CORTIS's First Solo Concert Raises Questions Beyond Its New Format

The first solo concert of the group CORTIS, which will celebrate its first anniversary next month, started off with a bang by selling out all tickets. However, fans expressed significant disappointment regarding the concert duration and the composition of the setlist.

CORTIS held their 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," carries the concept of putting down mobile phones to fully immerse oneself in the stage, music, and the atmosphere of the venue.

Immediately after the performance, the agency stated, "The audience put down their phones and immersed themselves in the concert, and the venue was filled with high-purity sing-alongs," declaring the first concert a success. 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 grammar of idol concerts and focus on the music and performance itself.

However, the reactions of fans who actually attended the concert were mixed. Reviews on online communities and social media continued, such as, "Compared to the ticket price of 143,000 KRW, the concert duration was short at about 1 hour and 40 minutes," "The representative song 'REDRED' was repeated 4 times, and 'YOUNGCREATORCREW' was repeated 5 times," and "There was a lack of elements expected from a solo concert, such as costume changes, VCRs, or cover stages."

CORTIS has released a total of 12 original songs through two albums so far. As there are not many released songs, the concert was filled with remixes and repetitive compositions, but some fans reacted by saying, "It felt like listening to the same song multiple times," "It was closer to a fan meeting than a concert," and "As it was the first solo concert, I expected a more diverse stage."

As the controversy surrounding the first day's performance spread, there were some changes on the second day. According to reviews from fans who attended the concert, CORTIS added various songs upon audience request during the encore, and the members' talk segments were longer than on the first day. The concert duration was also reported to be slightly longer at about 2 hours, and the encore stage was expanded.

However, the atmosphere was not that the disappointment raised on the first day had been completely resolved. Evaluations continued that there was no major change in the setlist composition other than the slightly increased concert time, and there were many opinions that disappointment remained in terms of the completeness and composition of the concert, considering the symbolism of it being their first solo concert since debut.

While some viewed the challenge of attempting a new concert grammar as meaningful, a significant number of audience members responded, "Regardless of the experiment, since a concert is a cultural product for which the audience pays, it should have met the expectations for basic running time, setlist, and stage composition."

Attention is focused on how CORTIS will reflect the reactions raised at the Incheon concert in their North American tour and the first anniversary commemorative concert to be held this coming August.

Meanwhile, CORTIS will perform a solo stage as the only K-pop boy group this year 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 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 and 23.

Photo=Big Hit Music (HYBE) 

(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)