BLACKPINK in your area: London.

On Wednesday the 22nd of May 2019, BLACKPINK performed at the SSE arena in Wembley, London, and I was there.

The longer I was into the K-Pop the more I felt that I would never get tickets to a K-Pop concert and therefore never get to see these inspiring humans perform live. K-Pop tickets are like gold dust. They sell out within minutes and before you know it they are up on re-sale sites for unbelievable prices. A phenomenon that still enrages me. Those overpriced tickets will probably never be sold on and therefore whoever bought them in an attempt to make a quick buck has cost a loyal fan the once in a lifetime experience of being in the same room as their favourite artist. It makes me sick.

With this awareness I know how LUCKY myself and my friends are to have got Blackpink tickets and the chance to experience their hard work, passion and talent live.

It is in the very nature of K-Pop to impress and entertain so it is no surprise that the girls truly delivered both aspects to the fullest. But more than this, something I didn't expect from my first K-Pop concert; the sense of being a part of something and being together.

When my friends and I entered the arena to see a sea of pink light sticks the atmosphere was indescribable. Thousands of fans were singing along passionately to the music videos displayed on the big screens. Finally, we were here. We were going to see the girls themselves, live and in the flesh.

I had been to seven concerts before this one, but never have I shaken in anticipation for an act to come out on stage. Seeing that these people I idolise are real human beings was such a big deal to me that my response was to shake and scream - possibly my biggest fangirl fit to date.

I think I am still in shock. I don't feel like I actually lived through it, like it was a dream.

These girls are so talented. They performed just how they do on the music shows and in music videos. I'm so happy that I can say I've seen them sing and dance live, not just through a screen.

I'm glad I hadn't seen clips of Lisa's solo dance ( the bit before swalla) because that meant I was seeing it for the first time live and I was in awe of her. I genuinely sat still with my mouth open in shock at how someone can move so fluently and effectively.

Tbh all of their solo stages were the highlight for me. Jisoo's cover of Zedds 'clarity' was phenomenal and got me hyped, Rose's cover of 'let it be' was breathtakingly beautiful and Jennie's 'Solo' (despite technical difficulties) banged as it always does, especially the dance break.

It saddens me that, still, people are put off K-Pop due to the fan culture. I definitely understand the off putting elements but it saddens me that, because of the bad fans, (there have always been bad fans in every fandom since being a fan became a thing aka since day dot.) people are missing out on such pure passion and talent.

This year I made the decision to try and be inspired by more women and to have more female role models, since I noticed a large majority of my own personal inspirations are male. I feel that BLACKPINK are more than deserving of my admiration and after this experience they have definitely solidified their spot on my list of female role models.

Kaitlyn.

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