100% BLACKPINK and Their Music… ‘THE SHOW’ with Vivid Liveliness

[한경닷컴=김수영 기자] Group BLACKPINK connected with the global fans by holding an online concert. They filled up 1 hour and 30 minutes with performances filled with analog charms, making the viewers feel as if they were attending an actual concert.

On January 31, BLACKPINK(JISOO, JENNIE, ROSÉ, LISA) held their first-ever livestream concert, ‘THE SHOW’.

‘THE SHOW’ was BLACKPINK’s first-ever online concert which gathered the people’s attention since the members and staff have been creating ideas, organizing, and practicing since last year on September.

The concert impressed the viewers by focusing on the ‘vivid liveliness’, which is the biggest merit of attending an actual concert, utilizing analog methods. THE BAND SIX, who previously collaborated with BLACKPINK during their ‘2019-2020 World Tour’, also joined the concert to raise its level of completion.

While many online concerts focus on technological and glamorous visual effects such as AR and VR, ‘THE SHOW’ focused on the epic live band sounds and their harmony with the artists, creating an actual concert-like mood. The epic band sounds and BLACKPINK’s variety of performances filled up the entire stage during the entire show, which lasted approximately an hour and 30 minutes. It was an online concert, but the lively stage production made the viewers focus solely on the artists and the music, quenching their thirst on offline concerts.

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Since all songs released by BLACKPINK ever since debut are globally popular, the concert was filled with nonstop hit medleys. After opening up the stage with ‘Kill This Love’, BLACKPINK presented a strong performance with numerous dancers along with the plentiful band sounds. They also performed the English song, ‘Crazy Over You’.

After completing the opening, BLACKPINK greeted the fans by stating, “BLINK(official fandom) watching from all over the world, we welcome you. We’re nervous and excited to think that we can meet our BLINKs on a concert stage in 1 year. We’ll work hard and present great performances”. They also asked for the fans’ attention by stating, “We missed you” and “Please enjoy together”.

The stages which looked like actual MV sets also left a strong impression. When they performed ‘How You Like That’ after ‘Kill This Love’, an ancient shrine and large wings were installed as stage décor, creating a magnificent mood. The group then continued to perform their hits including ‘Don’t Know What To Do’, ‘Playing with Fire’, and ‘Lovesick Girls’. BLACKPINK presented charming vocals and energetic performances at the same time, raising the mood of the concert.

BLACKPINK has achieved numerous valuable global success last year. One of them is their collaboration with Pop star Lady Gaga. The song ‘Sour Candy’ by BLACKPINK and Lady Gaga was ranked at no. 33 on the Billboard ‘Hot 100’ and at no. 17 on UK’s Official Charts. After performing ‘Sour Candy’, BLACKPINK stated, “Since it’s our first time holding a livestream concert, we tried to prepare special performances”. They added, “We had so much fun while preparing for ‘Sour Candy’. We kept saying it’s really fun as we practiced”.

They switched the mood by transitioning from fierce performances to presenting performances with beautiful vocals and LISA’s groovy rap. BLACKPINK performed ‘Love To Hate Me’ and ‘You Never Know’ with the rhythmical band sounds, presenting performances with both softness and captivating sounds.

The members’ solo performances also added variety to the concert. JISOO performed Tove Lo’s ‘Habits’, LISA performed Doja Cat’s ‘Say So’, while JENNIE performed a newly arranged version of ‘SOLO’. ROSÉ revealed ‘GONE’, a song from her upcoming solo album, grabbing the viewers’ attention. Her unrivaled voice maximized the longing and emotional mood of the song.

The group continued, and performed ‘Pretty Savage’ and ‘DDU-DU DDU-DU’. The unrivaled scale of the performances made the concert reach its climax. During their performance of ‘DDU-DU DDU-DU’, stage effects utilizing water and fire, the energetic band sounds, and numerous dancers were utilized to make the viewers feel the excitement of an actual offline concert.

Through a VCR, BLACKPINK reminisced the time they had their first world tour. JENNIE stated, “There was stage that was very long and stretched out, and I ran under the stage. I was in a daze since it was my first time”. She laughed while continuing, “It reminded me of when I first made debut. I was proud and I wanted to console myself. It was embarrassing”. ROSÉ stated, “Holding concerts was one of our biggest dreams since we were trainees, so we were excited and had high expectations. It was a precious moment”.

BLACKPINK revealed their affection towards the fans by adding, “It was a tour that clearly let us understand our relationship with BLINK” and “We think ‘We’ll meet more BLINKs soon. We’ll have much more fun this time’ whenever we’re done preparing for a new release”.

As the concert headed towards the ending, the group filled the stage with even more explosive performances. Their hit songs including ‘WHISTLE’, ‘AS IF IT’S YOUR LAST’, and ‘BOOMBAYAH’ raised the mood of the stage. BLACKPINK laughed, jumped, and danced with numerous dancers, creating a festival-like mood.

JISOO stated, “We’ve worked hard preparing for the concert, and we hope the BLINKs who were watching enjoyed and cheered for us”. She also shared her hope by adding, “We ran unto unexpected circumstances, but luckily finished safely without problems. We hope you were energized and that the concert filled you up with positive vibes”. ROSÉ nearly cried as she stated, “I think we’re the ones being consoled and receiving positive energy through the concert”. LISA shared cute greeting in Thai, while JENNIE revealed her fan love for BLINKs by stating, “Thank you for waiting, we miss you”.

The ending song was ‘Forever Young’. Like the concept of the concert which solely focused on the artist and music, the members ran around the stage with the band sounds in excitement. They then completed the stage after introducing the band themselves, and expressing their gratitude towards the dancers, staff members, and the fans.

2021. 1. 31.