The sweltering heat might have had Blackpink playing with fire in more ways than one, as it seems their performance might’ve proved inadequate for some.
In a lengthy Reddit post on Monday (May 15) criticising Blackpink’s concert in Singapore, user Rukiahayashi went in-depth into why they weren’t too impressed by the girl group’s performance on Sunday.
“If you enjoyed it, I’m genuinely happy for you and I do think there are things to enjoy about the concert,” Rukiahayashi prefaced.
However, they also stated: “I felt that it didn’t live up to the standards that I would expect from the biggest girl group in the world right now, as well as from veterans that have been in the industry for over seven years.”Blackpink performed at the National Stadium on Saturday (May 13) and Sunday.
Going into the nitty-gritty, they began with an evaluation of the performance’s duration.
Citing a price range of $190 to upwards of $400 and beyond for a concert ticket, Rukiahayashi opined that an hour and 40 minutes was insufficient and “pretty underwhelming”.
“That’s really short, no matter how you spin it. Twice (another girl group) for example consistently puts out over three-hour-long performances,” they said, adding that over two hours was the minimum to expect.
The next point Rukiahayashi addressed was the crowd interaction — rather, the lack of it.
“Crowd interactions were both brief and few, and basically were just, ‘How’s everyone? I love Singapore food! The weather is hot, I’m so sweaty! Ok, our next song is!’
“There were zero details or follow-ups… it was so lazy and just made it feel like they were checking off a box.”
It wasn’t an issue with translation either, as “the girls are clearly fluent in English sans Jisoo”.
As a result, Rukiahayashi felt that the insufficient interaction were a sign that the members just wanted to go back to their hotel rooms and rest rather than be forced to perform and speak with the crowds, upsetting the concert experience.
They added: “A performer or musician should always want to connect with their fans on a strong level, because without the fans they are nothing.”
The Reddit user also felt that the Blackpink quartet lacked energy on stage and were “phoning it in for most of the night”.
“Some of the remixes and arrangements of their songs are literally the same as their previous tour as well,” Rukiahayashi observed. “Lazy is not swag… I felt like they only gave about 50 per cent of their full potential to us.”
Claiming to be a former dancer, they added that the dance moves performed on Sunday were “not hard to learn at all”, condemning them for not going all-out, especially with how short the concert was.
They also cited K-pop group Le Sserafim’s recent comeback show and how they were “shocked” due to the “stark difference in the passion, the level of choreography and expression, the energy, the hunger to perform”.
“One of their members, Sakura, has even been in the game longer than Blackpink — she’s been in the industry since 2011 with AKB48 and later with Iz*One… she’s still bringing her A-game no matter where she is.”
‘A real lack of professionalism’: Redditor
Rukiahayashi didn’t just stop there and even dissected the performances of each individual member of Blackpink.
Jisoo, 28, was decidedly “low-energy” during the show, the Redditor opined, also stating that she seemed to be “politely going through the motions”.
Rose, 26, purportedly tried to “liven the mood up” at the beginning, but also seemed “very low-energy” after her solo.
The worst offender in Rukiahayashi’s eyes, however, was the 27-year-old Jennie.
“Jennie really, really disappointed me the most. I get that she’s arguably one of the hottest female stars in the world, so why don’t I see it in her performance and energy?” The Redditor questioned.
They added: “It’s so [messed] up that you, who will probably only seem them once in your lifetime, have to be at the mercy of which Jennie will show up today.
“Is it the moody, tired Jennie who only complains about the heat? Or is it the fierce, charismatic performer?”
While the other stars got a tongue-lashing from Rukiahayashi, Lisa instead received ample praise.
They asserted: “I’ll admit I’ve never understood the Lisa hype but honestly she may have just become my new bias. Even though she’s the youngest, she gave it her all in every single performance.”
Rukiahayashi believed that Lisa, 26, did her best to hype up songs with her vocals, danced “her heart out”, and even did some “decent” pole dancing which she “has only learnt for under a year”.
Most importantly, she tried to interact with the fans the most, the Redditor said.
“Very professional, and I wish the other girls had her energy.”
Did the audience affect their enthusiasm?
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for fans, however.
Rukiahayashi did mention the positives of the concert, which other Reddit users also agreed.
For starters, the girls “looked really great”, particularly Jisoo’s Flower outfit as well as Lisa’s outfit for the second act, the Redditor said.
“Production looked really fantastic,” they said. “It’s honestly the most beautiful lighting I’ve seen in the National Stadium.”
The backup dancers and musicians on stage also received praise, as were the artists’ solo performances.
A Redditor also suggested that one should not pin the blame solely on Blackpink for their performance.
“I know Jennie asked the audience to put down the cellphones and interact with them more, so I can’t help but wonder if the audience affected their enthusiasm too,” the user guessed.
Rounding off their post, Rukiahayashi said that they felt “let down” by Blackpink’s performance here.
“Singapore is one of the last legs of the tour, so being rusty and nervous should not be an excuse by now, especially for a group that’s been around as long as they have,” they opined.
“You can call me a hater if you want, but personally as a former hardcore Blink (what Blackpink fans call themselves) — I know the girls are just capable of more by looking at other performances that they went all-out.”
ALSO READ: Lisa in your area: Blackpink member spotted at Changi Beach restaurant after concert
khooyihang@asiaone.com
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