Leading BTS and driving Cortis… the breakout performances of the “younger brothers”

BigHit Music is smiling at the successive achievements of its affiliated groups.

The first-half-year performance of BigHit Music's BTS, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, and CORTIS has been dazzling. All of them reached No. 1 to No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard main album chart, the Billboard 200, and the combined cumulative sales of the albums they released this year are already nearing 10 million copies (based on Circle Chart). They also achieved the so-called Grand Slam by consecutively dominating No. 1 on major domestic music shows.

BigHit Music said of their achievements, “As artists with different identities and strengths each achieved remarkable results side by side, BigHit Music's direction of pioneering a new path based on trust in music and on the empathy and support of fans and the public has been proven by these results.”

It further analyzed that good music and content, artists' autonomy, and strategies to expand fan experiences were the key factors. Each artist participates in songwriting camps, jointly working on everything from selecting song themes to writing lyrics and composing, while the label actively supports them throughout the entire production process so they can fully showcase their best creative abilities. In addition, by providing abundant secondary content such as making-of videos and other production videos, along with original content, the label deepens immersion so fans and artists can interact more closely.

Representative of this creative capability is CORTIS, the young creator crew, which is producing unusually strong results for a rookie group. CORTIS, which has not yet even been active for a full year since its debut, is showing a steep growth curve with its second mini album, Green Green (GREENGREEN), officially released earlier this month.

Holding firmly to its identity of co-creation, the group solidified its color with an album that feels even more raw than its previous work. Rather than a perfectly polished image, it chose honesty as its weapon, clearly revealing current emotions, tastes, and aspirations. As a result, it confidently topped domestic and international music charts and posted the best performance among boy groups that debuted within the past five years.

Meanwhile, TOMORROW X TOGETHER drew empathy with vivid stories filled with the members' sincerity in their first comeback after renewing their contracts. The mini 8th album, “7TH YEAR: When the wind briefly stopped in the thorn thicket,” is an album that honestly captures the anxiety, emptiness, and realistic concerns they faced over the past seven years of activities. While recalling the team's unique identity through the lengthy album title and title track name reminiscent of their debut days, the members stepped forward as the protagonists of the story and delivered a heartfelt message.

The achievements of BTS, who returned after a long hiatus, were equally remarkable. Delving into the team's roots, they released “Arirang,” chose Gwanghwamun as their comeback stage, and infused Korean elements through a logo design using the geon-gon-gam-ri symbols and a sample of the folk song “Arirang.”

Following the historic feat of simultaneous No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and Hot 100, they also took a total of 15 crowns on domestic music shows without appearing on them. Through the world tour “Arirang,” which began last month, they are coloring overseas stadium venues with mass singalongs of “Arirang.”

Even amid a busy schedule, the strong family-like bond between TOMORROW X TOGETHER and CORTIS creates synergy, with support from their senior group BTS, who joins challenges for the younger artists' new songs despite their packed agenda.

Reporter: Jeong Ga-young