BLACKPINK’s ‘THE SHOW’ Watched by 280 Thousand People and ↑… Praised by Foreign Media
[매일경제 스타투데이=박세연 기자] BLACKPINK was different. They captivated the eyes and ears of global music fans through their vivid live performance focusing only on the music and their performances, while proving their unrivaled class.
On January 31, BLACKPINK successfully held their first-ever livestream concert ‘YG PALM STAGE – 2021 BLACKPINK: THE SHOW’, through their official YouTube channel.
BLACKPINK performed a hit medley of their existing songs and performed songs from ‘THE ALBUM’ for the first time, as well as revealing ROSÉ’s upcoming solo single. They filled up the 90 minutes with a variety of performances of 19 tracks.
◇ The ‘Touching Live Performance’ Awakening the Essence of Concerts
As the title ‘THE SHOW’ directly suggests, it was the ‘one and only show by artist BLACKPINK’. The concert embodied analog stage settings, reviving the essence of offline concerts. From the vivid live band sounds to the sounds of the members’ breath, the high-quality live performances presented vivid liveliness to the audience as if they were actually at the concert scene. From their opening performance of ‘KILL THIS LOVE’, they showed how an artist can shine through a ‘show’. Their strong live skills and dynamic performances captivated the viewers’ eyes, ears, and even their hearts.
The large stage made the concert even more interesting. 3 different main sets transitioned into 10 different stages depending on the mood of the song. From a stage set reenacting a cave to installations with stairway fragments from a city turned into ruins, the delicately designed stages grabbed the viewers’ attention. Moreover, the stage story which reflected reality was very impressive. The composition of a flower bud in the ruins and a wing prism lighting the place, passing through the cave tunnel, and eventually coming back to the bright city in a surreal environment, contained the hopeful message of overcoming the current pandemic situation.
The climax was when the group performed ‘DDU-DU DDU-DU’ on the water stage. Flames rose up while the camera captured the movement of waterdrops bouncing along with their choreography, making the viewers pay attention. The performance of ‘SOUR CANDY’, revealed for the first time through the concert, also grabbed the people’s attention with the group’s glamorous and unique performance in a mirror room utilizing 12 mirrors.
◇ ‘THE ALBUM’ Song Performances and ROSÉ’s Solo Single Revealed for the ‘First Time’
BLACKPINK, who has recently faced their 5th year since making debut, has grown to become a global group while renewing the first, fastest, and biggest records in K-Pop history. They united the global music fans by releasing hits including ‘HOW YOU LIKE THAT’ which hit the global music market in the summer of 2020, in addition to ‘DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO’, ‘PLAYING WITH FIRE’, ‘LOVESICK GIRLS’, ‘WHISTLE’, ‘AS IF IT’S YOUR LAST’, and ‘BOOMBAYAH’.
They also revealed performances of ‘CRAZY OVER YOU’, ‘LOVE TO HATE ME’, and ‘YOU NEVER KNOW’ for the first time, filling up ‘THE SHOW’ with freshness and abundance.
The solo performances of JISOO, LISA, JENNIE, and ROSÉ also revealed the members’ individual charms and talents. The fantastic performances showing the members’ growth including JISOO’s Korean version ‘Habits’ with sadness and dreamlike charms, LISA’s ‘Say So’ which reminded the viewers of a Broadway musical, and JENNIE’s ‘SOLO’ reinterpreted with an oriental concept, mesmerized the viewers.
Moreover, the MV and performance of ROSÉ’s upcoming solo sub-title track ‘GONE’ was revealed for the first time. ROSÉ’s dreamlike and soulful vocals created harmony with the guitar, making everyone listening to the song hold their breath and focus.
◇ Approximately 280 Thousand Membership Holders+27M New YouTube Subscribers↑
BLACKPINK’s ‘THE SHOW’ gathered approximately 280 thousand membership subscribers. It is the biggest number of audience gathered through a single livestream concert in K-Pop girl group history. YG will soon announce the actual aggregated results in a few days with YouTube.
Related officials of YG explained, “We are careful about the matter since we don’t want numbers to dilute the essence of the concert” and added, “We reported the initially identified number since many people were interested and requested information”.
Furthermore, BLACKPINK also gathered numerous YouTube subscribers. After the concert was announced, the group gained 2.7M new subscribers. The hashtag ‘#THE SHOWToday’ became the no. 1 trend on Twitter, while the names of all 4 BLACKPINK members were ranked within the top 10, proving the fans’ heated reactions.
Foreign media also spotlighted and praised BLACKPINK, Jeff Benjamin, a columnist of US Billboard, expressed the concert by writing, “The performances proved not only BLACKPINK’s superstar sensibilities, but also proved how BLACKPINK are pushing themselves to become better artists”. He added, “’THE SHOW’ closed with the song ‘Forever Young’ containing the fans’ messages even added human elements, arousing infinite admiration and awe”.
2021. 2. 1.
