A DOUBLE whammy of stifling heat and incessant queues would have forced most people to throw in the towel.

But for some nearly 100,000 Blinks – that’s what the fans of South Korean K-pop group Blackpink are known as – nothing would stand in their way as they mopped their brows and inched their way along the snaking lines, counting down the minutes to seeing their idols in the flesh.

This was the scene over the weekend at the Sports Hub in Kallang, as the global juggernaut that is Blackpink’s Born Pink world tour finally landed in Singapore. These were the hottest tickets in town for months – the priciest seat was S$402 – with the first show at the National Stadium sold out within minutes and a second date soon added to satisfy demand.

The queues began at the crack of dawn on Saturday (May 13) – not to enter the stadium, but to get in line for the outdoor merchandise stalls to snap up everything in sight including S$80 light sticks, S$100 hoodies and S$60 official tour t-shirts. Some enterprising folks even advertised their queueing services online, charging a fee of up to S$10 to help others buy these items.

The unforgiving heat didn’t seem to bother many, even as the temperature soared past 36 deg C in many parts of the island. Once the crowds picked up their swag, those holding Standing Pen tickets went to join another massive queue –this time to get into the stadium, hoping to get as close to the stage as possible.

Global sensation

Even those who don’t follow K-pop at all will know a little about Blackpink, seeing as how the group is seemingly everywhere these days.

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The quartet comprises Jennie, Jisoo, Rose and Lisa, all very likeable 20-somethings who have gone on to achieve international stardom as arguably the most popular girl group in K-pop today and the most streamed female band on Spotify.

They have graced countless magazine covers, including a December 2022 issue of Time, where they were named the “Entertainer of the Year” – only the second K-pop group to earn that accolade, after BTS in 2020.

Blackpink has also appeared as guests of many US talk show hosts, such as Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon and James Corden. Last month, the group became the first Asian and all-female group to headline the Coachella festival in California.

Sparkling show

The Born Pink tour began in the South Korean capital Seoul last October and has since made stops in Los Angeles, Chicago and other major cities in the US, as well as London, Barcelona and Paris in Europe.

The Asian legs have taken place at sold-out stadiums and arenas in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Tokyo, among others.

More than 45,000 fans – including Blinks from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea and elsewhere – packed the Sports Hub’s National Stadium on Saturday night for the first of the two concerts.

They were made to wait, as the start of the show was pushed back by 30 minutes with crowds continuing to stream in. Almost every other spectator was waving one of those pink light sticks in the air, and they nearly blew the roof off the venue when the lights dimmed and Blackpink made a mesmerising entrance.

As pyrotechnics and confetti filled the air, the four members wasted no time in launching into some of their hit songs, among them How You Like That, Pretty Savage, Whistle, Don’t Know What To Do and Lovesick Girls.

Each of them also had a chance to show off their solo skills. Jisoo wowed with her new hit single Flower, while Jennie sang You And Me, and Rose performed Hard To Love and On The Ground. Lisa, who is from Thailand, had the crowd in the palm of her hand as she danced and sang Lalisa and Money.

They returned as a foursome and belted out familiar favourites including Shut Down and Typa Girl, as well as the extremely catchy Ddu-Du Ddu-Du. Earlier this year, the latter song became the first video to surpass two billion views on YouTube.

The time flew by, and soon the grand finale was upon us as the quartet disappeared off stage.

It was a full eight minutes before they re-emerged for a three-song encore, their infectious energy spilling over onto the crowd as Blackpink closed this slick, high-octane 105-minute performance on a high. This was one extremely fun party that guests simply didn’t want to leave.