[Herald Review] Blackpink wraps up in Seoul, jet-sets off on world tour

Blackpink successfully embarked on its first world tour in four years, "Born Pink," kicking it off in Seoul over the weekend.

The concerts were held on Saturday and Sunday at the KSPO Dome in Jamsil, Seoul, and the two sold-out shows drew a total of 20,000 people. KSPO Dome is a sports complex with a capacity of some 15,000 seats, but the band's label YG Entertainment said it limited tickets out of safety concerns.

The 120-minute gig on Sunday night opened with "How You Like That," the act's megahit song from the its first LP "The Album" dropped in 2020. Clad in shimmering pink and beige outfits, the girls then upped the ante with more powerful anthems, "Pretty Savage" and "Whistle."

At their first talk session of the night, Lisa, catching her breath, said, "I felt so nervous yesterday, and, just before the concert today, we talked about how we felt like we could just enjoy, but coming back up here, I'm nervous again."

"I can see Blinks (the act's official fandom name) from yesterday and many new Blinks as well, and I'm looking forward to making some new memories," Rosé said, looking into the crowd, making eye contact now and then with the fans.

Jisoo, the eldest of the group said, "It's our first world tour in four years, and it's significant that we're starting it in Seoul," and shouted out to the fans, "Please jump around and have fun with us so that we can take energy from you!"

The four bandmates then broke out a series of their hits that started with "Don't Know What To Do." During "Lovesick Girls," the members moved out onto the T-shaped stage protruding into the stands. The members jumping up and down during the chorus looked just like the scenes from the song's music video.

The bang that signaled the start of "Kill This Love" was met with ear-shattering screams from the crowd. The girls, in a change of outfits, marched around the stage with a troupe of dancers. The stadium felt like it was rattling as the drum beats thumped out continuously and fireworks and confetti blasted out into the air.

Next, they went onto perform "Crazy Over You" and "Playing With Fire." Before moving onto songs from their latest album, they introduced the members of the live band -- Yung on keyboard, Chuckie with guitar, Omar the bassist and Bennie on drums -- whom the girls described as family as they had been with them since their last world tour.

The mood turned soft with "Tally," a side-track from the band's second LP "Born Pink," which the girls had dropped ahead of the world tour in September. The venue became a sea of blue lights as the fans waved their light sticks slowly to the girls' voices. Another new song, "Pink Venom," quickly brought back the furor of the night.

Next up were moments for the four girls to shine solo. Jisoo covered Camila Cabello's "Liar." Turning up in a bright crimson dress, her seductive moves brought out deafening cheers from the crowd. Rosé showcased "Hard to Love" and a rock band rendition of her solo song "On The Ground," while Lisa stunned the crowd with a pole dancing performance and her solo hits "Lalisa" and "Money."

Jennie unveiled her to-be-released new English song during the Seoul shows. Jennie put on an ethereal showcase of her new song, together with a male dancer, against the backdrop of a shining moon on the screen.

"Shut Down," the title song of the new album, was greeted by perhaps the biggest cheers of the night. The whole crowd stood up and jumped up and down, singing along to the lyrics in almost perfect sync with the girls. "Typa Girl" and "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" kept the energy pumping.

Nearing the end of the night, the girls spoke to the fans again.

"I don't usually get nervous, but this time I did. I wanted to do it so well, especially as we are beginning the tour here at our hometown Seoul," Jisoo said.

Rose shared more intimate thoughts. "I've learned some big things while we were away. I realized how much fun it is to hold a concert as Blackpink and that it's something that I love very much."

Jennie said, "We're wrapping up our Seoul gigs, but I feel like we're going to come back here tomorrow and the next day. We've ran nonstop for the past three months. I'm grateful to the members and all the staff who've worked so hard. We'll return safely after the tour, so you guys must come to our show again!"

Blackpink's "Born Pink" marks the first world tour from the K-pop quartet in four years since "In Your Area" in 2019-2020. The previous world tour saw some 472,000 people attend the 36 shows that were held in 26 cities around the world. In February 2021, Blackpink held its first virtual concert, "The Show," via YouTube.

Blackpink will set off on their world tour to meet around 1.5 million fans. Starting with the Oct. 25-26 shows in Dallas, the band will travel to seven cities in North America where they will hold a total of 14 gigs. The band will then fly to Europe to hold 10 sets of shows in seven cities between November and December, before rounding out the tour in Asia and Oceania in 2023.