Concert Review: BLACKPINK's DEADLINE Tour is a Girl Power-Infused Marathon of Hits

Known as one of the biggest girl groups in the world, BLACKPINK has taken the world by storm since their debut in 2016. In the nearly 10 years since, the group has broken countless records, won several awards both in their home country of South Korea and abroad, and have sold out concerts all over the world. 

On the heels of the release of their latest single, “JUMP”, BLACKPINK - comprising of members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa - are now hitting the road on their DEADLINE World Tour, which kicked off in Korea earlier this year before moving on to America. The tour played its final U.S. dates at Citi Field in New York City this past weekend, and next up, the girls will head to various countries across Europe and Asia for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026.

I attended the first performance of the two-show run in New York on July 26, and was met with a nonstop girl power-infused marathon of hit songs, strong lyrics, and dynamic stages. 

BLACKPINK has a notably small discography for their near decade-long career, when compared to other groups of similar longevity. This may be seen as a disadvantage in certain situations, but when attempting to create a career-emcompassing tour setlist, it definitely worked in the group’s favor. BLACKPINK’s fans, known as BLINKs, were able to hear all of the hit songs dating from 2016 until present, and very few songs were left out. This also included solo performances from each of the members’ incredibly successful solo careers, that they all worked on alongside group activities for the past few years.

The DEADLINE setlist was split into acts, as a play would be, with each act having a distinct concept and feel. The first, third, and fifth acts were filled with BLACKPINK group songs that fans know and love, while the second and fourth acts gave each member a chance to showcase their unique flavor with solo stages.

Act Two began with Jisoo, who performed “Earthquake” and “Your Love” with elegance and grace, whimsically dancing across the stage in a way only she can. Contrasting this was a stage from the powerful Lisa, who performed “Thunder” and “FXCK UP THE WORLD”, shaking the stadium with her signature commanding presence and charisma.

Act Four gave us a truly iconic stage from Jennie, who performed “Mantra”, “with the IE (way up)”, and “like JENNIE”, with impressive energy and stamina. Finally came Rosé, who performed “two years” and “toxic til the end”, two songs that showcase her talent and artistry, before finishing off with the mega-hit “APT.”

In between these solo acts were all of BLACKPINK’s hit group numbers, including their debut songs “BOOMBAYAH” and “WHISTLE”, their latest release, “JUMP”, and everything in between - “Kill This Love”, “How You Like That”, “Shut Down”, “Lovesick Girls”, “DDU-DU DDU-DU”, and many more. 

BLACKPINK showed exactly why they have solidified their spot as one of the biggest girl groups in the world, with a resilient career that was exhibited masterfully on the DEADLINE World Tour.