Blackpink Hits the Coachella Stage as the Festival's First Girl Group Headliners

April 15, 2023

COACHELLA, Calif. — Blackpink headlined at Coachella 2023 on Saturday, closing out the second night of the festival on the Coachella stage. The KPop group’s performance was preceded by a lengthy aerial drone sequence.

Blackpink were the first K-pop act to perform at Coachella back in 2019, and the first K-pop headliners this year. BLACKPINK issued their second LP, Born Pink, last September.

This year, as Jennie, Jisoo, Rosé, and Lisa arrived on the main stage — generally considered to be the three-day desert festival’s most coveted and prestigious slot — their appearance signified Coachella’s continuing shift from mostly white, male, Gen X-skewing alt-rock. And they continued to make Coachella history, not only as the fest’s first K-pop headliner, but as the first Asian headliner of any genre, as well as the first girl group to earn top billing.

Few female acts have received top billing at Coachella: the only others to share that herstoric honor since 1999 are Beyoncé, Björk, Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, and Lady Gaga. The group arrived in a military-precision formation onto the stage to loud cheer and applause, reminiscent of Beyoncé’s last show in the stage in 2018.