Music

CORTIS Kicks Off First World Tour With Sold-Out Incheon Shows

The buzzing K-pop group launched its 'PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN' tour, with shows across North America next month.

Five young men posing in front of a wall displaying various sneakers, making peace signs and casual expressions.
CORTIS on the set of Sneaker Shopping in April 2026.
COMPLEX

Key Takeaways

  • CORTIS kicked off its first-ever world tour "PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN" with two sold-out shows at Inspire Arena in Incheon, less than a year after debuting in August 2025.
  • The five-member BIGHIT MUSIC group ran through a 12-song set plus a four-song encore built entirely from its own catalog, spotlighting hits and fan favorites like "REDRED," "Youngcreatorcrew," and "MENTION ME."
  • Framed around the idea of fans literally putting their phones away and living in the moment, the 14-date tour hits North America, Seoul, and Japan through September as critics hail CORTIS’s hip-hop-centric sound as a rare K-pop chart success.

CORTIS opened its first-ever world tour Saturday night (July 18) at Inspire Arena in Incheon, South Korea, selling out both of its opening-weekend shows before the first note hit.

The five-member BIGHIT Music group, which debuted on August 18, 2025, is running the 2026 CORTIS TOUR "PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN" across 14 shows in nine cities through September—an ambitious undertaking for an emerging K-pop group that has been performing publicly for less than a year.

Member Martin explained the philosophy behind the tour in an interview published by The Korean Herald: "To us, 'Put Your Phone Down' means living in the present. We want people to focus on the stage rather than their imaginations. I think this tour will give audiences a clear picture of the kind of performances Cortis hopes to create in the future."

Bandmate James echoed the sentiment. "If you fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the concert, taking it in with your eyes and feeling it with your whole body, I think those memories will stay with you even longer," he said. "We'll do our very best to give audiences a time they'll never forget."

The opening night setlist, compiled by fan account CORTIS Asia and circulated on Reddit's r/cortis community, shows that CORTIS performed 12 songs before a four-song encore. The show opened with "Youngcreatorcrew," a track from the GREENGREEN EP known for its crowd singalongs, before moving into "FaSHioN" and the EP’s lead single "REDRED." The set also included "ACAI," "TNT," "JOYRIDE," "LULLABY," "BLUE LIPS," "WASSUP," "GO!," and "WHAT YOU WANT." Fans also noted that "MENTION ME" was a surprise addition to the show that was not part of any setlist shared in advance. The encore brought back "TNT" and "YOUNGCREATORCREW" alongside "ACAI" and a remix of "GO!"

The tour's promotional poster features the members headbanging hard enough that their faces are barely recognizable, a blurred call to stop filming and join in.

After two nights in Incheon, CORTIS heads to North America in August with dates in Toronto, New York, Atlanta, Irving, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, before returning to Seoul for two shows on August 22 and 23. The run closes with three concerts in Kanagawa, Japan on September 4, 5, and 6. The group is also set to play Lollapalooza Chicago on July 31 and August 1, and the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix on October 9.

Music critic Cho Hye-rim noted the significance of the group's trajectory, according to the Korea Times: "K-pop groups reaching the top of the charts with trendy hip-hop as their musical foundation is highly unusual. CORTIS has shown that rapidly absorbing global music trends can succeed both in Korea and overseas."

CORTIS appeared on Complex’s Sneaker Shopping in April 2026.

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