CORTIS sells out all seats on North American tour of 6 cities... captivates local audiences with Korean lyrics

CORTIS created scenes of local audiences singing along to Korean lyrics during the North American tour, with all seven performances in six North American cities selling out on the day of presale. The mini album 2nd release ’GREENGREEN’ rose from number 114 to 39 on the Billboard 200 chart after the Lollapalooza Chicago performance and remained on the chart for 17 consecutive weeks as of the September 12 issue. CORTIS’s music is based on sounds familiar to American listeners such as Memphis hip-hop and Rage, but the lyrics focus on Korean expressions that are difficult to translate, like ’dogani sarigi’ and ’gungdengi garigi.’ In the case of ’REDRED,’ English is used only in the hook, while the main meaning is conveyed through Korean idioms and neologisms. Words like café abbreviations such as ’ttabara’ and terms like ’Pororo’ and ’Bbobbo Bbo’ are used as rhymes in the songs. The music videos were also filmed against backgrounds of living spaces that Korean people in their 20s actually experience, such as Nakwon Arcade, old restaurants, arcades, and alleyway commercial districts. At the ’REDRED’ showcase, Martin stated, ″I thought the old street scenes in Korea matched the rough feeling of the song, so I looked for places like Nakwon Arcade and old restaurants to shoot.″ The ’TNT’ music video features a puffed rice machine and signs like ’Dongmyo Outlet.’ Unlike existing K-pop that emphasizes traditional symbols such as hanbok and gugak, CORTIS chose street fashion and workwear as stage costumes and captured the daily lives and culture of Korean people in their 20s in an unfiltered way. They actively utilized memories and culture shared by a specific generation, such as celebrating their first anniversary with ’Doljabi’ or using ’New Millennium Gymnastics’ as content themes. This strategy made Korean lyrics function as objects of play and interpretation rather than linguistic barriers within the global fandom. Lyric interpretation content, memes, and Q&A within communities play a role in secondary diffusion. The method of embedding Korean texts into American sounds, as seen in ’Motion’ featuring Juicy J of Memphis hip-hop, attracted attention. Domestically, CORTIS’s boldness has entered a phase of familiarity after one year since debut, but in the North American market, it still maintains freshness. The Korean language code remains an undeciphered cipher locally, and it is evaluated that North American activities play a role in extending the lifespan of this freshness.