Led by BTS, artists under Big Hit Music are making waves in the U.S. market.
At the center of this storm is BTS. BTS has entered the second chapter of their "BTS WORLD TOUR 'ARIRANG'" North American tour. Their two shows held on August 1–2 (local time) at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey drew approximately 157,000 concertgoers. Previously, their first North American tour stops in Tampa, El Paso, Stanford, Las Vegas, and Mexico City gathered about 840,000 attendees.
BTS is generating such massive economic impact that the neologism "BTSnomics" has emerged.
Citing Michael Mariano, Director of Economic Development at Tourism Economics, British prominent newspaper The Guardian projected that the economic ripple effect of the New Jersey concert would match or exceed that of the "FIFA World Cup 26™." This evaluation establishes them as an artist with the influence to move an entire city, going beyond simply delivering emotional resonance through music and performance.
"BTS THE CITY ARIRANG," held in Las Vegas and New York, also received high praise from citizens and fans. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority stated that, excluding the Super Bowl and Formula 1, BTS is the first artist for whom an entire city moved through a city-wide activation.
Following BTS, TOMORROW X TOGETHER is also expanding its footprint. Following the release of his second mini-album "NO LABELS: PART 02" last July, YEONJUN has been receiving continuous love calls.
On August 5, YEONJUN appeared on ABC's flagship morning news program "Good Morning America" for its "Summer Concert Series." Following BTS member JUNGKOOK, he is only the second K-pop solo artist to appear on the show. In addition, he became the first Korean artist to be named in the lineup for "Z100's Summer Bash Presented By Wells Fargo," an outdoor concert hosted by Z100, a radio station under iHeartMedia.
CORTIS, who has been active for less than a year since debut, is also standing out. Their identity as a "young creator crew" combined with a unique sound texture has reportedly satisfied the needs of music fans starved for freshness. They were the only K-pop boy group to be named to Billboard's "21 Under 21" list announced last month.
CORTIS is also making its mark in live performances. On August 1, they sparked sing-alongs from an audience of about 50,000 at the major U.S. music festival "Lollapalooza Chicago." On August 4, they kicked off their first North American tour in Toronto, Canada. Following Toronto, they are scheduled to visit New York, Atlanta, Irving, Los Angeles, and San Francisco in succession. The "2026 CORTIS TOUR <PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN>" is being held across 14 shows in 9 cities in South Korea, Japan, and North America, with all seats selling out early.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)