The Future Is Now: Introducing CORTIS, K-Pop’s Next Big Disruptor

CORTIS is ready to usher in K-pop’s next era. Joining the likes of BTS and TOMORROW X TOGETHER under the same powerhouse BIGHIT MUSIC label, the group’s name name is a mix of the phrase “COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES,” and is an ode to their ethos of raw originality and breaking boundaries. With an average age of only 17 years old, CORTIS is bursting at the seams with creativity; the self-driven creatives create their own music, choreography and video content, giving them the freedom to follow their artistic instincts.

The young group’s varying backgrounds help shape their worldview as they deliver stories that come from lived experiences, not formulas. 17-year-old Korean-Canadian Martin, dubbed as the leader, credits Tyler, the Creator and the late Mac Miller as some of his favorite artists, and has a deep interest in 2010s hip-hop culture; Taiwanese member James, the oldest at 19 years old, holds a black belt in taekwondo, was a semi-pro hockey player and a self-taught dancer before starting professional training; Juhoon, CORTIS’ 17-year-old “brain,” was a youth model until the age of 15 and was an academic star prior to singing with BIGHIT; Keonho, the second youngest at 16 years old, was a former competitive swimmer who brings a playful energy to the group; and finally, Seonghyun, the youngest by a month to Keonho, is an all-around talent that makes up a third of the team’s “creator trio” with Martin and James.

CORTIS is kicking off a bold revolution in K-pop with their debut “What You Want,” arriving with a music video based on a concept they created during their trainee days. The single is also set to join the group’s debut EP COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES, which drops September 8. Keonho tells Hypebeast that experimentation comes naturally with the group, and it found its way into the single’s creation. “We’ve always loved bold, unconventional styles, so the name [CORTIS] came naturally. Along those lines, ‘What You Want’ wasn’t necessarily created to fit the concept of COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES, but rather reflect our creative vision and the kind of music we enjoy,” Seonghyeon shares. “I see this song as a milestone that represents our overall artistic direction as a team.”

“The treadmill idea for the ‘What You Want’ choreography is a prime example of our approach to ‘coloring outside the lines,’” Juhoon says of the track’s music video. “When we first suggested dancing on a treadmill, we questioned if it would even work since nobody had really done it before. In the end, we found ourselves just having fun with it. I think that’s what ‘coloring outside the lines’ means — breaking out of conventions and trying something new.”

How does your creative autonomy shape your artistic process?

Martin: First of all, I’m grateful to be in an environment where I can dive into new challenges without holding back. We get to discover and experiment with fresh new styles, and it’s a privilege to share this journey together as a group.

Besides music and the choreography, music videos are a huge part of our creative identity as it gives us the freedom to express our artistic vision. We don’t just hand a proposal to the director and say, “Let’s film this!” Instead, we craft our very own version to share with the director and collaborate to apply the best aspects into the official cut.

For example, we self-produced music videos for our intro track, “GO!” and “JoyRide,” focusing on capturing our raw sound and authentic selves. We just grabbed a camcorder and filmed over a few days — no fancy equipment or anything. Everyone loved our version, which led to the idea of basing the official music video on it. To maintain the original feel of our version, the director and visual branding team spent many hours refining the official music video for “GO!,” which is the very first CORTIS music video that was introduced to the world.

When it’s just the five of us, we don’t necessarily follow a shot list, and a lot changes in the editing stage. We often stumble upon unique shots that we never even intended in the first place. Although a lot of that was refined in the official version, we also ended up with many unique shots that came about by chance, scenes that got cut in editing, and moments we just happened to capture on the fly — just like when we were working on our own version. Our work ultimately reflects our freedom to express ourselves, and the ideas and results that come out in the process act as a testament to our identity as a group that doesn’t stick to a set formula.

Seonghyeon: Our creative process thrives on unlimited exploration – it’s how we capture our true colors most naturally. We’ve noticed that whether it’s music, choreography, or video production, our best ideas and results come spontaneously from just messing around and having fun. For example, when filming the self-produced version of our music video for the B-side track “FaSHioN,” coming out September 8, we started without any plans. All it took was some lights in an empty studio with a ton of energy! That video served as the inspiration for our official conceptual performance film.

