The first solo concert of the group CORTIS, which will celebrate its first anniversary next month, started with a bang as all tickets sold out, but fans expressed significant disappointment regarding the concert duration and setlist composition.
CORTIS held its first world tour, "2026 CORTIS TOUR 'PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN' IN INCHEON," at the Inspire Arena in Incheon on July 18 and 19. The concert title, "PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN," reflects a concept that encourages the audience to put away their phones and fully immerse themselves in the stage, music, and the atmosphere of the venue.
Immediately after the concert, the agency stated that the first show was a success, noting, "The audience put their phones down and immersed themselves in the performance, and the venue was filled with pure, high-quality sing-alongs." The members also shared their thoughts, saying, "We are grateful and happy to be able to fill such a large stage less than a year after our debut."
The concert focused on maximizing audience participation in a free atmosphere, and some evaluated it as an attempt to move away from the existing conventions of idol concerts and focus on the music and performance itself.
However, the reactions of fans who actually attended the concert were mixed. Reviews flooded online communities and social media, with comments such as, "Compared to the ticket price of 143,000 won, the concert duration was short at about 1 hour and 40 minutes," "The title track 'REDRED' was repeated 4 times, and 'YOUNGCREATORCREW' was repeated 5 times," and "There was a lack of elements expected at a solo concert, such as costume changes, VCRs, or cover stages."
To date, CORTIS has released a total of 12 original songs through two albums. As they do not have many released songs, they filled the concert with remixes and repetitions, but some fans commented, "It felt like listening to the same songs multiple times," "It was closer to a fan meeting than a concert," and "As it was their first solo concert, I expected more diverse stages."
As the controversy surrounding the first day's performance spread, some changes were made on the second day. According to reviews from fans who attended, CORTIS added various songs requested by the audience during the encore, and the members' speaking segments were longer than on the first day. The concert duration was also extended to about 2 hours, and the encore stage was reportedly expanded.
However, the atmosphere was not that the disappointments raised on the first day had been completely resolved. Evaluations continued that there were no major changes to the setlist composition other than the slightly longer concert duration, and many expressed that, considering the symbolism of their first solo concert since debut, there was still much to be desired in terms of the concert's completeness and composition.
While some viewed the attempt to try a new concert convention as meaningful, a significant number of audience members responded, "Regardless of the experiment, a concert is a cultural product for which the audience pays, so it should have met expectations regarding basic running time, setlist, and stage composition."
Attention is now focused on how CORTIS will reflect the reactions from the Incheon concert in their North American tour and their first-anniversary commemorative concert coming up in August.
Meanwhile, CORTIS will perform as the only K-pop boy group to hold a solo stage at "Lollapalooza Chicago" in the United States from July 31 to August 1 (local time). Afterward, they will continue their North American tour starting in Toronto, Canada, on August 4, and will hold their first-anniversary commemorative concert, "2026 CORTIS TOUR 'PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN' BIRTHDAY PARTY," at Hwajeong Gymnasium at Korea University in Seoul on August 22 – 23.
Photo: Big Hit Music (HYBE)
Reported by Kang Gyeong-yun | SBS Entertainment News
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