“Flappy ears, flappy ears (Red Red)… simmering cartilage (Red Red)”

At first glance, incomprehensible lyrics are followed by addictive electronic sounds. These are part of the lyrics to ‘Red Red’ by the group Cortiz, which dominated the music charts last month. The five-member boy group Cortiz under BigHit Music is sweeping the music scene. Achieving No.1 on various digital charts such as Melon, their broad public popularity is unusual among boy groups, where consumption trends are typically fandom-driven. Less than 10 months after debut, Cortiz has taken over not only albums and digital tracks but also the short-form content market, prompting assessments that they are “a new icon that will change the dynamics of the K-pop industry.”

The track ‘Red Red’ from Cortiz’s album <Green Green>, released on the 5th of last month, ranked No.1 on the ‘Top 100’ chart of the domestic platform Melon on the 13th. Over the past year, Cortiz became the first boy group within a year of debut to top Melon’s ‘Top 100’. The momentum did not cool easily. About two weeks after the album release, it took No.1 on Melon’s weekly chart in the third and fourth weeks of May, and it placed No.3 on the May monthly chart. It was the first time since April 2024 that a boy group song sat within the top three of a monthly chart.

A key factor behind Cortiz’s popularity is that their free-spirited image is being consumed online as a ‘meme’ (viral online content). From their debut song ‘Go!’ released last August to ‘Young Creator Crew’ and ‘Red Red’, each release either made short-form challenges on social media go viral or spawned new catchphrases.

The lyric ‘Yeongkeukeu’, which appears repeatedly in the track ‘Young Creator Crew’ on <Green Green>, is an abbreviation of ‘Young Creator Crew’, a descriptor for a team that co-creates content across music, choreography, and music videos. Members of the ‘Zalpha generation’, born from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, embraced it as a meme. ‘Yeongkeukeu’ settled into meaning someone young and trendy, and as its counterpart, derivative slang such as ‘Olkeukeu’ and ‘Neulkeukeu’ also emerged.

‘Red Red’ likewise became an opportunity to expand Cortiz into an internet meme. Across various short-form platforms, choreography challenge videos known as the ‘Flappy Ears Dance Challenge’ spread, and replying ‘Green Green’ or ‘Red Red’ to statements of affirmation or negation became a catchphrase.

Cortiz is distinguished from earlier idol groups in that there is no separate overarching ‘universe’. Previous generations, especially fourth-generation K-pop groups, often had clearly defined world-building, with albums serving as parts of that narrative. Tomorrow X Together under the same HYBE Entertainment and the girl group aespa under SM Entertainment are representative examples.

Cortiz puts the everyday lives and emotions of their peers front and center rather than a meticulously engineered universe. ‘Red Red’ began with an idea from member James, and all members took part in the writing, composing, and choreography. Another track, ‘Acai’, was written around members who often eat acai bowls. In particular, a performance video shot at La Festa in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province drew responses from netizens such as, “It feels like watching a moment of free-spirited youth.”

The members themselves cited ‘honesty’ as the secret to their popularity. At a press conference on April 20 celebrating the release of <Green Green>, member Martin said, “From our first release, we have prioritized capturing our candid daily lives and our unvarnished selves in the album,” adding, “It seems fans like that side of us.”

While the label’s direction and full-throated support cannot be overlooked, observers say this has helped form an image closer to a collective of creators than to conventional idols.

Jung Min-Jae, a pop-culture critic, analyzed, “In today’s music market, seizing social-media algorithms and exposure is crucial,” adding, “Unconventional lyrics like ‘Yeongkeukeu’ or ‘Red Red’, combined with the label’s management capability, seem to have created the content’s fun.” He continued, “There was likely help from the label at the planning stage, but unlike existing male idol groups for whom breezy freshness was the norm, they built the brand ‘Young Creator Crew’, and the public likely found that refreshing.”