Born Pink” was not just a concert. It was a historic moment where four queens of K-pop held court. Jisoo, Rosé, Jennie and Lisa dazzled thousands of Filipino BLINKs (fandom name) on March 25 to March 26.
The concert marked the successful return of Blackpink in the country. They were the first K-pop act to sell out all the seats at the Philippine Arena Bulacan for two nights. The venue capacity was 50,000. The location threw Rosé off, because she kept saying Manila instead of Philippines in her ments (talking parts) on the first day. We viewed the mistakes as a sign that the concert and the energy of
their fans at their 2019 concert never left her mind. She sheepishly corrected herself each time she caught herself. It was the cutest.
It took the four-piece act four years to return to the country. After kicking off “Born Pink” in Seoul, they took it to the United States, Canada and Europe before they headed to Asia. They will be heading to Oceania next.
They opened the show with “How You Like That” and “Pretty Savage.” The members of the quartet became style icons of their generation and it showed at the concert. Jennie and Lisa wore glittery eye shadow that shimmered when the lights hit them. Rosé and Jisoo were given a natural smokey eye makeup that accentuated their features. All four looked spectacular in differently styled pink clothes with gold detailing and matching pink boots. Their outfits were updated for every act, with mad attention given to its details.
Their fans were equally fashionable, showing up in outfits that were, of course, a combination of black and pink.
Fireworks
There were fireworks on the stage right from the start. Moving sets were introduced during the shortened version of “Whistle.” For their first ment, they took a moment to take in the deafening screams of Blinks. Rosé’s mouth opened wide in shock at how their fans could give them so much love.
“I didn’t realize that the stars were so high up. They look like stars up there,” said Jennie. Rosé described it like a wall. Never has a description been so accurate. The pink ocean created by the Bi-ping-bong (lightstick) sparkled like a wall of gems.
“Are you guys ready to have fun tonight?” Lisa asked the crowd. The collective “Woooh!” gave them goosebumps. They obviously enjoyed the enthusiasm of their fans.
They took the opportunity to interact with their fans in “Don’t Know What to Do” as they stood on the edges of the stages by twos before sashaying together to the extended stage, leaving flares of smoke behind them.
Lisa’s birthday
They continued their performance with “Lovesick Girls” and the crowd sang along with them. But this was not the only song that Filipino fans sang to. They knew every word to every song, including choreography and fan chants. Fans prepared elaborate fan projects for the quartet. For hand banners, they prepared “The Happiest Fi lo-Blinks with Blackpink” and “Blackpink, our Typa Girls” for each day. These were distributed by the volunteers of Blackpink Philippines in different spots at the venue. It was a collective effort of different fan groups such as Twitter/social media fanbases @Jisoul_PH, @JennieLites_PH, @OnlyJenniePH, @Glamorose, @LoveLisa_PH, @BlackpinkPHCebu and @TeamLisaPH.
The concert dates also fell before Lisa’s birthday. Team Lisa Philippines elaborately prepared for it. They even had a codename for it: “Project Sinagtala.” For her solo, they made money rain in an obvious reference to the idol’s “Money” song. They had a mascot going
around the venue and they also designed and provided the cake that Lisa was seen taking pictures with. But the real surprise came with an aircraft towing a banner on both days. A plane flew at a specific hour welcoming the birthday girl to the country.
The karaoke session/party/concert continued when the ladies performed “Kill This Love,” “Crazy Over You,” “Playing with Fire,” “Tally” and “Pink Venom.”
Globe had a set up an area at the Philippine Sports Stadium. Their subscribers could join games in exchange for Globe Rewards. The venue was also the location of photo stops and some food concessionaires where they could pay using GCash. It was also the same area where fans independently gave away their freebies to fellow Blinks.
The members showed their individual talents in solo showcases. Their fans showed their appreciation by using their lightsticks to turn the stadium into a different colored ocean for each member: red for Jisoo, Jennie got blue, Rosé got a white ocean and Lisa got
yellow. They were the colors of the Philippine flag.
Jisoo showcased her vocal powers with a cover of Camella Cabello’s “Liar.” Jennie performed her single “You & Me.” Rosé performed her songs “On The Ground” from her solo album “R” and “Hard to Love” from Blackpink’s “Born Pink.” Lisa perfomed “Lalisa” and
“Money” from her single album “Lalisa.”
The stage design for “Born Pink” was also something to behold. The screen hid the live band that accompanied the four. Their dancers also performed separately to highlight their talents. This was a show of the girls’ generosity to share the limelight with the
people that made the tour a success. They took pride in their talent.
They ended their concert with “Yeah Yeah Yeah,” “Stay” and “As If It’s Your Last.”
“Born Pink” was a show of Blackpink’s own brand of power. They could make people sing, dance and have a good time with their voices
and choreography. Before they exited the stage, Blackpink gave a perfect 90-degree bow, as they were taught in YG Entertainment. It showed humility and gratitude to the audience who made their concert a
memorable one.