Keonho: I remember we had a lot of fun brainstorming for our version of the “GO!” music video. One idea that stood out was running with a 360-degree camera in our mouths. It not only made our faces look funny, but there was also something inherently amusing about it, so we decided to give it a try. We had a great time filming those scenes, and we were thrilled that they made it into the official music video as well.

Was there ever a moment when your unscripted approach led to a surprising or unexpected creative outcome?

James: Personally, I think a lot of the ideas and moments captured in our 1st EP actually came from us just fooling around, having fun, and trying things out of curiosity. The best example is the “Lullaby” music video. Honestly, we didn’t feel like doing anything that day. The whole concept started from the idea of finding an excuse to relax and chill by the pool. I was feeling lazy about editing the video as well, so we thought, ‘Why don’t we just shoot the whole thing in one take?’ After a few challenging attempts, we were finally able to pull it off.

Seonghyeon: Before making the music video for “Lullaby,” I honestly couldn’t envision a video for it. At the time, I was also quite reluctant about filming, as the editing and planning process could take a while. I suggested the idea of a visualizer, secretly wanting to swim in the pool. I think this exemplifies our unscripted creative approach.

Keonho: There’s a scene in the “GO!” official music video that we self-shot where MARTIN is singing underneath a car. Since many films use cars as props, we wanted to take a different approach, deciding to try filming from underneath it, which ultimately became a good source of reference for our official music video. I think this is a perfect example of how a simple idea can lead to something meaningful. Being open to throwing out ideas without overthinking allows for greater creative freedom.

Even when we’re writing lyrics, the themes often come about in our open discussions. For example, when I was working on the first verse for “FaSHioN,” we hadn’t actually set aside time to write it. MARTIN and I just happened to be in the studio together, and suddenly, the lyrics started flowing. We found ourselves talking about everything from belts and clothes to the cool old ladies we’d seen at Dongmyo, and we thought, ‘Why not just write about our actual vintage shopping experiences?’ From there, the rest of the verse just came together naturally.

Martin: As artists, we honestly and freely express our stories through our lyrics. In a way, I think our songs are just like snapshots of our daily lives, captured in our own words.

For example, in “Lullaby,” I was inspired by seeing all the members sleeping on the sofa, and I wanted to convey a message reflecting the tired and worn-out feelings of our generation.

While “Lullaby” has a somewhat lyrical and emotional vibe to it, we also have songs that are more straightforward and just meant to be enjoyed performing on stage without overthinking. “FaSHioN” is one example, where we looked at our casual outfits one day and thought, ‘Wow, do we really only wear T-shirts and jeans?’ We turned that into a fun concept about how even if our clothes now cost just 5 or 10 bucks, our future dreams are worth billions or even trillions. Adding witty and fun lyrics over a strong beat, which could easily come off too serious, actually made the song more engaging and appealing.

For our lead single “What You Want,” we took a similar approach, reflecting our true desires — love, freedom, happiness, money, and peace — in a straightforward way.

Juhoon: When making the “Lullaby” music video, JAMES mentioned that editing the “GO!” video was pretty difficult, so we decided to shoot it in one take to minimize editing. A coke can, which was a big part of the video, was just something we had lying around. Looking back, it was a very simple idea that ended up completing an unexpectedly high-quality video.

All five of you are involved in the creative process. How do you typically collaborate on a song, from the initial idea to the final product?

Martin: When we start working on a song, the initial ideas usually come from freestyling over a pre-existing beat or a beat we made. Sometimes, we all gather around in a circle, passing ideas back and forth. Other times, we record ideas on our phones, then go into the studio to record them with a mic. The lyrics of these demos often serve as the starting point of a song’s theme and are integrated into the final version.

From there, we typically sit and write lyrics together line by line. Sometimes, everything clicks for us to finish the entire lyrics in just a few hours. But other times, it takes a whole month, stuck on one song, which is what happened with “GO!” I feel like staying in the same spot for too long can get you stuck in a rut, so when we were in the US, I switched things up by working in different spots like parks and waterfronts to generate fresh ideas. It’s one of our favorite ways to stay inspired and keep the creative flow going.

