Fresh off their first history-making weekend of Coachella, the lovely ladies of BLACKPINK took to taking on the iconic venue, The Forum, in Inglewood, California on April 17, 2019, for their 2019 World Tour. The concert, in partnership with Kia Motors, exceeded fan expectations and showed people from all walks of life that BLACKPINK is and continues to be one of the most globally influential K-Pop girl groups to ever reach this level of international acclaim at such a lightning fast speed. allkpop had the opportunity to attend BLACKPINK's first ever show in Southern California and we were not disappointed!

Fans from all over the state, country, and world traveled to the Los Angeles area to line up and ensure their spots for the show. BLINKS showed up as early 5 AM to camp out outside the venue for a chance to see Jisoo, Rose, Lisa and Jennie up close and personal. Luckily, fans were treated to the Kia event hosted outside by a charismatic team of MCs that offered charming photo-ops and a number of activities to win free BLACKPINK merchandise. 

With BLACKPINK songs blaring in the background to hype up the crowd, the Kia event offered folks who lined up at their booth a photo opportunity with a simple cute pink backdrop and the opportunity to get into the specially-designed SOUL x BLACKPINK car for a selfie or two! Fans were able to share their photos of them in the special Kia Soul for a chance to win two P1-GA tickets, a BLACKPINK signed CD, or a specially-made KIA x BLACKPINK Bluetooth Microphone. By using the hashtag #BLACKPINKwithKiaInUSA and #SOULxBLACKPINKInLA, all fans who participated were automatically entered to win! But the fun didn't stop there - the KIA event also offered a small booth for BLINKS to sing karaoke to their favorite BLACKPINK song and a tent for people brave enough to take on a dance cover!

Fans then waited patiently until 4 PM to enter the venue for soundcheck. Upon arrival inside the venue, fans gathered around the extended and main stages to catch an intimate moment with their bias. After twenty minutes of eagerness and excitement, the lights flashed on and out came the four powerful presences of BLACKPINK. Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rose gave the fans three songs as part of their soundcheck event and made sure not to miss greeting a single corner of the room. By the time they were finished and bid fans a "See you later," people began to feel the excitement and anticipation of the night's show building even more.

When doors re-opened and fans finally entered the venue to claim a stake on their coveted floor space and get settled in their seats, a series of BLACKPINK music videos played on the venue's large monitors. BLINKS began a giant venue-wide singalong. After the video for "Kill This Love" exploded the minds of the audience, the real show began with a jaw-dropping array of visual effects. Shortly thereafter, the four powerhouse talents of BLACKPINK emerged from the stage to a boom of fireworks, lasers, and pyrotechnics while the stadium shouted to every word of "DDU-DU DDU-DU".

The girls then went directly into an acoustic version of "Whistle" and greeted fans around the extended stage that waited in the hot Southern California sun all day for a good vantage point to view the show. As they finished their initial performances and left for a costume change, a compilation of fan performances, covers, and tribute videos covered the venue's large monitors and warmed the hearts of onlookers. Fans from the UK, USA, Korea, India, Singapore, and the Philippines are just a few examples of the locations of the folks featured in the video. Fans felt a warm connection to each other during this special break and video.

Following the fan compilation video, all members had their solo stages. Rose started the solo stages off by gliding on stage in a beautiful white mohair dress accompanied by a pianist to sing a medley of tracks including two big surprise songs: The Beatles "Let It Be" and Taeyang "Only Look at Me". Lisa followed Rose's medley with an incredibly powerful dance break that left fans screaming at the top of their lungs. Jisoo sang a Korean cover version of "Clarity" by Zedd and Jennie, of course, performed "Solo".

An instrumental break followed from their ultra-talented backup band and BLACKPINK performed a few tracks off their latest album including "Kill This Love" and "Don't Know What To Do". They even mentioned how fun it was to work with Dua Lipa and did a live rendition of "Kiss and Make Up". One would think that the energy levels would dissipate after hours of sitting in the hot sun, but fans only got more zealous as songs like "See U Later" literally shook the floor of the venue. Whether it was killer vocals, tightly synchronized dancing, or gasp-inducing fan service, there was never a shortage of entertainment at any point of the night.

One of the most memorable lulls between sets was a video of BLACKPINK dressed as auto shop mechanics working on their own individual Kia cars! The video featured the girls in mechanic's one-piece jumpsuits and featured use of auto-related tools. After a dramatic garage door closes, the ladies get in each of their respective Kia Soul cars to do what seems to be a race at first, until fans realized they were doing donuts in the parking lot featured in the video. As the cars pull away, a giant mark reading "BP" is left with their tires on the floor of the garage.

The performance went on with many more hits by the group including songs like "As If It's Your Last," and "Kick It," just to name a few! Even after the group called it a night and bid fans goodbye, they still ran back on stage for an encore where fans showered them in affection and plush toys. 

As the event finally came to an end, a few lucky VIP ticket holders were able to attend their send-off event where they got some interaction time with the girls prior to leaving the venue! BLACKPINK made fantasies come true by posing for photo opportunities and chatting fans on an extremely intimate level.  This was the highlight of the concert for many! 

The Forum in Inglewood, CA was the first date of eight on the North American leg. After performing weekend two of Coachella this Friday, April 19th, the girls are off to Rosemont, Illinois for the next stop of their tour. That being said, BLACKPINK 2019 WORLD TOUR with KIA is not something to miss out on. The group's powerful ability to display incredible showmanship paired with God-given charisma and talent is a spectacle to behold. BLACKPINK shows fans across the nation and world that boy groups aren't the only ones able to find wide-scale success internationally.