Blackpink’s Deadline World Tour Is a High-Voltage Homecoming

Lisa, Jisoo, Rosé and Jennie of BLACKPINK perform onstage at the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 22, 2023 in Indio, California. - Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Coachella/Getty Images for Coachella

When Lisa spoke to Tyla for Rolling Stone’s Musicians on Musicians last year, she said she couldn’t wait to get “together with the girls” again. After a year and a half of solo ventures — Rosé teaming up with Bruno Mars on “APT.,” Lisa starring in White Lotus, Jennie commanding the Coachella stage, and Jisoo releasing the underrated pop gem “Earthquake” — Blackpink are back together. And their Deadline World Tour didn’t just reunite the group: it reminded Blinks why they shine brightest together.

On Saturday night, Blackpink kicked off their latest tour at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, filling the 70,000-seat venue with the kind of poptimism and electric choreography we’ve come to expect from the greatest girl group of this generation. It felt as if they had never left—picking up right where they left off, stronger than ever.

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The show opened with an intro of Rosé driving a classic Buick throughout the city of Los Angeles, picking up each of the girls on their way to Las Vegas. They opened the show with “Kill This Love,” their massive 2019 hit that sent the crowd flying to their feet.

What stood out from the show was how much each of the girls’ individuality shone throughout the performances. During “Playing With Fire” and several other songs, each member stood in front of her own moving screen to perform her verse, with their face projected onto the large screens behind them.It’s clear that the time away has allowed each of the girls to hone in on what makes them great as individuals, and it makes Blackpink as a group work even better.

In between group acts, each star also got to showcase music from their solo eras: First came Jisoo who played a mashup of “Earthquake” surrounded by 20 dancers before she went into sexy chair choreography for “Your Love” as confetti rained on the crowd for the first time. Then, landed Lisa in a Wonder Woman-esque outfit as she performed “Thunder” and “Fxck Up the World,” changing up her cyberspace-inspired section from the set she played at the tour opener in South Korea last week.

For the third act, the girls came out to perform “Pretty Savage” as Rosé introduced the members of their live band, which would emerge from behind the large screens at several points during the show, showcasing how live instrumentation elevates a pop stadium spectacle. Before “Whistle,” Lisa and Rosé giggled onstage about the “Rockstar” choreo she didn’t perform before Jennie led the crowd in a chant of “Jisoo, Jisoo.” The sisterhood was palpable.

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“It’s been a minute since we’ve all came together. We’re back and this is the beginning of the U.S. leg,” said Rosé onstage. “I hope you’re all having so much fun.”

The only drawback of the night was the show’s storyline and the lack of grand stage production moments. With stadium acts, we expect cohesive storytelling and dynamic elements like flying performers or moving stage pieces. However, here the interlude narratives and extra visual effects were missing. Between acts, videos showed the girls stuck in the desert or cruising down a highway, and at one point, Rosé’s classic car floated across neon Las Vegas signs. Visually, it didn’t quite connect with the onstage action or the graphic aesthetic of the “Deadline” theme. Still, this didn’t diminish the strength of the performances,and the Blinks in the crowd didn’t need the bells and whistles to be entranced.

For Act 4, Jennie and Rosé took over the solo sections. Jennie led the show with a medley of “Mantra” and “With the IE” as the whistles of JLo’s “Jenny From the Block” rung throughout the stadium. She closed her medley with “Like Jennie.” Rosé then took the stage and slowed things down with “3am,” sharing the story behind the song as she interacted with the crowd. It served as a sweet, intimate moment despite the huge crowd. She couldn’t finish her solo part of the show without playing “APT.” which made the crowd go wild. (Bruno, where were you?)

The show’s final act opened with the group’s new single “Jump,” which transported SoFi Stadium to a Euro-techno nightclub. The single is a smash that sent the crowd into an uproar — and it even got a reprise during the encore. The venue was filled with lasers as the group hit the song’s choreo to perfection. (For this part of the show, the girls’ Western-inspired outfits brought to life the “desert” aesthetic of the interludes.) During the alluring “Boombayah” and “DDU-DU DDU-DU” choreography, the girls’ shone brightest, reminding fans of the group’s early days and the talent that’s made them stars.

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Even after a long stretch apart, the group’s chemistry remains electric. Every move felt instinctual. Don’t call this a Blackpink comeback — they never left. And if this show is any indication, they’re only getting started.

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