The reason why Blackpink's concert in Vietnam attracted more than 60,000 spectators

Blackpink attracted more than 60,000 audiences in their first visit to Vietnam due to their large fan base, hot name, and professional crew.

According to social media analytics company YouNet Media, Blackpink’s concert was the most popular topic in the country in July. Information about the group has been of interest since the end of June, when they announced they would be holding a show in Vietnam, and it has been exploding ever since the two concerts took place on July 29 and 30, with more than 30,000 spectators each.

Musician Huy Tuan commented that the two shows were the largest-scale music events in Vietnam ever, showing the great influence of Blackpink in particular and K-pop in general.

K-pop started promoting idols in 1996, with the first generation of idols such as HOT, Shinhwa, SES, known as the "gen 1" generation. However, it was not until the "gen 2" of idols such as BoA, SNSD, Super Junior, Big Bang, 2NE1, DBSK, was born that the K-pop wave went beyond the territory of Korea, influencing many countries, including Vietnam.

According to data from the Korea Foundation, in 2012, Vietnam had 4.12 million K-pop fans. By 2022, this number increased by 223%, with 13.3 million people, making Vietnam the country with the third highest number of K-pop fans in the world (after China and Thailand). With the development of technology, the young generation of Vietnam can easily update about K-pop through social networking sites and online music listening platforms.

From left to right: Rosé, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa at the concert in Hanoi . Photo: IME

Blackpink debuted in 2016, when the Kpop wave dominated the Asian market, and was promoted by YG Entertainment - one of the three largest entertainment companies in Korea. The group attracted fans from the first days of their debut, with the title "2NE1 new version", "Big Bang's younger sister". In Vietnam, the group has three fanclubs with thousands of members, regularly updating products, images of idols, and organizing fundraising activities.

As soon as Blackpink announced that they would be holding a show in Vietnam at the end of June, the news immediately caused a storm. Before Born Pink came to Vietnam, the show's quality was guaranteed through more than 70 successful shows in Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania.

According to Touring Data , an independent box office tracking platform, the tour's 40 shows grossed about $163.8 million, with more than 900,000 tickets sold. The group averaged more than $4 million per night with about 22,600 attendees. The figures do not include nearly 30 uncounted shows. In May, Blackpink became the highest-grossing girl group in history, a record previously held by the Spice Girls on their 2019 Spice World Tour (which grossed $78.2 million with 700,000 attendees).

Vietnamese audiences have welcomed many famous K-pop artists such as SNSD, T-ara, 2NE1, but no idol has created as much "heat" as Blackpink - a group capable of attracting millions of fans .

Although the group debuted in Korea, the management company had a global reach since the selection of members. Lisa was born and raised in Thailand, helping the group attract the Southeast Asian market. Rosé was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, Jennie was born in Korea and raised in New Zealand. Except for Jisoo, the other three girls have a good foreign language foundation, can sing and rap in both Korean and English.

The group's music is strong and vibrant, and Portal Kocca commented that it has many similarities with famous European and American artists in its personality and street style. Although the group sings mainly in Korean, their songs have many impressive and attractive English phrases such as "Blackpink in your area" in Boombayah , "Let's kill this love!" or "How do you like that?" In addition, meaningless phrases such as "Ddu, ddu, ddu, ddu-ddu-ddu", "Rum, pum, pum" along with beautiful dances can be addictive to audiences of many ages, including children.

The professional crew and timely show organization helped the Born Pink tour succeed in Vietnam. The sound and lighting system of the show was praised by experts and audiences for its high level of investment, modernity, and 80% of the equipment was imported.

DTAP - a music production group that has recently attracted attention - used the word "very cool" to describe their feelings about the show. They said they learned a lot about how to create stage effects through the combination of sound, light, and LED screens. "The show's 20 musical arrangements are all updated with popular music trends, satisfying fans," commented a DTAP representative.

Despite welcoming a large number of spectators, people entering My Dinh Stadium are divided into check-in areas according to ticket levels, without jostling, pushing, or long waiting. Security and safety inside and outside the stadium are guaranteed.

Blackpink's tour to Hanoi quenches the audience's "thirst" for the entertainment market. After three years of the pandemic, Vietnam-Korea cultural exchange programs have been suspended, and the number of K-pop artists coming to Vietnam has decreased significantly compared to before. In addition, Blackpink did not hold a concert in China, so the number of visitors from neighboring countries coming to Vietnam to watch this occasion was recorded quite a lot.

Hanoi is the last stop of the Born Pink tour in Asia, before the four girls bring the concert back to the US. The news that their contract with the management company expires in August, and they are at risk of disbanding, also makes many fans eager to see the show in Hanoi.

In addition, the Vietnamese market is currently experiencing a surge in purchasing power. Author Lee Seung Yoon of the Korean newspaper Insidevina commented that the consumption of Blackpink concert tickets is "amazing". This is a positive sign compared to previous years, when the purchasing power of Vietnamese fans was still limited.

In 2012, when asked about the intention to hold a concert for DBSK in Vietnam, the group's management company told MBC: "We once intended to hold a live show in Vietnam as part of our tour schedule. But based on market factors and commitments from the management company, in the next 15 years, the possibility of DBSK returning to this market is very small."

In 2013, Lee Min Ho’s show at Quan Ngua Stadium (Hanoi) was canceled due to low ticket sales. Several shows that were advertised to feature PSY or T-ara were also canceled for similar reasons.

Musicians Huy Tuan and Duong Khac Linh believe that Blackpink's successful tour in Hanoi is a positive signal, causing many international artists to pay attention to the Vietnamese market in the future.

Nikkei Asia commented: "Blackpink's popularity in Vietnam shows the influence of the Hallyu wave in many fields. The successful performance shows that Hanoi city and the Vietnamese government have an open view on tourism and culture."

Vnexpress.net