Global superstars BLACKPINK launched the Born Pink World Tour on Saturday in Seoul, South Korea, the group’s home city. The girls returned to the KSPO Dome, where they debuted “In Your Area,” their first tour.
The trip ended in late February 2020, just before Covid-19 lockdowns began globally. That was four years ago when the location was still known as the Olympic Gymnastics Arena. With the release of The Album, the Netflix special Blackpink: Light Up the Sky, and their Livestream concert “The Show” all in 2020, the ladies have now soared even farther into super-stardom.
In bespoke white clothes with Asian-inspired patterns and motifs, the ensemble opened the event with “How You Like That” and “Pretty Savage.” It is strange to perform for our Blinks again after all this time. I’m anxious, upset, and excited,” Rosé said. With the lifting of Covid-19 limitations in South Korea and the release of Blackpink’s second full-length album Born Pink, fans from outside traveled in for the eagerly anticipated concert. Six of the eight recently released songs were featured in the setlist, making this the first time some of the songs have ever been performed in front of an audience.
Fans flocked to the KSPO Dome early in the day to check out the brand activations and merchandise tents set up. Binoculars and Korean street cuisine were also on sale by vendors so that spectators could have a better view. We haven’t performed in front of so many of our Blinks in such a long time. Lisa wept as she remarked, “I’m really glad to see Blinks from abroad in addition to our Korean Blinks. The beginning of our journey in Seoul is quite significant. Since it had been four years, we made a few errors out of nervousness, but I hope you still had a good time, Jisoo continued.
Jennie introduced the group’s live band in the middle of the performance, and fresh drum rhythms and guitar riffs continued throughout the duration of the performance to enhance the concert-like ambiance. According to Jennie, one of their busiest times was getting ready for the Born Pink World Tour, but “watching all the Blinks before her eyes made it all worth it.”
Blackpink delivered a fantastic performance as anticipated with a few surprises up their sleeves, and the girls’ efforts were apparent during their individual performance stages. Jisoo sang a rendition of Camila Cabello’s “Liar,” replete with a flawless dance break sequence. Jennie chose to perform an unreleased song reminiscent of her most recent interpretive dance video for Tamburins rather than the hit song “Solo.” She smiled and continued, “I wanted to show you all something new, you might have been a bit startled.”
Before switching up the tempo for “On the Ground,” Rosé performed her recently released solo single “Hard to Love,” while Lisa cranked up the heat with a pole dance routine for her solo performance. “I watched her practice pole dancing despite my distress. It’s more difficult than it seems, Jennie said to Lisa. There was a planned action at the conclusion of the performance where supporters sang a verse of “Forever Young” throughout the whole auditorium. The band’s enlarged discography made Saturday’s performance feel substantially more full than it did during their first tour.
After the concert on Saturday, the girls will spend one more night in Seoul before flying to the United States in a few weeks.