K-pop girl group Blackpink make history at BST Hyde Park
Blackpink made history at BST Hyde Park on Sunday by becoming the first Korean band to headline a major UK music festival.
The K-pop girl group – consisting of Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa – closed out the second weekend of the annual event in London to a sold-out crowd of 65,000 fans.
Opening to screams and pink fireworks shooting up from the stage, the girls launched the Pink Venom before performing 16 more songs and switching outfits three times.
Introducing themselves to their young audience, they played a mix of K-Pop favorites including Kick It, Pretty Savage, How You Like That and Shut Down.
Even their very first single, Whistle – the one that made them famous – was on the set list.
Exciting: Blackpink made history at BST Hyde Park on Sunday by becoming the first Korean band to headline a major UK music festival
Adoring: The K-pop girl group – made up of Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa – closed out the second weekend of the annual London event to a sold-out crowd of 65,000 fans
Show: Opening to screams and pink fireworks shooting up from the stage, the girls launched the Pink Venom before performing 16 more songs and switching outfits three times
“We didn’t expect so much energy from London,” they smiled. “London, what a nice breeze you have,” they added, commenting on the wind.
A quick outfit change gave way to the ‘solo’ portion of the show – where Jennie, Jisoo, Rosé and finally Lisa each took the lead on the vocals of one of their favorite songs.
While Jennie went up against You & Me and Jisoo chose Flower, Rosé chose Gone + On The Ground and Lisa chose Money.
The section was booked through a carefully crafted routine by eight male and then eight female dancers.
An hour and a half later in K-pop heaven, and as their set came to a close, the girls appeared in black for Boombayah, Lovesick Girls, and Playing With Fire.
Then it was Tally and Ddu-du’s turn, Ddu-du for the grand finale.
“We are absolutely honored to be performing here in Hyde Park,” Rosé exclaimed. “It’s a dream come true!”
Jennie is perhaps the most famous member internationally for her role on the controversial HBO show The Idol.
Performing: Introducing themselves to their young audience, they played a mix of K-Pop favorites including Kick It, Pretty Savage, How You Like That and Shut Down
Fans: Even their very first single, Whistle – the one that made them famous – was on the set list
BST: “We didn’t expect so much energy from London,” they laughed. “London, what a nice breeze you have,” they added, commenting on the wind
Fun: A quick outfit change gave way to the “solo” portion of the show – where Jennie, Jisoo, Rosé and finally Lisa each took the lead on vocals to one of their favorite songs
Iconic: While Jennie went up against You & Me and Jisoo chose Flower, Rosé chose Gone + On The Ground, while Lisa chose Money
Oh no: The military-themed hit Kill This Love was missing from the rousing performance, leading some Blinks watching around the world to express their disappointment on Twitter
Big night: The girl group followed a string of other acts, including Sabrina Carpenter, The Rose, and Rebecca Black
Pink heart-shaped light bars, present at every Blackpink performance, dotted out the crowd of chanting fans as darkness fell.
What was missing from the rousing performance was the military-themed hit Kill This Love, which led some Blinks watching around the world to express their disappointment on Twitter.
The girl group followed a string of other acts, including Sabrina Carpenter, The Rose, and Rebecca Black.
Bruce Springsteen is scheduled to headline BST Hyde Park on Thursday, with Billy Joel and Lana Del Rey on subsequent days.