The group CORTIS topped the Hanteo Chart weekly album chart. The album reclaimed the top spot in its fourth month since release. This is largely due to the year-end broadcast stages they recently presented domestically and abroad.
CORTIS (Martin, James, Juhun, Sunghyun, Geonho)'s debut album "COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES" took first place on Hanteo Chart's latest weekly album chart (tracking period: Dec. 22-28). Considering it was released on Sept. 8, this is a very unusual achievement. Generally, album sales decline after the initial sales tracking period (the first week from the release date). However, as of the 30th, CORTIS has recorded cumulative sales well over 1 million copies. This far exceeds the initial week sales of 430,000 copies and proves that the album has continued to receive steady love even after promotional activities ended.
The driving force behind CORTIS's popularity is their performances. The year-end special broadcasts and award show performances by the five members became hot topics, with view counts ranking near the top on each YouTube channel. Every time a performance ended, upward trends appeared across the board in album sales, music streaming numbers, and social media followers. Recently, the group's monthly listeners on the global audio and music streaming platform Spotify (number of listeners in the most recent 28 days) and their Instagram followers both surpassed 8 million.
Overseas markets quickly detected their popularity. CORTIS appeared on Nippon TV's year-end music program Announcement! The songs I listened to the most this year ~Annual Music Awards 2025~ on the 29th. They were the only Korean rookie artists who debuted this year to be invited. This was made possible by the great success of their debut album. "COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES" entered Billboard Japan's 2025 year-end "Top album sales" just two months after its Korean release. The intro track "GO!" held the No. 1 spot on Japan Spotify's "Daily viral songs" for four consecutive days (Sept. 11-14).
That day CORTIS performed "GO!". Their perfect live with natural call-and-response moments left a strong impression. When asked what kind of year 2025 had been, they said, "We debuted in August this year, shared our music, and met fans, which made us happy," making viewers smile.
CORTIS is expected to deliver a "quantum jump" in the coming new year and provide a fresh shock to the K-pop market. They are scheduled to headline the 40th Golden Disc Awards held at Taipei Dome on Jan. 10 next year and the NBA Crossover concert series headliner performance at the Los Angeles Convention Center in the United States on Feb. 12 (local time).<
[Photo] BigHit Music
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