OSEN=Reporter Kang Seo-jung] CORTIS (CORTIS) has written a new record as it gains explosive popularity.
According to global audio·music streaming platform Spotify, CORTIS (Martin, James, Juhun, Seonghyun, Geonho) had 12,045,984 monthly listeners as of the 23rd. That places them in the 'top 3' by record high among all-time K-pop boy groups, including BTS.
Spotify's monthly listeners refers to the number of users who played the artist's music over the past 28 days, and by counting unique listeners excluding cumulative plays it is considered a key metric showing the actual fandom size and recognition. CORTIS's figure exploded after the release of the mini album 2 title track "REDRED" on the 20th of last month. On the day the song was released it increased by about 200,000, reaching about 7.1 million, and then surged more than 70% in one month.
CORTIS is the first boy group to debut within the past five years to enter Spotify's global daily and weekly charts and remain in the rankings for more than a month. The title track "REDRED" is the driving force. Its highest position on "daily top songs global" was 36, recorded on the 4th. As of the 23rd, "daily top songs Korea" and Apple Music "Today's Top 100: Korea" have each been number one for 26 and 29 days, respectively. On Melon daily charts they held the top spot for five consecutive days (19th–23rd). They also added trophies from MBC's Show! Music Core on the 23rd and SBS's Inkigayo on the 24th. Following a domestic music show grand slam, they have become nine-time winners in total.
The mini album's non-title tracks are also being loved evenly. On the 24th, CORTIS performed mini album tracks "ACAI" and "YOUNGCREATORCREW" on Inkigayo. In particular, "YOUNGCREATORCREW" has attracted attention for its addictive sound and witty lyrics. It reached a peak of 18 on Spotify's "daily top songs Korea" (19th) and a peak of 4 on Apple Music's "Today's Top 100: Korea" (including the 11th–14th).
The song contains the five members' thoughts on CORTIS's signature phrase "young creator crew," and interest in the song has grown beyond simple music listening into a cultural phenomenon.
In particular, the abbreviation "YoungCreCrew" has settled in as a buzzword representing the young, hip generation and is accepted as a Z-generation play culture and trend. On the 13th at Dankook University, the 14th at Hongik University, and the 19th at Korea University festival sites, countless audience members shouted "YoungCreCrew" and sang along. The members also communicated, saying, "Everyone of you is "YoungCreCrew"."
[Photo] Broadcast screen captures from MBC's Show! Music Core and SBS's Inkigayo, provided by BigHit Music (HYBE)