BigHit Music’s rookie group CORTIS has claimed the title of “Best Rookie of the Year” with their debut album.
According to Hanteo Chart on September 15, CORTIS (Martin, James, Juhun, Sunghyun, Gunho)’s debut album “COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES” ranked No.1 on the daily album chart for two consecutive days (Sept 14–15). The album sold a total of 436,367 copies in its first week (Sept 8–14 tally), placing 2nd on the weekly album chart. With this, CORTIS achieved the highest first-week sales among all rookie groups in 2025. In particular, they are the only boy group this year to surpass 400,000 first-week sales, securing the 4th highest debut album sales in K-pop history. Considering that they have no members from survival shows or prior debuts, the result is especially remarkable.
CORTIS is also proving their status as “Best Rookie of the Year” on music charts. On Apple Music Korea’s “Top 100: Today” (Sept 13), three of their songs entered the Top 10: intro track “GO!” (No.4), title track “What You Want” (No.8), and follow-up track “FaSHioN” (No.10). Their songs are enjoying simultaneous popularity. The title track also ranked No.1 for a full week (Sept 1–7) on Spotify’s Daily Viral Songs Global chart, while “GO!” held No.1 for three consecutive days (Sept 9–11). Among this year’s rookies, CORTIS is the only team to top the chart.
CORTIS is the first new group in six years launched by HYBE’s BigHit Music — home to BTS and TOMORROW X TOGETHER. Branded as a “Young Creator Crew” that co-creates music, choreography, and visuals, they are injecting fresh energy into the K-pop scene. Following “GO!” and “What You Want,” the group is now promoting “FaSHioN” on music shows, leaving a strong impression with their unwavering live vocals and powerful performances.
Written by Mun Wan Sik
Translated by Lee So Yun
