Fans React to Jennie’s First Solo Concert: Tears of Joy vs. Controversy Over Her ‘Attitude’

BLACKPINK’s Jennie wrapped up her first solo concert. While she teared up on stage, expressing, “I’ve received so much love,” controversy surrounding her performance and attitude continues to spark debate.

On the 15th, Jennie performed live at ‘The RUBY Experience,’ a concert celebrating the release of her first full-length solo album RUBY at Inspire Arena in Incheon. She delivered 15 songs, kicking off the show with “Intro: Jane with FKJ” and “Start a War,” followed by performances of “Handlebar,” “Mantra,” “Love Hangover,” “Zen,” “Damn Right,” “Seoul City,” “Like Jennie,” “With the IE,” “EXtraL,” and more. During the title track “Like Jennie,” she heated up the crowd with lyrics that stated, “Haters can’t be like me, so they have no choice but to hate me.”

Even before the concert began, the atmosphere at the venue was somewhat chaotic. The presence of high-profile guests—including BIGBANG’s Daesung, WINNER’s Lee Seung-hoon, Yoo Jae-suk, Kim Ji-won, former Girl’s Day member Hyeri, NewJeans, and BLACKPINK’s Rosé—caused a delay of about 10 minutes as fans scrambled to capture them on camera.

Unlike the usual concert format where artists greet the audience after the first song, Jennie didn’t speak to the audience until about 40 minutes into the show. It appears that some planned remarks were omitted due to the delay.

The stage production also drew mixed reactions. Despite the release of seven music videos, the stage setup and screen graphics remained relatively basic, with no particularly special effects.

Towards the latter part of the concert, Jennie became emotional, saying, “Thank you so much for coming to my first solo concert. This album captures not just my glamorous side but also my honest and vulnerable self, so everything feels unfamiliar. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, but after releasing the album and receiving so much love, it was overwhelming. Seeing you all in person makes me feel incredibly grateful and happy,” she said through tears.

She wrapped up the main concert with “Filter” and, in response to fans’ encore requests, performed “Starlight” and “Twin.” However, the total runtime of the show was only 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Ticket prices were set at 220,000 KRW for Ruby seats, 165,000 KRW for R seats, 154,000 KRW for S seats, and 143,000 KRW for A seats—comparable to a full-scale solo concert. Yet, the duration was only about half of a typical concert, leading to criticism that both the setlist and stage production fell short of expectations.

Fans who attended the concert shared mixed reactions:

“Honestly, the concert was way too short. Even if it wasn’t two hours, it should have at least been 1 hour and 30 minutes. Considering the ticket prices, it felt disappointing.”

“Jennie looked absolutely stunning, and there were touching moments, but the concert as a whole felt underwhelming. The stage production was simple, and the performance itself lacked the impact I had hoped for.”

“The songs and performances were great, but there was barely any interaction with the audience. It would have been better if she engaged with the fans more… She didn’t talk much.”