Blackpink concert chaos: the K-pop queens’ comeback Born Pink World Tour lands in Hong Kong in January 2023, but there’s already drama over US$1,300 resale tickets, feuding and disbandment fears …
The K-pop sensation quartet Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa announced their “Born Pink World Tour” on August 8 and have since finished their American leg of the tour and are about to commence the Asian leg in January 2023, hitting cities like Bangkok, Singapore and of course stopping by Hong Kong from January 13-15.
With this being the largest tour in K-pop girl group history, and tickets selling out in seconds, the “Forever Young” girls have become a smashing global success, but with the long tour dates and almost nightly performances it hasn’t been all smooth sailing.
From rumours of rifts between the girls to unsatisfied fans, it is a chaotic time for the “Lovesick Girls” and their fans.
Here is everything major that has happened since the world tour for Born Pink has kicked off …
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Jisoo: the Blackpink member who was left behind?
Blackpink fans, also known as Blinks, have watched all four members display their own style and charisma through their solo music careers – with the exception of Jisoo.
While Jennie, Rosé and Lisa perform their own songs during the group’s concerts, Jisoo continues singing covers of other artists despite Blackpink having debuted six years ago.
Luckily for fans, in September this year, Jisoo teased the progress of her solo debut during a fan signing event, where she asked Blinks to just wait for a little while more, per Koreaboo.
Fans may have to settle for covers for now, but it seems that soon they’ll get a chance to see what Jisoo can really bring to the table. Maybe she’ll show us a whole new side!
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The girls made headlines recently after their Taiwan concert, to be held on March 18, 2023, sold out in under a minute despite the venue having a capacity for 55,000 people, per Allkpop.
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Videos have circulated online of the girls being uncoordinated onstage and seemingly not giving their all during their current world tour, per Kpopstarz, with many Blinks expressing disappointment that they bought expensive tickets but did not get their money’s worth.
Lisa and Rosé’s quarrelling drama
The reason for her mistakes? According to Hype, fans have speculated that her missed steps were often attempts to avoid contact with fellow group member Rosé.
The two girls are the youngest of the group and have previously said that they often have small quarrels just like sisters. In a deleted scene from the Blackpink: Light Up the Sky documentary, per Koreaboo, the two were shown discussing Rosé’s dissatisfaction over having to give up the maknae position to Lisa when the latter joined. Maknae means “youngest”, and Rosé was the youngest member originally, before Lisa. However, Blinks seem more amused by the “Lisa/Rosé drama” than upset.
Hopefully the pair kiss and make up soon, as fans are looking forward to wholesome interactions between all members.
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Disbandment fears
Jisoo added fuel to the fire in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine early this year, causing concern when she spoke candidly about feeling exhausted by being a celebrity, acknowledging that she sometimes performs out of obligation as an idol rather than out of passion.
It certainly doesn’t help that the “Pink Venom” singers’ contract with YG Entertainment is set to expire in 2023, as reported by Koreaboo, and there has been no news of a renewal. And although there is no official disbandment news either, many are still worried that this world tour may be Blackpink’s last.
The Born Pink World Tour’s shows in Hong Kong
Exciting news for Hong Kong Blinks!
Blackpink will be performing for three nights in the city in January. The bad news? All three shows were sold out before most fans even had the chance to navigate to the ticketing site.
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Now resellers have hiked ticket prices up to US$1,300 each. The tickets originally ranged from US$100 to US$295, while the VIP package including perks such as access to a pre-show soundcheck party went up to US$380. That means that resellers are pocketing quite the wad of cash. The Standard has also reported that, in their bid to secure tickets from resellers, some fans have been scammed out of over US$2,100 for tickets they never ended up receiving.
As this is the first time Hong Kong is seeing Blackpink in four years, it’s no wonder fans are scrambling to get tickets. And although the “Pretty Savage” girls only have 32 songs in their discography, not including solo work, fans can still expect a pretty banger show as the girls haven’t had a single comeback that flopped … That is, if you can get tickets.
- K-pop sensation Blackpink will perform in Hong Kong from January 13-15, 2023 as the city reopens, but resellers are hiking up ticket prices while the band’s Taiwan shows sold out in mere minutes
- Meanwhile, fans are speculating about a feud between Lisa and Rosé, accusing the idols of giving ‘lazy’ performances – especially Jennie – and demanding a solo album from Jisoo