Fans Celebrate BTS And CORTIS' KMChart Sweep

BTS and CORTIS have given BigHit Music a rare double spotlight on KMChart, with the senior global act and the fast-rising rookie group both landing at No. 1 in major May categories. The result matters because it links two very different stages of the same label story: BTS extending its hold as a global pop standard, while CORTIS turns a breakout single into measurable chart power.

KMChart announced its May monthly results on May 31, and Korean entertainment outlets began reporting the full category picture this week. CORTIS took first place in the K-MUSIC song category with REDRED, while BTS held the top position in K-MUSIC Artist for a second straight month. V of BTS also ranked No. 1 in the HOT CHOICE male category, and BABYMONSTER led the female side.

For casual K-pop listeners, KMChart is a monthly chart and awards-linked platform that tracks multiple K-pop categories and includes fan-voting channels such as My One Pick and Idol Champ during candidate periods. That mix makes the latest result less like a single streaming snapshot and more like a check on sustained attention across fandom, domestic music performance, and public visibility.

Why CORTIS' REDRED Is Becoming More Than A Rookie Hit

CORTIS' first-place finish in K-MUSIC is the headline that may surprise newer international readers. The five-member BigHit Music group, made up of Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon, and Keonho, debuted in August 2025 as the label's first new boy group in six years after Tomorrow X Together. Less than a year later, the group is now being discussed alongside BTS in monthly chart reports.

REDRED was released on April 20 as the lead track from CORTIS' second EP, GREENGREEN. Korea JoongAng Daily reported at the time that the song arrived ahead of the album's full May 4 release, and that the EP had already passed 2 million physical preorders according to BigHit Music. The same report noted that the group's 2025 debut EP, Color Outside the Lines, had sold 2.07 million copies as of April, setting a record for a K-pop debut album.

Those numbers explain why the KMChart result feels bigger than a routine monthly win. CORTIS entered 2026 with strong album demand, but REDRED has helped prove that the group can also build a song campaign with its own momentum. Korean reports described the track as having gained traction through its unusual sound, the so-called "pallanggwi" dance point, and steady live-performance attention.

The wider chart context backs that up. Soompi's K-pop Music Chart for the final week of May had REDRED returning to No. 1 for its second overall week at the top, with the song listed in its fifth week on the chart. Earlier in May, Soompi's Circle Chart roundup showed CORTIS sweeping the top two spots on the physical album chart with the regular and Weverse versions of GREENGREEN, while REDRED rose to No. 3 on the overall digital chart and No. 3 on the Global K-pop chart.

That spread is important. Rookie groups often show early strength in one lane, especially physical albums backed by a dedicated fandom. CORTIS is showing signs of a broader profile: album sales, digital song movement, global chart visibility, and performance-driven social conversation are arriving at the same time.

BTS' Artist Win Shows The Other Side Of BigHit's Reach

BTS' No. 1 finish in K-MUSIC Artist carries a different kind of weight. The group is no longer being measured as a new phenomenon. It is being measured against its own long run of international dominance, and the fact that BTS remained on top for another month shows how durable that audience still is.

The timing makes the KMChart result even sharper. BTS won Artist of the Year at the 2026 American Music Awards in Las Vegas on May 25, according to Forbes and other international coverage. Several outlets also reported that the group took multiple trophies that night, including Song of the Summer and a K-pop artist award, placing BTS back at the center of global awards conversation just days before the KMChart May results were published.

For English-language readers who may know BTS mostly through their U.S. breakthroughs, the American Music Awards remain a useful reference point. BTS first changed the scale of K-pop's Western award-show presence in the late 2010s and early 2020s. Their latest Artist of the Year win shows that, even after years of solo projects, military-service transitions, and shifting industry cycles, the group still commands enough global attention to convert major award moments into chart power.

KMChart's HOT CHOICE male result adds another layer. V ranking first in that fan-driven category signals how individual BTS members continue to drive daily engagement, not only group-level nostalgia. The same list included names such as Lim Young Woong, Lee Chan Won, Jimin, Jin, Jungkook, Seventeen, Yeonjun of Tomorrow X Together, Stray Kids, and Jang Min Ho, which puts V's result inside a crowded field of idol, trot, and mainstream fandoms.

Taken together, the BTS and CORTIS results create a clean generational contrast. BTS represents BigHit Music's established global ceiling. CORTIS represents the label's attempt to build a new act in a market where rookie groups must prove themselves across albums, short-form performance clips, domestic charts, and global playlists almost immediately.

What The May Results Say About The Current K-pop Market

The May KMChart list also shows how crowded the K-pop field has become. In K-MUSIC, reports placed PLAVE, ILLIT, AKMU, Lim Young Woong, BTS, Choi Yena, Jin, Hearts2Hearts, and NMIXX behind CORTIS. In HOT CHOICE female, BABYMONSTER led a top 10 that included Dreamcatcher, TWICE, Hearts2Hearts, X:IN, Kep1er, UNIS, QWER, Suzy, and VIVIZ.

That matters because CORTIS did not rise in a quiet month. The group did it during a cycle stacked with established fandoms, strong girl-group releases, virtual-idol strength, solo stars, and senior acts. For a rookie group, winning a monthly song category against that kind of field gives fans a more concrete talking point than simple hype.

The story also reflects how K-pop success is now layered. A single can be evaluated through Korean digital charts, international streaming, music-show wins, weekly fan charts, album sales, social response, and award-linked platforms. No one metric tells the whole story. But when several of them begin pointing in the same direction, the industry pays attention.

CORTIS has also built its campaign around a clear creative identity. At the April showcase for REDRED, the members described the song as part of a process of defining what they want to pursue and what they want to reject. Korea JoongAng Daily reported that the group framed the track almost like a manifesto, with red representing things they want to avoid and green representing the direction they want to move toward.

That kind of concept language can sound abstract, but it gives the group an identity beyond chart numbers. The members have been presented as a "young creator crew," and all five were credited in the songwriting and lyrics for the lead single in Soompi's chart information. For a rookie act under a label known for narrative-heavy artist development, that authorship angle helps fans read REDRED as a statement of intent rather than just a high-energy comeback track.

The Next Test Comes At KMA 2026

The KMChart story will not end with the monthly ranking. The chart's connected awards event, KMA 2026, is scheduled for July 25 at Korea University's Hwajeong Gymnasium in Seoul. That gives the May winners a clear next stage, and it gives fans another reason to keep watching the chart cycle through early summer.

For BTS, the next question is how long the group's post-AMAs momentum can keep rolling across Korean and global platforms. The group has little left to prove, but each new domestic No. 1 adds to the sense that BTS' audience remains unusually active for a veteran act with both group and solo narratives running at once.

For CORTIS, the stakes are different and more immediate. The group now has to turn a breakout month into a longer arc: more stable public recognition, stronger live stages, and a clearer place among fifth-generation boy groups. The May KMChart win gives them a strong proof point, but the follow-up will decide whether REDRED becomes a peak moment or the start of a much bigger run.

Either way, BigHit Music has a story few labels can claim this month. Its most famous act is still winning at the top of the global field, while its newest boy group is building evidence that the next chapter may already be underway.