"Global top label" BigHit Music artists are relentlessly taking over the North American music market, showing a powerful presence. BTS, TOMORROW X TOGETHER and CORTIS, the "BigHit Music trio," are producing astonishing results in the world's largest music market.
Leading the surge is undoubtedly BTS. The "BTS world tour 'ARIRANG'" that opened at the main stadium of Goyang Sports Complex in April entered the second chapter of its North American tour. On Aug. 1–2 (local time) at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, some 157,000 people attended the two shows, and the first North American tour, which previously visited Tampa, El Paso, Stanford, Las Vegas and Mexico City, drew about 840,000 fans.
Their economic impact, which even produced the neologism "BTSnomics," is said to rival the World Cup. The Guardian, citing Michael Mariano of Tourism Economics, predicted that the New Jersey concert's impact will be comparable to or greater than the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In addition, the "BTS the city ARIRANG" project staged in Las Vegas and New York organically combined with city landmarks such as Sphere, Top of the Rock and Grand Central Terminal, setting a record as the first "citywide activation" in which an entire city moved for a single artist, excluding the Super Bowl and F1.
Yeonjun of TOMORROW X TOGETHER, who picked up the baton from BTS, is also making explosive moves on the global stage. Yeonjun, who released mini album 2 "NO LABELS: PART 02" in July, appeared on ABC's flagship morning show Good Morning America on the "summer concert series" on the 5th, marking the second-ever appearance by a K-pop solo artist following BTS's Jungkook.
He went on to become the first Korean singer to be listed on the lineup for Z100's outdoor concert "Z100 summer bash," hosted by iHeartMedia radio station Z100, standing shoulder to shoulder with global pop stars such as Charlie Puth. On the 13th he is scheduled to throw the ceremonial first pitch at the Los Angeles Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium, likely leaving a lasting impression on local baseball fans.
The rapid rise of rookie CORTIS, who debuted less than a year ago, is also striking. With the identity of a "young creator crew," they are the only K-pop boy group selected for Billboard's "21 Under 21," drawing industry attention. Active on the live circuit as well, they led a singalong of about 50,000 fans at Lollapalooza Chicago on the 1st, and their first North American tour, "2026 CORTIS TOUR," which opened starting in Toronto, Canada, achieved a remarkable feat of selling out all 14 shows in nine cities across Korea, Japan and North America.
[Photo] BigHit Music
[OSEN]