Blackpink performs at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Aug. 22, 2023. Courtesy YG Entertainment.

SAN FRANCISCO — Drawing a near-capacity crowd to Oracle Park on Tuesday, vocal quartet Blackpink showed just why it’s one of the few standard-bearers of K-pop. Often copied but never replicated, Blackpink has picked up a litany of recognition and milestones on its way to the top with just the group’s first two albums. Along with BTS, they’ve helped the genre reach new heights in the U.S. But with Tuesday evening’s concert, Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa demonstrated that K-pop may be too narrow—just call them a pop group.

The show was the penultimate U.S. stop on the group’s Born Pink World Tour, named for its 2022 album, Born Pink. These last few encore shows were just added this spring and quickly sold out. Blackpink also proved to be a hit at Coachella earlier this year. The tour began—and will end—in South Korea, after the group performs at Dodger Stadium later this week.

Blackpink performs at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Aug. 22, 2023.

Over the roughly two-hour performance in San Francisco, Blackpink mostly avoided the show elements of K-pop. Instead of over-acted video skits to change outfits or get a breather, two squads—male and female—of dancers performed impressive choreographies that included flips and plenty of grinding. There was little idle chit-chat that diehard fans love but gets repetitive for K-pop newbies. A live band complemented the ladies during the songs and played its own transitionary jam sessions. In short, the show never stagnated, and the next song was never far off.

The 21-song set was a mix of rock-laden bangers (many of which came in the first half of the show), anthemic synth-pop (some of which leaned toward an ’80s aesthetic) and rap, of course. Lisa, the group’s lead rapper, was a delight every time she performed on songs like “MONEY” (which she performed solo), “Typa Girl” and “Tally.” But her group mates also took turns spitting some bars from time to time. The latter of the songs, which came at the tail end of the show, approached emo or Soundcloud rap levels.

“I say fuck it if I feel it,” they took turns announcing, about being true to themselves. How often do you get a line line that on a K-pop tune?

Blackpink performs at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Aug. 22, 2023.

The show got off to a quick start with the bombastic “Pink Venom,” “How You Like That” and “Pretty Savage.” The last one, as well as the following “Kick It,” involved some chair choreography at the end of a wide catwalk that extended out into the crowd. “Kick It” was a slice of sweet pop, as were the anthemic “Lovesick Girls,” “Playing With Fire” and “Don’t Know What to Do.”

The production didn’t skimp on the wow factor, with lasers, streamers, flame blasts and pyrotechnics. Colorful flares shot up along the catwalk and at the back of the stage as Blackpink made their way back and forth frequently, never spending too much time still or in one place. There were several outfit changes, from shiny black to mostly white and a couple others, but not so as to distract from the main fireworks, the singing and dancing. The four had their shoulders bare for most of the night, leading to Rosé remarking about how quickly it got chilly and windy in San Francisco after a warm day.

The show’s second act included each member performing a couple of songs solo, and there were no weak links here. Jennie impressed on “You & Me” and “SOLO.” Jisoo’s performance of  “All Eyes on Me” and “Flower” increase the pace with jittery beats and major chords. Performing in a red cocktail dress, Rosé sang the slow-burning R&B number “Gone” and hip-hop-influenced midtempo tune “On the Ground.” The streamers were shot off here and it was impressive how far the wind carried some of them. Lisa came out looking like she was ready for a rave in a sparkly outfit and furry leg warmers and only got the one song (“MONEY”) but incited the loudest singalong of the night to that point.

Following the poppy “BOOMBAYAH,” the band provided a dramatic, rocking interlude. The drummer was shown surrounded by no fewer than 10 cymbals.

The concert’s final build began with “Typa Girl” and included hits “Shut Down,” “DDU-DU DDU-DU” and the electronica-tinged “Forever Young,” which sped up and devolved into a blend of swirling rainbow colors and sonic electricity. The break before the encore was perhaps the only thing that didn’t go as planned, with a fan-cam dance-off where the participants didn’t feel like doing anything too impressive. But Blackpink quickly recaptured momentum when the four stepped back on stage for a few more songs including a poppy remix of “Stay.”

Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter.