Show Review: 2NE1’s Welcome Back tour is a love letter to fans

Vocals, charisma, and stage presence—2NE1 has it all. And they showcased their prowess yet again at their recent concert tour, aptly named Welcome Back.

This tour celebrates the group’s 15th anniversary and marks their first performance in Singapore in a decade, following their All or Nothing tour in 2014.  But more than just a concert, 2NE1’s Welcome Back tour is like a love letter to their fans, affectionately known as Blackjacks.

The quartet packed the two-hour show with earworm classics like Go Away (2010), I Don’t Care (2010) and more. Some of which they played during their last show here, but fans still loved it anyway.

Why? Because it’s 2NE1.

Like true veterans, 2NE1 sets the tone right from the get-go. As if proclaiming to the stadium, ‘We’re finally here,’ they bathed the venue in a red glow while showing off their silhouettes. (ICYMI, that’s where the iconic Bom meme was born.) Iconic much?

While the setlist largely takes fans back to the 2010s, it offers more than just nostalgia. That’s because 2NE1’s discography is distinctive, leaning towards an edgier and more tomboy-ish feel.

And while we’ve already got a teaser of CL’s performance during her recent Waterbomb set, she brought back her Korean tracks The Baddest Female (2013) and MTBD (2014) for the show. To top it all off, her sultry dance moves and occasional howls had the crowd screaming with renewed fervour.

Read more: Show Review: Here’s everything that went down at WATERBOMB Singapore Day 2

At this point, 2NE1 is all about that groove and charisma. But they’re naturally humorous individuals too, especially during their between-song talk sets.

While they’ve kept most of them short, presumably to lengthen their performance segments, