CORTIS has crossed the million mark in pre-orders—but the conversation around it is anything but celebratory.
According to distributors YG PLUS and Universal Records, the group’s second mini album ‘GREENGREEN’ recorded 1,227,986 pre-orders as of April 2.
The figure was reached just one week after pre-sales opened on March 27, nearly tripling the first-week sales of their debut album ‘COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES,’ which logged 436,367 copies on the Hanteo Chart.
Despite hitting million-seller status before release, the response online has been mixed. Some netizens questioned the scale of the numbers, commenting, “Is it really possible to sell over a million during a hiatus?” and “They barely even held fan-sign events, so how did this happen?” Others pointed to broader concerns, referencing the company’s past controversies. At the same time, some fans defended the results, citing growing international popularity and viral traction on platforms like TikTok.
The discussion has also revived scrutiny around past industry practices. A recent court ruling tied to the put option dispute between former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin and HYBE noted that in 2023, certain albums under HYBE labels were distributed using a sale-with-right-of-return method, with those figures included in initial sales counts.
As attention continues to build, the gap between commercial performance and public perception remains a key point of debate.