Ten takeaways from the debut media showcase of CORTIS

The media showcase followed a structure I think is in alignment with other K-pop rollouts. Each individual member came out to pose for cameras, often with prompting from the host.

Martin the leader, but not the oldest, was the first to come out. At over 6’ he is tall. They seemed remarkably self-composed for such a young group, and naturally confident.

The group’s overall style is understated with pops of color. Their look is natural with casual yet carefully groomed wispy haircuts.

Fashion-wise they are in the streetwear/casual realm with lots of jeans, t-shirt in colors that complement each other but aren’t matchy-matchy and hints of primary colors. Textures include mixed patterns and plaids.

I also get a sense of the avant-garde in a couple of the clothing choices. The logo itself reminds me of Matisse and in the some of the clothing items like Martin’s t-shirt, the hat Keonho wears in some of the first promotional photos adds to the modern art vibes in the styling.

Although Martin and James came up over again for their writing experience and credits, this description of one of the youngest members, Seonghyeon, born in 2009 took me off-guard. She described him as prolific. Again and again, the idea that this is a creator group in all aspects was emphasized.

CORTIS refers to “color outside the lines” but Juhoon said that the letters were drawn randomly, which I find interesting. It might be fun to play around with what the alternatives might have been.

Interesting pattern. Although in the fast-paces world of K-pop six years is an eternity, I think it’s a healthy amount of time to allow each group to breathe in their own space before worrying about the pressure of a new group from within their own label coming up. It also gives time to have the label adjust to the growth.

I can safely say, along with their pre-debut release “Go” there’s not much that sounds like it in mainstream pop right now. They performed their official lead single “What You Want” against a desert backdrop. Overall it has a very loose garage-band feeling. There’s a fun bass breakdown toward the end of the song. The choreography, which apparently all members participated in, appears deceptively loose and spontaneous, but there were moments of precision and formation work and both in the live performance and in the performance video released later. The use of treadmills (11 in the live performance and 35 in the video) and the one take technique of the video undoubtedly took some coordination.

And about those treadmills: James stated the group spent so much time rehearsing on them that they felt motion sickness that they then took medication for. Keonho added that they started with 11 treadmills for the performance, but when they went to shoot in the desert and had all the space to work with they decided to up it to 35. Seonghyun chimed in to say that at the end of the shoot they all ended up with mouths full of sand and that it felt liberating to dance under the sun.

The treadmills reminded me of another throwback to the mid-2000s: OK Go’s innovative treadmill choreography video that at the time of its release in 2006 became one of the most watched videos on YouTube.

Per Seonghyeon, “What You Want” was the song that stood out over 300 songs to become the one they felt best represented them as a group. James states that he was anxious when they finally landed on this song as a debut song because he wondered what kind of choreography they could come up with. “We all loved the song so much, we had to create a performance that gave it justice.” Martin added that they discussed what each of them wanted in life and took the words they came up with and went into the recording booth and started recording. The raw, improvised melody that came out of that session made it to the final version.

Keonho then added it was a fun way to work and that when Martin and James recorded the demo, one of the producers told them it already sounded like the final track.

Videos were filmed for each track of of the EP, and the videos were filmed in the desert and mountains, per Martin. James added that as trainees they filmed their own video and then the company suggested they “bring it to life on a bigger scale” filming in the U.S. and New Zealand. Juhoon emphasized they attended all meetings with the music video director. ]

Martin went on to say that videos were an everyday part of their lives as kids so it only felt natural to create want to create them.

They emphasized more than once that the co-create everything together. “Even if its just one line,” said Juhoon, “All five of us work together.”

While they don’t have traditional K-pop roles (i.e. visual, main dancer etc) when asked what their individual contributions to the band are, here is what each of them said about themselves:

James said he’s the oldest “big brother.” He specializes in working on choreo and is learning how to edit video. He called himself an “idea bank.”

“I’m the member with a clear style that stands out with music, fashion and choreography.”

“I watch movies a lot. I provide a lot of ideas when making music videos and I gave ideas [when shooting] on angles.”

As for me, he says “It’s a little embarrasing to say it myself but I’m the smartest member I think?” (This one made me laugh). “The brain. I’m the mediator.”

“I try to make a good team culture when working on music.”

Los Angeles factors heavy in their origin story: They had a three month long songwriting camp in Los Angeles that went a month longer than intended. They also filmed their debut performance video in the California desert (not clear where.) Much of their visual identity is LA-coded.

They feel pressure because of the successful groups that have come before them and all the successful groups out there. But they are working hard with that sense of responsibility Martin says. They are motivated to do as well as senior artists. James wants to work hard to have the group be described as “sensational.”

They worked on “Go” for a year and never got tired of it, according to Martin.

BTS said they “want the best” for CORTIS said Seonghyeon, while TXT saw their debut performance and gave realistic, specific feedback.

j-hope met with them said Martin. And told them to “Always count your blessings and stay humble. [He] encouraged us.”