🏆 CORTIS has reached No. 15 in the K-pop Idol ranking for in February 2026.
Group Profile
- Group Name: CORTIS (코르티스)
- Debut: Aug 18, 2025
- Current state: Active
- Years Active: 2025–present (1 years)
- Entertainment Company: Big Hit Music
- Fandom: COER (코어)
- Group Color: N/A
- Members: Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon, Keonho
- Oldest Member: James
- Youngest Member: Keonho
- Most Popular Member: Juhoon
- Notable Albums: Color Outside the Lines (EP), What You Want (Digital Single)
- Country: South Korea
- Generation: A 5th Generation K-pop group (Gen 5)
- Leader: Martin
CORTIS is a five-member South Korean boy group managed by Big Hit Music (HYBE) and represented internationally by Republic Records. In 2025, the group debuted on August 18 with the digital single “What You Want,” which served as the lead single for their first extended play (EP), Color Outside the Lines, released on September 8.
The group consists of five members: Martin (leader, Korean-Canadian), James (Thai-Taiwanese), Juhoon, Seonghyeon, and Keonho (all South Korean).
Meaning of CORTIS
CORTIS is an acronym for “Color Outside the Lines,” which is also the title of their debut EP. According to Big Hit Music, the name reflects a creative direction centered on musical and visual freedom and individual expression, intended to bypass established industry conventions.
Fandom and lightstick
In 2025, the official fandom name, COER, was announced on November 24 to coincide with the 100th day of the group’s debut. The name was selected from over 19,000 entries in an open contest held since September 2025, with final evaluation conducted by the members. COER combines “COR” from CORTIS with the suffix “-er” to signify “those at the center of CORTIS,” while also phonetically referencing the word “core.”
Popularity
Color Outside the Lines debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200, reached number 2 on the Billboard World Albums chart, and topped the Circle Album Chart in South Korea. In the domestic market, the EP recorded approximately 250,000 copies sold on its first day and 430,000 copies in its first week according to Hanteo and Circle charts, the highest for any group debuting in 2025. The track “Go!” became the first song by a 2025 debut boy group to enter the Melon Weekly Chart.
The group’s music charted in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand, and on the US World Digital Song Sales chart. In 2026, the official CORTIS Instagram account reached 10 million followers by February, six months after its first post, making it the fastest K-pop group debuting within the last five years to reach this milestone. During the same period, the group reached 9.5 million followers on TikTok, 3.12 million on YouTube, and 3.07 million on Weverse.
Awards
- November 2025: Best New Artist at the 2025 MAMA Awards in Hong Kong.
- December 2025: Rookie Award at the 10th Asia Artist Awards in Taiwan.
- January 2026: Best New Group (Male), Best Debut Song – Group (“Go!”), and Korean Sales’ Biggest Fandom (CORTIS x COER) at the 25th Korean Sales Music Awards.
- January 2026: Rookie Artist of the Year at the 40th Golden Disc Awards. Color Outside the Lines surpassed 1.38 million copies sold in South Korea, receiving a Million certification from the Korea Music Content Association.
- February 2026: Rookie of the Year in the Music Mundial global fan vote for groups debuting within the last three years.
Musical style
Color Outside the Lines incorporates pop, rock, electronic, and hip-hop. “What You Want” utilizes electronic elements combined with pop-rock, while “FaSHioN” draws from US rage trap, featuring Korean lyrics over rhythmic structures typically associated with American hip-hop. “Go!” received a nomination for Best Choreography at the 2025 MAMA Awards.
CORTIS utilizes a visual style blending streetwear, grunge, and Y2K elements, characterized by wide silhouettes, baggy trousers, oversized hoodies, and sneakers, with each member maintaining a distinct aesthetic. In 2025, W Korea featured the group in an October editorial utilizing muted tones and high-contrast structures.
Fun facts
- Martin performed in a youth choir at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics opening ceremony and served as the flag bearer for Iceland during the event.
- James is the only member of the HYBE pre-debut project Trainee A to officially debut in a group.
- Seonghyeon contributed to all five tracks on the EP and has approximately 100 self-composed tracks from his time as a trainee.
- Keonho participated in writing lyrics for “Go!”, “What You Want”, “FaSHioN”, and “JoyRide”.
- Martin composed music for TXT and ENHYPEN prior to his debut.
- James choreographed the choreography for the ILLIT track “Magnetic” during his trainee period.
- CORTIS is the first South Korean act to perform at the halftime show of the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game 2026 and the NBA Crossover Concert Series.
- Before the official name was announced, the group was temporarily referred to as BIGHITNBG (BIGHIT New Boy Group).