Major foreign media outlets are pouring praise on the second mini album from the group Cortis. The entire world is paying attention to their musicality and the overall quality of the project.
Released on May 4, the Cortis mini album ‘Green Green’ is a record where the five members co-created the overall content, including the music, choreography, and videos. Their identity as a “Young Creator Crew” truly shines here. The album captures their distinct tastes and direction, using “green” to represent what they aim for and “red” for what they are wary of.
The US business magazine Forbes praised them, stating, “Cortis is truly on a ‘Green Green’ flow. They have clearly demonstrated their teamwork and direction as next-generation global artists.” Regarding the six tracks on the album, Forbes noted that “each track contains a different color of sound.”
US-based VMAN magazine focused on their growth and evolution, saying, “They have become creatively more sophisticated since their first mini album. As their stage expands, their movement to define themselves has become clearer.” They further commented that the group now shows confidence in what they can deliver, replacing the nervousness seen during their debut.
British magazine Dazed shared their impression that the work is “much rougher and more detailed than the previous one, intentionally giving a sharper impression.” Based on interviews with the members, Dazed analyzed, “The charm of Cortis is that their journey feels thrillingly urgent and vivid. Their relative freedom from the ‘narratives’ and ‘world-building’ often used in K-pop makes this ‘presentness’ even more distinct.”
Dazed added, “We live in an era where the word ‘authenticity’ has lost its original meaning due to overconsumption by influencers and brands. In such an environment, Cortis’ unadorned attitude and slightly clumsy yet pleasant appearance have actually become a strength.”
Meaningful reviews also followed for the title track ‘Red Red.’ Forbes mentioned that it “naturally brings out popular appeal with an addictive chorus and upbeat beat.” CBS’s famous entertainment program, Entertainment Tonight, even highlighted the song as a must-watch new release before the album was officially launched.
The buzz surrounding Cortis is proven across various charts. According to the Hanteo Chart, the second mini album ‘Green Green’ recorded first-week sales of 2,313,291 copies, ranking 2nd among K-pop albums released this year, right after BTS’ ‘Arirang.’ It also secured 2nd place on the Oricon ‘Weekly Album Ranking’ in Japan for the period of May 4 to 10.
‘Red Red’ is showing strong momentum on global charts, reaching 17th on the US Billboard ‘Bubbling Under Hot 100’ as of the 16th. On the global audio and music streaming platform Spotify’s ‘Daily Top Songs Global’ as of the 12th, it held its spot in the rankings for three consecutive weeks at 76th. On the latest Billboard Japan chart (May 4 to 10), it entered at 1st on ‘Hitseekers Songs’ and 32nd on the ‘Hot 100.’ Additionally, it topped the Melon ‘Top 100’ in Korea on the evening of the 13th.
On music shows, they added a trophy from MBC M and MBC every1’s ‘Show! Champion’ on May 13, following two consecutive first-place wins on Mnet’s ‘M Countdown’ on April 30 and May 7.
