CORTIS, a new boy group from Big Hit Music, which created BTS and Tomorrow X Together, has just taken a step toward the world.
On the afternoon of the 18th, a media showcase commemorating the release of CORTIS’ “COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES” was held at the Blue Square SOL Travel Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
CORTIS is a name derived from “COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES” by irregularly fetching six letters of the alphabet. It is the third team launched by Big Hit Music after BTS in 2013 and TOMORROW X TOGETHER in 2019. Music fans around the world are paying attention to the launch of a rookie in six years since the debut of TOMORROW X TOGETHER.
“It’s an honor for me to greet you as a team named CORTIS after participating only in HYBE’s songs,” CORTIS said after their dream debut. “I’m curious how you will like the music. We will sing with our own colors.”
CORTIS is a young creator crew that makes music, choreography, and videos by itself, and just like the meaning of “thinking freely outside of the standards and rules set by the world,” the five members present their creations with different thoughts and new perspectives to the world, just like the group name. The five members, all teenagers, show their creative abilities in various areas, including writing lyrics and composition performance videography, based on their stories.
CORTIS’ weapon is “co-creation.” The members not only included music and video but also included the color of “CORTIS” in the choreography. In fact, CORTIS participated in the video planning, filming, and editing of debut title song “What You Want,” showing a differentiated sense with a unique gaze and composition, while CORTIS’ idea without limits added freshness to the performance.
Young Creator Crew’s unique identity ignites expectations for CORTIS. All of their members participate in the production of major contents such as songs, choreography, and videos. In particular, all of them participated on their debut album, “COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES” credit. They also contributed to the overall choreography creation of their track, “GO!” and were posted as co-directors in their official music video. It is special that they work in a collaborative way, not limited to a specific position.
Sanghyun said, “To explain how CORTIS works, it’s ‘to put our heads together’. In the beginning, I worked separately, but the song didn’t come out well, so I chose the way the five of us worked on it, but when I did that, I got the work I liked,” Martin said. “We abbreviate Young Creator and say ‘Yunk’ among ourselves. As I grew up watching a lot of hip-hop crew members and rock bands since I was young, I think the culture of filming and making beats has been established among us. I got used to it by creating and making many things, and I think I’ve been doing that until now.”
“One piece of advice that BTS gave us when we met them in person during J-hope’s concert was that we should never take things for granted,” said Martin. “They’ve told us to stay humble, and their encouragement pushed us to train even harder,” the leader added.
Tomorrow X Together’s members also watched CORTIS perform ahead of its debut and offered realistic feedback on details such as facial expressions on stage, the band recalled.
The title track, “What You Want,” is more of a declaration of CORTIS’ commitment to a new world. The five members sing proudly that they will not hesitate to get their hands on what they want, expressing their confidence and raw energy with straightforward lyrics such as “I’m not quite full / Drink up, yuh, it’s like a hippo” and “I’m just going back / Fall over the fence,” and a voice that stretches like a shout and a guitar riff that goes without hesitation.
