On August 13, CORTIS brought their first-ever North American tour, PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN, to the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles. The tour spanned seven shows in six cities and followed the release of the group’s second EP, GREENGREEN, which debuted at No.3 on the “Billboard 200” chart. True to the tour’s name, the group challenged fans, lovingly called COER, to put their phones away, be fully present, engage with their music, and share meaningful moments.
CORTIS—consisting of MARTIN, JAMES, JUHOON, SEONGHYEON, and KEONHO—debuted on August 25, following the release of their pre-debut single, “Go!” earlier that year. The song was nominated for “Favorite TikTok Song” at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, bringing acclaim to the group. In 2026, they became the first K-Pop act to headline the Opening Night of the NBA Crossover Concert series during NBA All-Star Weekend. Their first EP, COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES, marked the beginning of their rapid rise, with the momentum carrying into GREENGREEN and now their first solo tour.
The L.A. concert extended beyond the walls of the YouTube Theater. The entire show was livestreamed in cinemas across America, while a special live viewing party at the Vermont Hollywood gave local COER another way to experience it. Along with the live broadcast, viewers were also treated to a 30-minute special exclusive pre-show created specifically for the theatrical release.
The concert opened with a live feed from the members’ phone backstage, capturing CORTIS as they cheered together before directly addressing the fans through the phone. Moments later, the members walked out on stage and immediately challenged the audience to put their phones down. While not everyone followed, they had little time to think about it as CORTIS kicked off their set with “YOUNGCREATORCREW,” “FaSHioN,” and “REDRED.” All three songs pulled the audience to their feet, with “YOUNGCREATORCREW” particularly reflecting the youthful energy in the theater. CORTIS attracted a noticeably younger fanbase who could relate to that hunger and ambition reflected in the song. With every beat, the fans had more gusto and excitement, mirroring CORTIS on stage. That is the heartbeat of this fanbase. With both CORTIS and COER at the beginning of their journey together, the song set the tone for the night.
After the first three songs, CORTIS paused to greet their fans across all three levels of the theater. They shouted out “What’s up L.A.?!” and were promptly greeted with screams of love back. Decked in streetwear-style clothes, the members brought a sense of familiarity and casualness to the concert. CORTIS is a noticeably tall group, and their physical presence filled the stage even though there are only five members. Their dance formations filled the stage, even as KEONHO sat out the dance-heavy performances due to an injury sustained before the tour. But his excitement and energy could not be contained. In brief moments throughout the concert, KEONHO stood up and joined the group in small bursts of choreography. The group’s energy also drew the crowd in, as if inviting the audience on stage with them. Having the members run out into the audience every so often brought the stage to the crowd and made the theater feel intimate.
CORTIS continued the party with “ACAI,” “TNT,” and “Mention Me” (from the Sony Pictures animated movie Goat). “ACAI” brought the hype, giving the audience more space to jump around with the members and each other. “TNT” paired the performance with crazy visuals: the live camera feed of the members layered with text pulled from the song’s lyrics. “Mention Me,” meanwhile, brought the energy of a basketball locker room, hyping the audience up with their voices. Everyone chanted with them in one unified voice, creating that team-minded atmosphere.
After maintaining the high energy of the concert’s opening set, CORTIS slowed things down to address their audience once again. “L.A. is like our second home,” said JUHOON. “Everything started here. Thank you guys for letting us come back.”
L.A. has played a significant role in CORTIS’ origin story, serving as the filming location for their “Go!” music video and, as MARTIN reminded the crowd, a creative home for even more of the group’s work. “We worked on our album, we worked on our music video, all in Los Angeles,” he added. “So this is where the magic happens. Y’all bring great vibes.”
JAMES agreed and said, “You guys know we know L.A. like the back of our hands.”
The members’ reflections served as a perfect transition into their softer set of the night. “I think it’s time to calm down a bit,” SEONGHYEON announced before CORTIS moved into “JoyRide,” “Lullaby,” and “Blue Lips.” The shift was especially fitting with “JoyRide,” which is inspired by the feeling of driving through Malibu. COER came together, illuminated the theater with their lightsticks and phone flashlights, and sang along. While CORTIS’ most popular songs are loud and dance-driven, they showcased a softer side to their music with this set.
CORTIS did not keep the energy down for long. Wassup” brought the crowd slowly back to their feet before JAMES returned to the message at the heart of the tour.
“‘Put your phone down’ is a mindset,” he said. “Enjoy this moment with us.”
Since CORTIS has a limited discography, their concert setlist was a mystery as to how they would fill the time. But this limitation was a gift in disguise, allowing the audience to truly put their phones down during the repeated songs so they did not miss a single second of this experience. The second half of the show revisited some of the group’s biggest songs through remixes and more audience participation, beginning with a remix of “Go!” that immediately pulled the crowd back on their feet and dancing to the choreography.
“What You Want” followed, with COER chanting “What you want!” back at the members. CORTIS then introduced a concert-specific fanchant that divided the audience into two sections, one taking the verses and the other singing along to the sub-melody of the verses. COER performed perfectly alongside the members in this shared moment that can only be experienced in person.
The return to their past songs only seemed to make COER louder, jumping to the songs like their life depended on it. During another run-through of “TNT” and “ACAI,” several members went into the crowd to be with COER as they partied, bridging the gap between artist and fan that the tour strove to do. “MOTION” offered a break from the repeats, but not from the crowd’s growing participation. The song is a classic CORTIS sound, bringing new energy and new life to the venue. “MOTION” features EDM textures that CORTIS uses in their discography. With the refreshing beat of CORTIS’ latest release, the crowd was ecstatic to hear the song live. The majority of the crowd knew the song, singing along to the chorus at the top of their lungs. Even the meme sound in the song “fah!” was shouted out by the crowd.
CORTIS challenged their crowd to dance with more passion with one final run-through of “Go!,” “REDRED,” “YOUNGCREATORCREW,” “MOTION,” “FaSHioN,” and “What You Want.” The young audience had unlimited energy, bouncing to the beat. For the repeated performance of “YOUNGCREATORCREW,” JAMES challenged the audience to do two things: to put their phones down and to be completely silent for the beat to drop in dead air. For a crowd that has spent most of the night screaming and dancing, everyone somehow remained quiet long enough.
Then the beat dropped.
The theater erupted as the crowd jumped back to their feet for “YOUNGCREATORCREW.” For the older audience members, the fear of the building collapsing was real. But YouTube Theater remained strong, and so did the members. The explosion from “YOUNGCREATORCREW” spilling into “FaSHioN” was instantaneous and infectious. The energy could not be contained to the walls of the theater.
As the night drew to an end, CORTIS made sure to address their fans. “L.A. has some of my core memories,” JUHOON said. “But this one is my best one.” The other members agreed with big smiles on their faces. “L.A. is just a comfortable place,” said JAMES. “I see so many types of people enjoying music and enjoying life, this is why we’re on tour. To see every single one of you enjoying our music. L.A., you are a very special city, and you will always be our base.” The members told L.A. that they are shooting to perform at SoFi Stadium next, which is conveniently located next door to the YouTube Theater. Each member expressed their love and waved to all three levels of the theater.
When CORTIS started to exit the stage, the feeling was bittersweet. As much fun as the concert was, COER knew every good thing had to come to an end. L.A. showed up and showed out for CORTIS’ first world tour. And it proved that CORTIS cannot be contained within a single theater. Their sound could shake mountains, and their COER will be there when it happens.