Blackpink is back in the area.
The K-pop girl group, made up of Rosé, Lisa, Jennie and Jisoo, triumphantly kicked off the North American leg of the Deadline world tour Saturday night at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. After taking a two-year break to focus on solo projects, the group reunited for its first U.S. concert since the Born Pink tour concluded in 2023.
Despite dropping only one group number since then — hardstyle, Diplo-produced “Jump,” released Friday — Blackpink sold out two nights at one of the Los Angeles area’s biggest venues.
“This is incredible. It is such an honor to perform at the SoFi Stadium for you guys,” Rosé said. “We are really really excited to be here.”
Sarah Hoang has been a Blackpink fan since 2019, following their Coachella debut that same year. To celebrate her first time seeing the girl group, the San Diego resident passed out commemorative tickets to other fans.
“I’ve been waiting for them for a long time,” Hoang said. “I was really excited to be finally seeing them in L.A., especially at the first tour of the U.S. leg.”
The stadium was awash in pink as fans went all-out for their idols. While many dressed according to the band’s namesake, others took inspiration from the girls’ solo projects. Concertgoer Evelyn Rios, who lives in Los Angeles, nailed Jennie’s look from the “Ruby” album cover in her all-black outfit and cherry-red wig. A fan since 2020, she attended the 2023 show at Dodger Stadium and noted she was most excited to hear “like Jennie.”
The show consisted of five acts and an encore, alternating between group and solo sections. Blackpink started off strong, firing through “Kill This Love,” “Pink Venom” and “How You Like That.”
The Saturday night set list was identical to the one in Goyang, South Korea, last weekend, save for Lisa’s solo section. While the maknae — or youngest member of the group — performed “New Woman” and “Rockstar” for the tour’s opening dates, she opted for the edgier “Thunder” and “Fxck Up the World” Saturday night.
Lisa’s two-piece Louis Vuitton set evoked Wonder Woman as she conquered the stage, lightning crackling behind her. Channeling the same spellbinding energy from her Coachella set earlier this year, where she also performed tracks from “Alter Ego,” Lisa proved why she’s among K-pop’s most magnetic performers.
All four solo projects are sonically distinct, and seeing them back-to-back highlighted just how artistically diverse the Blackpink members are. Jennie, who also performed solo at Coachella this year, leaned into her hip-hop influences as she delivered a mashup of “Mantra,” “with the IE (way up)” and “like Jennie.” Meanwhile, Jisoo pleased with the effervescent, electronic pop of “earthquake” and “Your Love.”
Rosé prompted laughs from the audience as footage of her filming a TikTok and eating French fries backstage played leading up to her solo section. When she finally appeared in front of the audience, she took a more intimate approach, sitting at the edge of the stage with guitarist Johnny “Natural” Najera.
Starting with heartbreak anthems “3am” and “toxic till the end,” Rosé concluded with the upbeat, global chart-topping single “Apt.,” during which she brought a fan on stage. Released with Bruno Mars in October, the song still sits comfortably on the Billboard Hot 100.
Blackpink debuted “Jump” before its official release last weekend in South Korea, so Los Angeles fans were prepared for the long-awaited comeback single. They jumped and danced all the way through the addictive track when Blackpink performed it not once, but twice.
“I must say the song is really addictive the more and more I hear it,” Rosé said after the first run. “I personally think it’s the most exciting one to perform during our set.
With a mix of old and new hits, Saturday night brought together both longtime fans and K-pop newcomers.
Sydney Grube and Thet Aung drove up together from San Diego just for the concert. While Aung has been a fan since the group began, Grube started listening after seeing Lisa in HBO’s “White Lotus” in February.
“I started listening to all the solo acts, and then started listening actually to the Blackpink music,” Grube said, adding that she was most excited to see the individual sections.
The concert also united fans of all ages, with plenty of families arriving in coordinating outfits. At one point, Blackpink even shouted out all the “baby blinks” in the audience — many of whom were not even born when the group debuted in 2016.
“I did want them to dance more, but they did really good,” said 9-year-old Tara Castro, who was wearing a Blackpink hat and glasses. “They’re my favorite K-pop.”
With tour dates charted through January, fans are expecting new music — perhaps even a full album — sometime soon. Hopefully this isn’t the last we see of Blackpink in our area.
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