Hanroro speaks out over controversial CORTIS lyrics, 'takes shoutout as a compliment'
Hanroro / Captured from her Instagram
Singer Hanroro personally addressed the controversy over the lyrics of boy band CORTIS’ new song, seeking to defuse the backlash.
The singer uploaded a lengthy post on a fan community platform Monday, beginning by saying that many people had reached out to her and that she had a message containing the CORTIS members’ heartfelt sentiments.
“To be honest, I’ve seen the CORTIS members listening to and singing along to my song ‘0+0,’” Hanroro said, adding that she is also a fan of CORTIS and often admires the members’ musical creativity.
“What could be more meaningful than musicians communicating through music and inspiring one another? That is why I am taking their shoutout in the lyrics as a compliment.”
She continued: “I think having my song ‘0+0,’ which evokes a range of responses from both me and the CORTIS members, fill a line in the lyrics of their song ‘MONEYMONEYMONEY’ could be a way for us to remember the mutual respect we have long had for each other at this moment.”
Hanroro ended the message by expressing understanding of her fans’ concerns while calling for the controversy to subside.
“I am leaving this lengthy message in the hope that my fans will no longer feel hurt by this.”
K-pop boy group CORTIS / Courtesy of BigHit Music
The controversy arose last Saturday when CORTIS unveiled its new song “MONEYMONEYMONEY,” co-written and co-composed by all of its members, during a concert celebrating the group’s first anniversary Saturday.
The song included the lines, “I wanna get paid while I play, Pororo. Stackin’ zeros on zeros in my account, like Hanroro. They say it’s all brainrot, but everyone’s slurping it down.” Some online users claimed that the references to Hanroro and the title of her signature song carried malicious intent.
After the controversy spread, CORTIS member Keonho explained why the group had mentioned Hanroro in the song.
“Perhaps because I recently took up reading as a hobby, I find myself becoming more immersed in Hanroro songs now than when I first heard them,” he wrote. “Her lyrics read like poetry, and as a listener, I can relate them to my own experiences. That is why I like her music.”
“I want to write better lyrics myself, so I have studied her lyrics closely and listened to her songs a lot with my friends in the car. We gave her a shoutout, but I personally wanted to express my respect once again, so I decided to write this post,” the CORTIS member added, explaining the reason for including Hanroro and her song in the lyrics.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.