CORTIS opens first solo tour with repeated songs

CORTIS held the first show of its first solo tour, PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN, at Incheon Inspire Arena on July 18. The performance departed from the usual K-pop concert format by centering the set on repetition and live staging rather than a large sequence of separate songs.

The setlist included the title track RedRed from the group’s second mini album GreenGreen four times, while the B-side Young Creator Crew was performed five times. The structure was presented not simply as a matter of having fewer songs, but as a format built around repeated performances and variation.

The approach was compared with Travis Scott’s Korea concert last year, when he performed FE!N several times in succession. In CORTIS’ show, repeated songs and altered staging were used to keep the focus on the members’ movement, breathing and live presence.

The concert also omitted interlude videos, or VCRs, and multiple costume changes that are common at idol concerts. The tour title, PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN, framed the show as an invitation for the audience to take part in the venue rather than watch through a phone lens.

CORTIS has released 12 songs so far, and the show functioned more as a fan-concert-style stage than as the completed form of a regular world tour. Less than 1 year after debut, the group used the performance to present its current identity through a compact set rather than a production-heavy format.

The Incheon Inspire Arena setting also raised the issue of concert infrastructure, as the venue is less accessible for some audience members while Seoul lacks enough large pop-music concert venues. CORTIS is scheduled to perform once more at the same venue on July 19.