In Your Area World Tour

The In Your Area World Tour (also known as Blackpink World Tour [In Your Area]) was the first worldwide concert tour and the second overall by South Korean girl group Blackpink. The tour began on November 10, 2018, in Seoul, South Korea, and ended on February 22, 2020, in Fukuoka, Japan, in support of their albums Square Up (2018) and Kill This Love (2019). The group held 36 shows in 26 cities in 17 countries around the world. The tour became the highest-grossing tour by a Korean girl group, before it was surpassed by Blackpink's Born Pink World Tour (2022–2023).^[1]

Location

Asia
North America
Europe
Oceania

Square Up
Kill This Love

November 10, 2018 (2018-11-10)

February 22, 2020 (2020-02-22)

36

472,183

$56,756,285

Background[edit]

Blackpink 2018 Tour [In Your Area] Seoul x BC Card[edit]

On September 12, it was announced that the group would hold their first concert in Seoul, titled Blackpink 2018 Tour [In Your Area] Seoul x BC Card, on November 11 and 12 at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena. Each member of the group played an active role in planning the show;^[2] it was revealed that the title of the tour, In Your Area, was chosen by the members themselves.^[3] Tickets became available to the group's fan club members for pre-sale on September 14 via Auction Ticket and to the general public on September 18. All 20,000 tickets for the two concerts quickly sold out.^[4]

During the two-day concert at Seoul, member Jennie performed for the first time her debut solo song "Solo", which was released later on November 12, 2018.^[5] Blackpink released a 14-track live album recorded during the Seoul concerts, Blackpink 2018 Tour In Your Area Seoul, on August 30, 2019.^[6]

Blackpink 2019–2020 World Tour [In Your Area][edit]

On October 31, 2018, Blackpink announced their first tour dates for the Asian leg, with shows in Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur commencing in mid-January 2019.^[7]^[8]^[9] On January 28, 2019, Blackpink officially announced the concert dates and venues for the European leg; the tour kicked off in Amsterdam on May 18, 2019.^[10] The group later shared the tour's North American shows, on February 11, 2019, via social media.^[11] The North American leg kicked off in Los Angeles on April 17, in between the two weekends of Coachella, where the group performed.^[12] On February 22, 2019, it was reported that all 60,000 tickets for the group's first North American tour were sold out.^[13] Blackpink announced tour dates for Australia on February 25.^[14]^[15] Kia Motors served as the tour's official sponsor.^[16]

On April 15, the group announced they would hold four dome concerts in three cities in Japan, starting in Tokyo on December 4, 2019.^[17] On January 22, 2020, it was announced that the tour's last concert at Fukuoka Dome would be broadcast live in 96 movie theaters in Japan.^[18] A live album, DVD and Blu-ray of the Tokyo Dome concert, Blackpink 2019–2020 World Tour In Your Area – Tokyo Dome –, was released on May 6, 2020. The DVD ranked first on Oricon DVD Weekly Chart (May 4–10).^[19]

Concert synopsis[edit]

The show begins with a montage of a Rubik's Cube spelling out "Blackpink" and the names of the members on the main stage's screen. The cube then explodes into pink glitter and rising smoke as the group rises to the stage to perform "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" in light pink outfits. On elevated platforms, Blackpink then performs "Forever Young" in front of an outer space-like backdrop.^[20] After performing the two verses and the second chorus on the main stage, Blackpink returns to the raised platforms with dancers to sing the final part of the song. The group then greets the audience and introduces themselves on the main stage, performing "Stay" on chairs and walking to the B-stage during the final chorus. At the B-stage, the group begins "Whistle" before being accompanied by dancers and returning to the main stage at the end. The group departs the stage for a costume change.

