They’re one of the biggest girl groups in the world, which was apparent upon entering SoFi Stadium on July 12. Blackpink’s Deadline Tour has made its way to Los Angeles.
Blackpink was formed nearly a decade ago in 2016, with their debut album releasing a few years later in 2020. Since then, they’ve become a global phenomenon, collaborating with artists such as Dua Lipa and Selena Gomez. The K-pop stars have also had success in their solo careers, with Rosé working with Bruno Mars on the track “Apt.” and Lisa starring on the latest season of “The White Lotus.” Lisa and Jennie were also on the 2025 Coachella lineup as solo artists, after the girl group headlined Coachella in 2023.
If you’re used to having a little more wiggle room for concerts because of opening acts, that’s not the case with the Deadline tour. Fans who arrived ahead of the 8 p.m. start watched some of the K-pop groups’ music videos before Blackpink took the stage a little behind schedule at 8:20 p.m.
The crowd became a sea of pink light sticks, known as “paenbong,” a popular K-pop concert accessory. Each band has its own design, with Blackpink’s resembling a toy hammer with a pink heart on either side. As the girls took the stage to perform the first song of the night, “Kill This Love,” the audience began waving their light sticks to the beat in unison.
The Deadline tour was split into five acts, with the visuals reminiscent of a road trip across the country, traveling to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and other pit stops along the way.
The first act featured Jisoo, Lisa, Jennie and Rosé performing some of the group’s more mainstream hits such as “Pink Venom” and “How You Like That.” There was attention to detail in each song, from the visuals to the dancers and even the camera choreography that incorporated the audience as the backdrop at times. While the famed ring screen above the crowd at SoFi Stadium wasn’t turned on for the show, the mainstage jumbotrons were utilized and could split into two and four panels so each section could be a close-up of each girl.
While other boy bands and girl groups with hectic schedules might not allow time for solo projects, Blackpink embraces it with parts of their set designated for their individual hits. Act two focused on Jisoo and Lisa, while Act four was all eyes on Jennie and Rosé. Each of the hitmakers’ sections also reflected their personal styles, such as Lisa leaning into a “Matrix” style glitch-like visual effect. The crowd proved to be just as enthusiastic to watch each of the girls shine on their own, singing along to “Your Love” by Jisoo, “Rockstar” by Lisa and “like Jennie” by Jennie.
Rosé’s set proved to be a more laid-back contrast from the others. Jisoo, Lisa, and Jennie each had a high-production visual introduction before their set, whereas Rosé chose to give the audience a behind-the-scenes backstage tour that started off with a TikTok dance and ended with her taking the underground trolley to the front of the stage while snacking on fries.
Rosé’s first song “3am” was also one of the few more stripped down moments with just her and her guitarist on stage. She ended her set with “APT.” where she brought a lucky fan on stage to dance with her in front of the packed SoFi Stadium crowd.
The final act of the night kicked off with Blackpink performing their latest song “Jump” for the first time in the US. The song was released on July 11, just a few days after the Deadline tour kicked off in South Korea, and is their first new song as a group in 3 years. It felt as though there was an earthquake at SoFi Stadium as the crowd got on their feet and jumped with the girls during the track.
Ahead of the encore, the spotlight went on the fans as they partook in a dance challenge to see who could nail the girl group’s iconic choreography. Blackpink returned to the stage in Deadline Tour merch to perform a reprise of “Jump” before performing “Really” and concluding the nearly 2-hour and 30-minute show with the fitting title “See U Later.”
Blackpink returns in Los Angeles for a second night of their Deadline World Tour at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, July 13, before continuing the tour in Chicago, Toronto, New York, Paris, Milan, Barcelona, London, Kaohsiung, Bangkok, Jakarta, Bulacan, Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.