25, '2025 MUSIC BANK Global Festival in Japan' on Dec. 30, and 'MBC Gayo Daejejeon' on Dec. 31. Their overseas activities continue: on Dec. 29 they will be invited to perform on Japan's Nippon TV program 'Announced! The songs you listened to the most this year ~Annual Music Awards 2025~.'
[photo] Billboard official SNS
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