Depending on the leg of the tour, the order of the solo performances changes. In the first Asian leg, Jisoo commences, singing a cover of "Clarity" by Zedd on a platform of disco balls. She is followed by Lisa, who dances to a medley of songs, both solo and with dancers. In Seoul, Lisa performed to "I Like It", "Faded", and "Attention"; the dance number changed to "Take Me" and "Swalla" from the first Bangkok show onwards. Rosé is third, rising to the stage with Dante Jackson from The Band Six on piano to sing a cover medley of "Let It Be" by the Beatles, "You & I" by former label mate Park Bom and "Only Look At Me" by Taeyang.^[21] Starting on April 17, 2019, Rosé opens the solo performances in place of Jisoo. The final member to perform as a soloist is Jennie with her single "Solo" alongside multiple dancers in front of a dance hall backdrop.^[22] The Band Six plays an interlude after Jennie returns backstage for her costume change.^[21] Most members' solo set numbers changed for the final leg in Japan: Rosé with a cover of Lewis Capaldi's "Someone You Loved", Lisa with a choreography to a medley of "Good Thing" and "Señorita", and Jisoo with a cover of AKMU's "How Can I Love the Heartbreak, You're the One I Love".

After the release of their Kill This Love EP in April 2019, Blackpink opens the next segment of the show with "Kill This Love" in street-style costumes.^[23] The main screen features different scenes from the song's official music video as a backdrop. A group of dancers join Blackpink for the ending beat drop of the song in marching band costumes before leaving the stage for Blackpink to perform "Don't Know What To Do". The group then interacts with the audience. "Kiss and Make Up" is performed next, with each member standing on moving raised platforms while the screen displays tropical patterns and imagery. The Band Six and dancers later return to the main stage to accompany Blackpink for "Really" and "See U Later". They all exit the stage as a video interlude featuring Blackpink racing and drifting in Kia motorcars plays on the screens.^[22]

Blackpink, in sparkly costumes, returns to the stage from below and performs "Playing with Fire" with a gate-like setting on-screen. The backdrop changes to kaleidoscope-like graphics as the group sings "Kick It". They move to the B-stage and perform the final two songs, "Boombayah" and "As If It's Your Last", after a short interaction with the audience.^[23]

For the encore, the group reappears on stage in casual clothes to perform a remixed version of "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du". Blackpink introduces members of the touring band and dancers to the audience and thank them before enjoying an instrumental performance by The Band Six. Only the group remains onstage afterwards to sing the final song, "Hope Not"; they say goodbye to the audience before departing the stage.^[24]

Critical reception[edit]

The concert received generally positive reviews from the critics. Variety drew comparisons between the all-dancing concert to Beyonce's 2018 Coachella performance, calling it "within the realm of earthly aspirational possibility" with "semi-rigid, semi-relaxed synchronization" and "major charm offensive from four quintessential Girls Next Door".^[24] Evan Real, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, stated that the girl group delivered "impressive vocals, dancing" that "not even the stage's extravagant light display or frequent bursts of fireworks could pull the group's focus from their exceptionally polished routine".^[25] Billboard described the concert as "hugely engaging" and applauded Blackpink's "remarkably natural aura" as opposed to the usual rigidity that K-pop concerts usually have, thanks to the group's improvisations and audience interaction. However, the magazine criticized the solo performances, calling Lisa's dance number "as baffling as it was boring" and Jisoo's cover of Clarity "uncomfortably close to a filler".^[20]^[26] The Guardian shared similar sentiments regarding the solo segment and gave the concert three stars out of five, stating that while the show had "brilliant moments throughout", it did not "take enough risks".^[21] On the other hand, Jan Lee of The Straits Times felt the solo performances were enjoyable and the concert's energy was infectious; he described the members of Blackpink as "exuberant, charming and visually stunning onstage", though he felt the show needed more original material from the group.^[27]

Commercial performance[edit]

The In Your Area World Tour became the most successful tour by a Korean female group in history.^[30] It recorded a 96.6% rate of seat occupancy for the first 32 concerts, excluding the concerts in Japan. Among them, 22 concerts in cities such as Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Los Angeles, Chicago, Hamilton, Newark, Fort Worth, Paris, Macau, and Melbourne were sold out.^[31] All four dome concerts for the Japan leg were also sold out.^[32]