Like most successful K-pop groups, Blackpink has its own light stick. The colorful concert accessory is a must for K-pop fans, who wave it to the rhythm of their idols’ songs. Fans of the boy band BTS have a small bomb stuck to the end of their stick; those of the girl group Twice shake a scepter shaped like a big lollipop. The “Blinks,” the nickname given to fans of Blackpink, wave in the air a heart-shaped hammer in dedication to the four singers of the band that Time magazine has just named “Entertainer” of the year.
On Sunday, December 11, in the Accor Arena in Paris came alive for the first of two sold-out Parisian concerts by Blackpink where thousands of hammer lightsticks were lit up. The tour, “Born Pink,” is traveling through Europe after having gone through the United States. In 2023, the band will visit Asia before stopping in Oceania.
Metaphorically, the hammer lightstick seems to “hammer” home the relentless success of band members Lisa, Rosé, Jisoo and Jennie. As a prelude to the concert, it is often customary for K-pop groups to warm up their fans by replaying the clips that made them famous. Blackpink’s videos are a reminder of how much the Korean music industry relies on special effects and choreography to create a fantasy. In the Bercy arena, fans sing and dance along to the videos which gain billions of views before Blackpink appears on stage.
