CORTIS is nominated for Best New Male Group and Best Looks (for FaSHioN) in the 2025 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Support CORTIS by clicking here to cast your vote today before it closes on 17 January 2026.

Next up on the rookie fortnight is CORTIS, one of the biggest rookies of 2025 and a highly requested group that I should review. Consisting of five members (James, Juhoon, Martin, Seonghyeon, and Keonho), CORTIS made their official debut in August 2025 with the single What You Want, which was later featured on their first mini-album, Colour Outside the Lines, which dropped in September 2025. Also featured on the mini-album are the pre-release single GO! and the follow-up promotional single FaSHioN (which I will try to return to review).

I will confess straight up that I wasn’t a fan of What You Want (which is partly why I kind of delayed my review of the song). A couple of months on and a fair number of repeats (Spotify and the award season did not want me to forget this song), and I have warmed up a bit to What You Want. The shoutiness of What You Want, particularly the ‘echo’ of the song’s title that follows the chorus lines and the chorus’s punctuated shouty delivery, became a recognisable element of the song. I found myself following along to these moments when the song comes on. For a debut song, this is a good outcome. Pity that it didn’t come to me earlier. Unfortunately, the vocal processing and delivery in some parts of What You Want made the song feel exhausted and hard to get into. And while I did appreciate the indie rock and hip-hop instrumental, there was very little momentum or drive to it.

The music video shows the members conveying the message of freedom after their van breaks down, leaving them stranded in the middle of nowhere. Their holiday becomes quite wacky throughout the video as the group hitchhikes back to the city. They encounter a monstrous butterfly (and, in trying to escape, one member is left behind and eaten by it). They eat at a chaotic restaurant and have to make a Squid Game-like choice at an underground station. But it appears to be all a dream, as KEONHO wakes up and witnesses another version of himself and the rest of the group make the alternate choice at the station. It is a fun and humorous video that was enjoyable to watch.

What stood out most in this debut was the innovative choreography, which features the group performing on treadmills. Not all of the routine is performed on the treadmill, though, which requires members to get on and off the moving treadmills throughout. That adds further complexity to the choreography. I also enjoyed the free spirit and hip-hop flair the performance had.

Song – 6.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 7.5/10