Given that members come from different cultures and backgrounds, how does this diversity influence your music, visuals and choreography, and how is that reflected in your creative process?

James: Although there may be some differences, we actually share quite similar perspectives and tastes on the creative side. At its core, CORTIS is a group of five teenagers influenced by music, social media, fashion, movies, photos, cartoons, anime, etc.

That said, coming from different cultures and backgrounds does affect how we view everyday life. We often have different perspectives and opinions on small day-to-day things, but we’re aware of how lucky we are to be in a group as close-knit as ours, which keeps us motivated and working harder. Despite our different backgrounds, everyone is connected through the love of art, which transcends cultural backgrounds or influences.

Juhoon: Given that we grew up in different environments, I think we have very distinct personalities and colors. This diversity has a profound influence on our approach to various aspects of our work. Bringing all five individual perspectives together is not an easy process, but when they’re harmonized, our originality shines through even brighter, elevating our creative output in a raw and unique way.

We really feel the differences in our backgrounds when we’re writing lyrics. Due to each of our upbringings, the emotions and thoughts we put into our lyrics are different as well. When we first started working on “GO!”, we wrote our parts separately and tried combining everything later. But when our opinions kept on clashing, we decided to sit down together and write line by line. Even though we had some disagreements, the lyrics ended up better than before. Now, that’s pretty much our go-to way of working.

We may come from different backgrounds, but we truly feel like one team. Although our styles are all unique, when we work together, everything just flows naturally—it’s almost like we’re just having fun, and you can really feel that we’re on the same wavelength.

Seonghyeon: At first, we tried writing lyrics separately and combining them together later. However, since everyone has different opinions on what works and what doesn’t, it was pretty tough to find a middle ground. We ended up switching our approach to work on the lyrics line by line together. We still split up sometimes when we get stuck, but this method has made our creative process much smoother, which was especially helpful when working on “FaSHioN.”

The visual “What You Want” was based on a video the group created during your trainee days. How does it feel to see it come to life now?

James: Truly surreal! It’s fascinating to see something we imagined in our minds come to life—even more so to see it recreated into a version for the world to see. When we were shooting our video, we didn’t have a budget, and there were always limitations in terms of schedule, gear, location, you name it. Despite that, I was in awe every time we watched the playbacks during the shoot. It’s an experience I’ll never forget.

Keonho: It’s truly incredible. From filming the self-shot version to creating the official music video for the lead single, I honestly had a lot of thoughts and concerns along the way. There’s a part in our self-shot version where we act out feeling stressed and under pressure. During the planning phase of the official version, I was worried since more scenes involving acting seemed to get added, which intimidated me. But once everything was done, all those concerns just faded away. Considering the limitations with equipment, location, and editing skills we had before, seeing the final official version with all the effects was cool to see and felt like our vision had come to life.

How do you hope your music and overall artistic approach of “coloring outside the lines” will influence K-pop as a whole?

Juhoon: I think our biggest strength is being unexpected and unconventional, never limited to a single genre or concept. We focus on honestly expressing ourselves, and that naturally drives us to be experimental. We would want nothing more than our listeners to understand our bold attitude and recognize our music as familiar yet somehow new within the scope of K-pop. Moving forward, we aim to keep expanding the diversity in our sound by exploring new ideas and styles.

Martin: We don’t want to limit ourselves to just one genre, so we’re constantly pushing ourselves to color outside the lines. We’re always blending various styles, and we’re most excited when discovering fresh, new sounds in the process.

Our B-side track “Lullaby” is a great example. One day, KEONHO asked me to make a jazz beat, but since I didn’t have much background in jazz, I used sequencing to put it together. It ended up with a strange, in-between feel — not entirely acoustic or electronic — and on top of that chill beat, we added soulful vocals that give it a totally fresh vibe you’ve probably never heard before. “Lullaby” is basically our most experimental song. The way the unique beat mixes with the soulful vocals makes it really stand out. We would love for people to realize that these new, different sounds can come from K-pop. We want to continue breaking any stereotypes and bringing our own take on K-pop — reinvent it, so to speak. Until our distinctive sound fully takes shape, we’re committed to embracing new challenges.

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