Short answer: Because they’re THAT girl.
Longer answer: Because they’re THAT girl, and Coachella is lucky they said yes.
For those who still don’t get it, let me take you on an unsolicited trip that shows why BLACKPINK are the first Asians to headline Coachella.
The “Hot Debut” of 2016
It all started with a performance of their two debut singles, Boombayah and Whistle, at SBS Inkigayo in August 2016. Rosé laid on her back and slid through the other members’ legs across the stage floor, Lisa simulated a loose machine gun with her arms, Jennie jumped on the other three and they carried her forward, all while singing live. They won their first Inkigayo award two weeks later.
The “Product Launch” debut
Wait, no. The real story begins when BLACKPINK’s agency, YG Entertainment (AKA Psy’s former agency), introduced them to the people of South Korea like they were Steve Jobs and BLACKPINK was a new iPhone edition. BLACKPINK is better, obvi.
The first music festival performance
Five months after their hot debut, SBS invited the girls to perform at their end-of-year music festival, Gayo Daejun (or “Battle of the Bands”), the biggest in Korea. BLACKPINK brought their live singing, rapping and energetic dancing to the now iconic performance.
The cover performance of 2017
BLACKPINK performed their cover of Miguel’s Sure Thing at another SBS TV music show, and it remains an iconic moment for global BLINKS (BLACKPINK fans) today. The Pinks sang live, completely in English, pulled off some pretty cool harmonies, and Jennie and Lisa rapped bars they wrote themselves. Even Nicki Minaj would approve of this performance.
A live performance with 300m+ views
2018 marked BLACKPINK’s transition into global success — they released their game-changing hit song, Ddu-ddu ddu-du, in June, and Jennie dropped her record-breaking first solo, SOLO, in November — so their return to SBS Gayo Daejun in December was next-level and the perfect closing to a great year. The performance currently has over 300 million views on YouTube.
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Performing at the 20th Coachella
While Burna Boy fans would remember Coachella 2019 for his rant about font size, BLINKs know it as the year BLACKPINK became the first K-pop act to perform there. Nothing gave us higher dopamine spikes than hearing the live organs, followed by Jennie singing “Yeah yeah yeah” and Lisa screaming “BLACKPINK IN YOUR AREA”, as the girls started their performance of Kill This Love.
A dance practice video with over 1 billion (with a “b”) views
How You Like That’s official music video broke three Guinness World Records
The Show: their virtual live concert
When BLACKPINK decided to drop their debut album in the middle of the 2020 pandemic, every fan’s immediate question was, “What the hell, YG?” From making BLINKs wait four years for The Album (yes, that’s the name of the album) to keeping BLACKPINK from performing at most South Korean shows, YG is the bane of the fandom’s existence.
But in December 2020, BLACKPINK announced The Show — a virtual live show to perform all their new songs — partnering with YouTube to sell a premium subscription no one still wants.
YouTube: Pay us for premium treatment
The world:
The Show was a huge success though, selling W11.7 billion ($10.5 million) worth of tickets. Most importantly, they gave Ddu-du ddu-du, the song that put them on the map in 2018, the awe-inspiring performance she deserved.
The Virtual: their award-winning metaverse performances
BLACKPINK aren’t just elite performers in the physical world, their avatars run the metaverse too. In July 2022, YG announced The Virtual, a series of in-game shows on PUBG Mobile. The ten-day “tour” was free and exclusive to game users, recording 12.5 million viewers and earning BLACKPINK the Best Metaverse Performance Award at the 2022 MTV VMAs.
The Pink Venom special stage performance of 2022
BLACKPINK made us wait two years before they dropped their sophomore project, BORN PINK, in 2022. And its title track, Pink Venom, broke records as usual. But it’s their performance of the song that stands out most about it. This is best showcased in the Grammy Awards-level special stage video the group posted on their YouTube channel.
Performing with a royal orchestra for a president
Source: Yahoo News
You know you’ve made it when you kick off a new year performing in front of a foreign president. The French First Lady called them for the 2023 edition of her annual Le Gala des Pièces Jaunes charity event in Paris. And BLACKPINK performed their new songs, Shut Down and Pink Venom, with a famous classical cellist, violinist and an orchestra.
Do we even have to say everything about the performance was iconic?
And finally, Coachella 2023
BLACKPINK is on their second world tour till July 2023, and Jisoo just released her debut solo work, but that didn’t stop them from booking a gig as high-profile as Coachella 2023 Headline Act. They have a headline slot at Hyde Park British Summer Time (BST) festival lined up afterward too.
If “booked and busy” had an alias, it would be this K-pop group. But even the members are shocked by how far they’ve come. According to them, they only dreamt of attending Coachella as part of the audience, not headlining it. They promise to repay our love with constant improvement and perform each stage “as if it’s their last”.
We have no choice but to stan their grade of humility and success for clear skin.
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