Cortis took home their third rookie award trophy from music award shows since debut.
Cortis (Martin, James, Juhun, Sunghyun, Geonho) won the rookie award at the 40th Golden Disc Awards held at Taipei Dome on the 10th. The five members said, "We are honored to receive a rookie award at such a major awards show. We love and thank the COER (fan club name) members who always support us. We will show great activities in 2026 as well. We will return with good music and performances, so please continue to watch us with interest," they said.
That day Cortis performed the debut album title track "What You Want." Using treadmills and large LED screens in the staging, they completed a performance that felt like a movie. A desert landscape unfolded behind the members running on the treadmills, conveying the vividness of actually sprinting. The five members displayed unwavering vocal ability despite choreography that kept them running without rest. Backed by solid live vocals, they drew audience response and heated up the atmosphere at the venue.
Cortis also won rookie awards at the 2025 MAMA Awards and the 10th Anniversary Asia Artist Awards 2025. Such achievements were possible because they posted remarkable results on both album and digital charts. Their debut album COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES sold more than 1.38 million copies last year according to Circle Chart. It is the only single album released in 2025 by a rookie to reach million-seller status. The album also entered the Billboard 200, Billboard's main album chart, at No. 15 (Sept. 27, 2025), marking the highest debut-album position for a K-pop group not considered a project group. On Spotify, the global audio and music streaming platform, cumulative streams surpassed 300 million as of the 8th.
Meanwhile, Cortis was recently included on the nominee list released by the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards. They were nominated in two categories, Best New Artist (K-pop) and Favorite TikTok Dance, showing a distinctive presence.
[Photo] BigHit Music
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