COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES

Like Big Hit Entertainment labelmates BTS before them, the members of boy group Color Outside the Lines, or CORTIS, burst onto the K-pop scene eager to tell their own stories of youth. From the exclamatory trap anthem “GO!” to grunge-rock lead single “What You Want” to reference-heavy hip-hop track “FaSHioN,” teen members James, Juhoon, Martin, Seonghyeon, and Keonho strive to be seen as a group that doesn’t fit into any of the traditional K-pop boxes—and “for the whole world to know [their] name.”

But it’s comparatively minimalist EP tracks like “JoyRide” and “Lullaby” that have some of the most unexpected things to say. On the latter—a hazy, acoustic ode to an already weary Generation Z—CORTIS interrupts a serenade of <i>ooh</i>s with a shouted yet still soothing refrain: “I GOT WORK/YOU GOT WORK/BUT IN THIS MOMENT/QUIET FIRST.” A valuing of respite alongside the boldest of global pop ambitions.

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