On September 8 at 6 PM KST (2:30 PM IST), rookie boy group CORTIS officially released their highly anticipated debut EP, ‘COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES’, on all major music platforms.
The album release was accompanied by the music video for the B-side track ‘FaSHioN’, which was released on HYBE LABELS’ official YouTube channel. The video featured New Zealand’s snowy mountains, junkyards, and city centers, along with intense scenes including car crash effects. BIGHIT MUSIC described it as “a track expressing their unique lifestyle through the theme of fashion.”
The album ‘COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES’ features five tracks: the lead single ‘What You Want’, along with ‘GO!’, ‘FaSHioN’, ‘JoyRide’, and ‘Lullaby’. All members actively participated in songwriting, composing, choreography, and video production, reinforcing their image as a ‘young creators crew’.
Later the same evening as the album release, at 8 PM KST (4:30 PM IST), the group hosted the CORTIS 1st EP ‘COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES RELEASE PARTY’ at Korea University’s Hwajeong Gymnasium. CORTIS performed the entire EP with high-energy live vocals, rap, and engaged with the audience. The event was streamed globally via Weverse and other platforms, marking a major milestone for Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon, and Geonho, the five-member group.
Ahead of the album’s launch, mood samplers for ‘FaSHioN’, ‘JoyRide’, and ‘Lullaby’ were unveiled on HYBE LABELS’ YouTube channel, each presenting different aesthetics ranging from icy backdrops to trippy underwater visuals. The group had already pre-released the title track ‘What You Want’ on August 18, which went on to top Spotify’s Daily Viral Song Global chart for four consecutive days. Meanwhile, ‘GO!’, first revealed through a music video, sparked a viral dance challenge trend across social media even before the album’s release.
Within just 12 hours, the ‘FaSHioN’ music video surpassed 1 million views. According to Hanteo Chart, ‘COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES’ recorded 247,295 copies sold on its first day, marking the highest first-day sales for a rookie group in 2025. Domestically, the intro track ‘GO!’ ranked on Bugs’ real-time Top 100 chart, a rare achievement for a rookie group’s B-side track.
CORTIS will continue promotions with their first music show performance of ‘FaSHioN’ on Mnet’s M Countdown on September 11.
Watch the MV of ‘FaSHioN’ here:
Written by: Shrutha Keerthi
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