CORTIS finished the year in style at the MBC Gayo Daejejeon.
CORTIS (Martin, James, Juhun, Sunghyun, Geonho) on Dec. 31, 2024, at the "2025 MBC Gayo Daejejeon" performed their debut album track "FaSHioN" and TOMORROW X TOGETHER's "Deja Vu," and Epik High's "Fly" covers. With a rich performance fitting a festival that closes out the year and welcomes the new year, they made audiences anticipate their activities in the year of Byeong-o.
In "FaSHioN," CORTIS's signature explosive energy shone. When they sang "Deja Vu," they perfectly conveyed a poignant, overwhelming atmosphere. K-pop fandoms poured out enthusiastic responses to a different side of them they had never shown before. In particular, the song was meaningful because it was by senior labelmates TOMORROW X TOGETHER of BigHit Music and because Martin and James participated in the song production and choreography before debut. In addition, James made a surprise appearance on Yeonjun's "Talk to You" stage to perform together. They also drew huge cheers with a playful reinterpretation of the 2005-released "Fly." The five members showed refreshing charm in school-look-inspired outfits. The wit of changing the original lyrics to include the fandom name "COER" made viewers smile.
In August last year, CORTIS entered the K-pop market as a "young creator crew" jointly creating music, choreography and video. Their debut album "COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES" surpassed cumulative sales of 1.27 million copies based on the latest Circle Chart (tracking period: Dec. 14–20, 2025). It is the only single-album million-seller among rookies who debuted in 2025.
Their global achievements are also overwhelming. "COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES" entered the U.S. Billboard's main album chart, the Billboard 200, at No. 15 (chart dated Sept. 27, 2025), marking the highest debut album ranking for a K-pop group excluding project teams. On global audio and music streaming platform Spotify, cumulative streams surpassed 200 million about three months after release. Social media metrics reflecting popular appeal are also outstanding. As of 7 a.m. on the 1st, the combined followers on their TikTok, Instagram and YouTube official channels approach 20 million.
CORTIS grew their presence significantly in a short time and is forecasting a "quantum leap" for the new year. Their already scheduled calendar is weighty. They will appear at the Jan. 10 "40th Golden Disc Awards," and on Feb. 12 (local time) they are set to be the first K-pop artist to headline at the NBA Crossover concert series in the United States.
[Photo] Screenshot of the "2025 MBC Gayo Daejejeon" broadcast
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