As you might have expected from a new group debuting under Big Hit, Cortis have blown up since the release of their first album. Big Hit has used scarcity to their advantage, promoted tracks from that album but holding off on a comeback until later. That comeback is finally scheduled for next month, and pre-release track REDRED offers our first taste. Ironically, “REDRED” is what some of Cortis’s past music has had me seeing.
In just a short time, this group has become trend leaders for an aggressive rage hip hop sound in boy groups. I predict we’ll see their general sound and vibe copied over and over across the next few years, for which I can only shudder. It’s NewJeans all over again for an industry that loves to run a trend into the ground and then continue peddling it all the way to the earth’s core. To Cortis’s credit, REDRED takes a slightly different approach. Yes, the autotune remains incessant. Yes, the melodies are flat and ultra-repetitive. And yes, it still doesn’t sound like they care all that much about what they’re doing or what others think. However, this time there’s at least a… dance beat?
REDRED places its one musical idea (a chant-sung, monotonous hook) over an instrumental that has quite a bit of life to it. There’s this sub-culture of Norwegian pop/rave I’ve been into lately led by acts like Kulturaften and TIX and the production here reminds me of their intensity. With this style of driving beat, no amount of warped vocal effects really bother me too much. They simply add to the general chaos and overwhelming energy. REDRED isn’t quite there and would benefit from a sharper arsenal of hooks, but if Cortis must make “obnoxious” their brand, they might as well make it fun. This is knocking on the door of “fun” and makes me curious where they’ll go next.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
Grade: B-
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Am I really seeing this right? Nick giving his musical arch nemesis an 8? A freaking 8? But then, if Lay of all people can get 8-rated songs as well, then CORTIS isn’t that far-fetched, right? Hopefully this might indicate a redemption arc for these kids!
But well, I really find the autotune extremely grating, I really can’t even make out most of the lyrics. But the instrumental is great and I wonder how it’d sound in a different song. I also fear that the novelty of this song would die off quickly. So, how do I rate a song with a great music production but awful vocal production?
Idk, maybe a 7 (7, 8, 7, 6) for me.
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The hooks are so annoying. Actually, its one hook, almost the entire song. This song has the same melody in both its verses and chorus and they just all blend together in one mush. It gets repetitive fast. This is the type of song that needs to be sub 2:30. Oh, and the autotune/vocal effects is just terrible. Idc if its a stylistic choice, there is no need to crank it up that high.
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ok i’m rly liking the instrumental, but the topline is… not it. i don’t find it as obnoxious as go, at least. the fun instrumental is carrying it for me. i’d rate it the same as you.
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Would not have expected such a high rating from you for this shitpile of a song. Its abysmal, mediocre and noisy. If a group like Ateez put this out, I’m pretty sure you’d give it a terrible rating.
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This is 4 at best for me.
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Wasn’t expecting a rating this high lmao. But yeah, it’s not as bad as I was expecting it to be. Maybe the album won’t be a total shitshow after all.
7.5(7,8,7,8) for now, might change
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now I’ve made it clear several times about how I hate this group’s music downnn but I actually agree with this review 😭 the melodies are pretty one-note but the beat is really good and carried that I didn’t mind. I never thought I’d say this but I can see it growing on me…
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I’d defend Nick on this one. This song slaps actually. Tell me I have not heard electroclash rage hip-hop in K-pop before. So we have this and phonk to add into genres that may be rising. I honestly think this quite genius and my kind of hip-hop music that IS FAR FROM their lackluster debut (which I loathed because of how ridiculously copied that sound of rage is), whereas there is novelty and some interesting musical choices in this that aren’t too pretentious. This for me gets a 9 honestly. I suppose I can listen to this even if in the future I won’t vibe with their musical direction or sound.
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production is nice but that’s it. and just like any other cortis song i’ll likely get tired of this quickly..
7.5 (7, 9, 7, 7)
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The song is making my ears bleed….redred
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I think that’s the intended effect 😂 https://m.youtube.com/shorts/wP7SJogt1Ic
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🤣 they really aren’t trying to hide it are they? i just can’t even imagine what its like going on a walk and having this come up in my playlist. i think i’d start crying (not that i’d even have it in my playlist, this song’s a skipskip anyways 🤷♀️)
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It does not sound good, and I really came to love their debut album. Maybe it’s another thing I have to get used to 🤷🏼♂️
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YEAH!!! love when groups surprise me like this, this is a huge step up from their last album. however i agree that the song’s too flat and by the 1 minute mark it’s basically over. i know its an intentional choice they’re making but i wish they’d embrace basic song structure more, imagine how much catchier the hook would be if we just heard it like….50 less times
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the beat is nice i suppose. the vocals.. it just ruins it. and whats this song even about?? goodness me. anywho, ycc is on the mini album so yeah – i’m scared.
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this goes to show what a negative effect trap beats have on songs (in my opinion!) You could substitute Redred’s main hook for any other cortis hook (“fashion, fashion, fashion” “watch me go, go, go”), but the song is drastically better because the beat actually has some life to it.
Still a bland song overall, but a step in the right direction
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It’s noisy, repetitive and excessively auto tuned. Very Cortis, I guess. I prefer their previous songs, even though I don’t listen to them😬. An 8 is very generous, imo.
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