Blackpink initially sold out their North American tour within a matter of hours. However, like many other groups, some of their tickets were purchased by scalpers trying to resell. Nonetheless, at the time, YG, the popular K-pop girl group's manager, added additional shows to some of the cities here in the states. One city that was lucky enough for more shows is Newark, NJ located in North America's North East region. The city's popular venue, the Prudential Center, has been home to a plethora of popular artist such as Selena Gomez and 1Direction. According to their event space page, the stage is currently able to hold a capacity of 19,500 seats. Within a few weeks, speculation arose as to why YG promoted the NA tour as 'sold out' when many tickets were still available. As of 11:00pm on the 11th of April, right as the girls are set to perform at the infamous music festival Coachella, I decided to take a peak inside their two dates for the Prudential Center, May 1st and May 2nd respectively. Low and behold, as many fans tried to point out, the show did in fact sell out but fell victim to resells. When looking at available seats for these two dates, one could see that on May 1st roughly less than 100 seats are available via resale. While their second show has tickets still available in general. If one were to take a guess based on eyes only, you could say it's roughly 1,000 seats still available for their second show. In total, for two days in one city alone, the young songstresses of Blackpink have sold approximately 18,400 seats out of 39,000, with their initial premier having sold out completely.

On the contrary, renowned and thriving competitor BTS, who is by now known for selling out hundred of thousands within seconds, sold out both of their NE shows within two hours. But if you peak inside their available seating, they also have tickets from event scalpers although not of the same magnitude. Their first show only has a handful of resells while their added show has roughly 1,000. Between both shows, the phenomenon boy group is set to perform infront of just about 165,000 American and even Canadian army's. But with that said, there are still a few who simply purchased to turn a profit.

Looking at both groups, it seems Blackpink and BTS have truly triumphed as two of the top Gen 3 groups. Having blown up in popularity, they've set records for both music groups in general and Korean music artists. Yet, despite both groups being undeniable in popularity and talent, their fan bases seem to be in constant disdain.

Having joined the kpop world but a few months ago, I realized rather quickly the level of pressure idols come under from their fans. Moreover, the distaste with many kpop fans and YG. As a fan of both groups, I ask this... If Blackpink can sell out a concert but find themselves victims to scalpers, why is this considered fraudulent promotions? Yet when another popular group endures the same obstacle, there is an outcry for popular sites such as Ticketmaster to improve their purchasing experience to avoid such events? Why is one group lauded by the masses, while the other accused of lying?

Or if you feel that question is too farse to ask, than answer this. What benefit comes from fanwars? With idols putting their all into creating music for the community, what pride does one bring when they constantly bicker back and forth? With BTS known for their inspirational music of positivity and self love, how does Army view the constant discrediting of their competitor as an honor to their name? And vice versa, with these Blackpink members still being young and having experienced blown up popularity very quickly, do you [Blinks] believe they find comfort in seeing [Blinks] act so callously? When did music become more about who's better rather than who is worth your personal support? In recent years, the world has learned the value of the Korean pop scene. With music transcending language and cultures, but what does all the fighting do if not taint that?