Blackpink at BST Hyde Park review: ‘High gloss, perfectly precise pop excellence’

Even before Blackpink emerged onstage, a sea of phones, children on the shoulders of parents and excited screams filled Hyde Park’s skyline on Sunday night (2 July).

Not to mention the countless black and pink heart-shaped light sticks – costing an eye-watering £65 – frantically waving in every direction.

As soon as Lisa, Rosé, Jennie and Jisoo came up from underneath the stage, the screams reached fever pitch. The record-breaking 65,000 strong crowd couldn’t contain their excitement as they welcomed the first K-pop band to headline a major UK festival.

Blackpink had well and truly arrived in the are(n)a.

Kicking off with their hit song ‘Pink Venom’ from their second studio album Born Pink (2022), the bops kept coming – from ‘How You Like That’, ‘BOOMBAYAH’, ‘Lovesick Girls’ and ‘DDU-DU DDU-DU’ – but strangely missing huge hit ‘Kill This Love’.

Each song was accompanied with high-energy choreography, sass and a certain level of camp that only a slick and stylish girl group can muster.

Each song was accompanied with high-energy choreography, sass and a certain level of camp that only a slick and stylish girl group can muster.

Even the way the four superstars confidently strutted down the stage while singing directly into the camera and perfectly posing felt effortlessly cool. And fans ate them up every single time they were on that damn stage.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more dedicated and supportive fanbase than the blinks — what Blackpink fans are known as. Can you blame them, with the calibre of style, polish and finesse of their idols?

After the first act of five songs, each member of the group performed their breakout solo songs, including Jennie’s high octane ‘You & Me’ and Jisoo’s sultry ‘Flower’. Rosé slowed things down and gave the best vocals of the night with a mash-up of ‘Gone’ and ‘On The Ground’.

But the standout was Lisa’s high energy, all smiles performance on ‘Money’, complete with an effortless Eurovision-style dance break. She’s a natural onstage and she knows it.

Other highlights include the deliciously camp ‘Typa Girl’, complete with feather-clad male backup dancers, as well as the moment Rosé joked about the streamers getting caught on the stage by looking up at the tangled mess on the lights and saying: “London, what a nice breeze you have.”

We also need to talk about Rosé’s gold chain dress, Lisa’s high-waisted cut-out leather trousers and Jennie’s chic plait with hood moment.

Closing the set with 2018’s upbeat ‘Forever Young’ felt like a gorgeous send-off to a faultless show. As the girls emerged from below the stage in the middle of the golden circle, they sweetly waved to the adoring crowd.

There’s no doubt you get your money’s worth at a Blackpink gig… Just maybe not when it comes to the light stick.