BLACKPINK 2021 ‘THE SHOW’ LIVE

BLACKPINK 2021: THE SHOW (LIVE) is BLACKPINK’s digital audio release of their first virtual concert THE SHOW, aired virtually on January 31, 2021, via YouTube. This was the first time BLACKPINK performed songs from their debut full-length record THE ALBUM, with the exceptions of “Ice Cream” and “Bet You Wanna,” their collaborations with Selena Gomez and Cardi B respectively. They also performed some of the singles and B-sides from their previous EPs including August 2016’s SQUARE ONE, November 2016’s SQUARE TWO, June 2018’s SQUARE UP, and April 2019’s Kill This Love.

In previous BLACKPINK concerts, each member had a solo stage. This time around, JISOO covered Tove Lo’s March 2013 hit “Habits (Stay High)” with original Korean verses. LISA covered Doja Cat’s November 2019 hit “Say So” and JENNIE remixed her debut 2018 song “SOLO.” Both members co-wrote new rap verses with Danny Chung. One of the most anticipated stages of the night was ROSÉ’s first performance of “Gone,” the B-side track from her 2021 debut solo mini-album R. The live album excludes JISOO’s and LISA’s covers because BLACKPINK’s company YG Entertainment didn’t get the copyright permissions to publish them.

A couple of teasers and trailers were posted on BLACKPINK’s YouTube prior to the concert. The first teaser for THE SHOW, “BLACKPINK – AROUND THE WORLD” was released on November 22, 2020. The video showed various coordinates and timezones of different countries, teasing the fans that an important announcement was coming soon. A week later, the second teaser “BLACKPINK – THE INVITATION” released. The video showed BLACKPINK’s customized YouTube button for 50 million subscribers, the lock combination “124” and a QR code that led to BLACKPINK’s YouTube channel. Fans came to the conclusion that a virtual concert via YouTube Premium was gonna take place soon. “124” seemed to be a date and the most proximate date was 12/4 (December 4), which was when “THE SHOW Trailer” dropped.

The concert was originally set to happen on December 27, 2020, but due to the increase of COVID-19 cases in South Korea, THE SHOW got postponed. Due to this, on December 16, a second trailer released with the updated date.

In addition to the audio release of THE SHOW, BLACKPINK announced the pre-order of DVDs and KiTs on June 1, 2021. These were officially released on June 18.