K-pop’s CORTIS Lit Up New York City’s KOOM Korean Startup Festival With An Electrifying Stage

Courtesy of @cortis.ina on Instagram

K-pop’s newest sensation, CORTIS, ignited the crowd as they took the stage at the KOOM Festival 2025. Debuting only two months prior, on August 18, 2025, CORTIS delighted fans on the festival’s final night, October 18, 2025, at the Duggal Greenhouse in Brooklyn, with a polished and personal performance. The self-produced boy group proved why they’re one of Korea’s most talked-about debuts of 2025. Formed under HYBE’s BigHit Music, CORTIS consists of five members: Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon and Keonho. As a part of the festival’s final night, which was a day of “Trendsetters,” CORTIS was a part of a lineup that included Korean icons like Epik High and Zion.T. 

Courtesy of Koom festival

However, KOOM isn’t just a music event, it’s a convergence of startup pitches, cultural panels, K-food, K-beauty and K-pop performances. CORTIS blends live vocals, tight choreography, and stunning visuals, along with embodying KOOM’s creative spirit, i.e. innovation with heart. It is like CORTIS and KOOM share a common DNA. Both are bold, next-generation ventures born from innovation. They mirror each other in vision and purpose in that both represent Korea’s new wave of creativity that fuses innovation with culture. Where KOOM gathers founders and creators to showcase bold ideas, CORTIS brings that same entrepreneurial mindset to music by crafting their own sound, concepts, and message from the ground up. Both stand as symbols of a generation unafraid to experiment, proving that in Korea’s creative ecosystem, the spirit of a startup isn’t limited to tech, but it thrives in art, performance, and pop culture.

Opening with the explosive “GO!”, CORTIS showed why the song was their pre-debut hit. Dancing in front of an LED screen that embodied flying through downtown Los Angeles, CORTIS brought fans on an epic adrenaline filled adventure with electric vocals and high energy dance moves. Fans cheered “Go” alongside the guys’ vocals, which seemed to fuel the group’s leader, Martin, and James. Tapping into this collective energy, the two rookie idols seem to transcend mere performers on a stage to become the heartbeat of the crowd that night. Clearly, the audience was feeling the energy and the groups iconic dance moves, but things really hit a high note when fans began to scream during Martin’s solo rap. Clad in a collared shirt with a long sleeve undershirt, Martin rocked baggy jeans with a prominent thick belt. On the other hand, James was rocking a tan tank top with tan pants and a flannel jacket. Repping New York, Juhoon sported a New York Yankees oversized bomber jacket with baggy jeans, while Seonghyeon donned a beanie with a “I love D2” hoodie and ripped jeans. At the end of the song, James asked the crowd, “What’s up?”

Then Martin, as the leader, explained why the group of five only had four members on stage. He explained that the youngest member, Keonho, had “a health problem,” and James was quick to respond to the issue to which Martin agreed as they’re catching their breath from the performance. Without missing a beat, Martin asked the crowd to send some love to Keonho by saying, “since he's not here, we need to bring up the energy,” to which the fans screamed.  Then the boys expressed that this was their first time in New York to which Martin said, “I feel like New York has great food, but it also has great “FaSHioN.” Just then the beat for their song “FaSHioN” kicked in with an underground subway shot behind them. The boys danced as it was clear that Juhoon was feeling the song as he shined on stage while Seonghyeon’s haunting pre-chorus vocals, whipped the crowd into a frenzy. However, Seonghyeon and Juhoon we’re not the only ones feeling the song as James couldn’t help but open his jacket sometimes bearing his shoulder once or twice while bouncing on stage. They eventually all came back together as one for their iconic dance moves before the song ended. At the end of the song, James, sipped water while Seonghyeon waved at the crowd.

Courtesy of Koom festival

Not a moment later, they jumped right into their next song, “What You Want.” With palm trees behind them it felt like you were sitting in the backseat of a convertible, staring up at the beautiful sky of Los Angeles with palm trees dancing over you as the sun was setting with hues of purple, blue and pink. Even though, Keonho’s live vocals were missed, the group is a whole did not miss the opportunity to impress the audience. At the end of this song, the crowd was wowed, eventually giving the wu wu wu chant. 

As the guys tried to catch their breath again, Martin explained “let me be honest with you guys, we’re not over yet.”  The crowd erupted in cheers, but Martin explained “I wanna hear the energy a little bit more.” James teased the audience saying, “I need you guys to scream at the top of your lungs.”  Martin counted 1-2-3 as the crowd began to scream. He then joked “I can’t hear you” several times before letting the crowd know, “nice job.” Then the group jumped into an encore addition of the song FaSHioN” with a strobe light effect behind them as if to put the audience right on set for a high concept fashion shoot. With his head tilted high up in the air as if he was almost possessed by the music, Seonghyeon danced as the crowd sang along chanting “fashion.” The boys were really feeling it, especially James who took off his jacket. At the end of this song, Martin joked “we can’t go home” as the crowd erupted, but James said, “it’s time to go.” Martin asked. “It’s time to go, right? To which James replied, “it’s time to “go,” right before jumping into their song “GO!” Clearly, the interactions between James and Martin were giving full fan service the whole entire performance. The two played off each other and at times almost seem to battle, for who had the more captivating stage presence. The group ended their performance with their iconic line, “I’m on the new s**t.” To which, Juhoon said, “that was sick,” while James commented that “it was lit.” Before exiting the stage, Seonghyeon blew kisses and waved at fans, while James explained “we gotta go, but there’s more to come.” Then to pay respect to the senior acts on the bill that night, Martin shouted out the next act to close the show saying, “y’all know EpiK High?” as he sang their praises.   

Then Martin explained that he hoped everyone enjoyed the show and he asked them to make some noise for Keonho who couldn’t make it. The group ended on a high note, tapping into their traditional Korean roots for an outro, bowing and saying thank you before leaving the stage. James was sure to say, “we love you” and “we will be back soon.”

Courtesy of Koom festival

Currently, the next stop for CORTIS will be as performers at this year’s MAMA awards held in Hong Kong starting November 28^th. However, if you can’t wait till then, their debut EP COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES is currently out now.