Cortis earns two MTV VMA nominations one year after debut

Cortis earned its first nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards, just one year after its debut, Big Hit Music announced Wednesday, becoming the first K-pop boy group to debut in the 2020s to be recognized by the US awards show.

The five-member group — Martin, James, Juhoon and Keonho — was nominated in two categories for the 2026 MTV VMAs: best new artist and best K-pop, according to the list of nominees announced Tuesday.

Cortis will compete for best new artist alongside rising international acts that include Malcolm Todd, Myles Smith and Stella Lefty, while its second EP lead track, “RedRed,” received a nomination for best K-pop. The song will compete against five others in the category: BTS’ “Swim,” Blackpink’s “Jump,” Katseye’s “Pinky Up,” Le Sserafim’s “Spaghetti” and Lisa’s “Dream (Feat. Kentaro Sakaguchi).”

The VMAs are regarded as one of the four major US pop music awards shows, alongside the Grammy Awards, the American Music Awards and the Billboard Music Awards.

The nominations come amid the group’s continued commercial momentum in the US.

According to Billboard’s latest charts dated Aug. 22, Cortis’ second EP, “GreenGreen,” ranked No. 110 on the Billboard 200, extending its run on the main albums chart to 14 consecutive weeks. The achievement marks the longest Billboard 200 chart run for a single album by a K-pop boy band to have debuted since 2020.

The EP also placed No. 2 on the world albums chart and No. 6 on for album sales, while “RedRed” ranked No. 136 on the Global 200 and No. 66 on the Global Excl. US chart. Cortis remained on Billboard’s Artist 100 chart for a 14th consecutive week, ranking No. 74 after debuting at No. 5 in May.

The group’s debut EP, “Color Outside the Lines,” has continued to perform steadily as well, placing No. 7 on Billboard's world albums chart and No. 50 for sales.

Beyond the charts, the debut EP surpassed 700 million cumulative streams on Spotify as of Sunday, less than a year since its release in September 2025. According to the agency, the album continues to add roughly 1.8 million streams per day.

Cortis celebrated the first anniversary of its debut on Tuesday and is set to hold two anniversary concerts, titled “Put Your Phone Down Birthday Party,” at Korea University’s Hwajeong Gymnasium in Seoul on Saturday and Sunday.