BLACKPINK’s performance as Coachella headliners is praised by the world, yet condemned in their homeground, Korea.
Recently, BLACKPINK took the stage as headliners of the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and immediately went viral earning heaps of praise from international fans and foreign media.
However, a controversy has been sparked by BLACKPINK’s performance, as Kim Do Heon, former editor-in-chief of E-Zine, current music critic, and a member of the Korean Music Association, wrote a scathing review.
In particular, on April 16th, Kim Do Heon published a post titled “BLACKPINK Coachella” on his SNS, which starts with, “If the meaning of Coachella’s headliner was taken seriously, such a superficial and light approach would not be possible.”
“It shouldn’t have been a stage to show that BLACKPINK is pretty and famous”, he said, adding, “There’s so much narrative that could be extracted from the fact that they were the first K-pop and Asian female group to achieve the status of headliner at an American festival.”
Kim Do Heon also compared Blackpink’s performance to that of Bad Bunny, saying, “Bad Bunny, who took the stage as the first headliner for a Latin American artist yesterday, has a 25-piece setlist that includes a lecture on the history of Latin music, a reporting function that reflects the poor situation in Puerto Rico, and a narrative of growth as a musician. The world realized the depth of Latin music, its qualifications as alternative music, and the existence of superstars.”
“What did BLACKPINK’s stage leave behind? A symbol of the Asian boom in the US? The solidarity of women shown by Voynius in the previous turn? The K-pop system that made these days possible? What is the potential of K-pop as a new alternative music? There is nothing left, they simply finished one of their busy schedules”, he added.
Kim Do Heon then went on to criticize BLACKPINK’s skills, writing, “Compared to the many singers who threw themselves on the Coachella stage, BLACKPINK was never at the level of a festival headliner. It got better in the second half, but the singing of the members at the beginning, adding ad-libs to AR, was terrible. They didn’t even dance as passionately as the backup dancers.”
He also mentioned that BLACKPINK’s structure of group songs, followed by member solos, was only enough for a domestic idol concert, and that it was a performance for social media uploads and DVD releases. “They regressed in every aspect compared to 2019”, the critic also commented.
Finally, Kim Do Heon expressed regret about BLACKPINK’s Coachella performance, stating, “They wasted the stage of glory that every musician dreams of. K-pop missed an opportunity to be taken seriously in the global market.”
Kim Do Heon’s post has become a hot topic in related communities, with people showing two streams of completely different opinions. So far, BLACKPINK’s quality of performance is continuing.
On the other hand, BLACKPINK performed as headliners at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival held in California, USA, on April 15th (local time).
On that day, the members unveiled various stages, ranging from solo songs to tracks from their 2nd album. During the performance, the audience waved the pink light stick symbolizing BLACKPINK and prepared a large Korean flag.
Various foreign media also shower BLACKPINK’s performance in praise, and netizens on international platforms showing huge enthusiasm and excitement.
However, in BLACKPINK’s homeground, South Korea, it seems that the girl group is still being condemned.
Source: Nate
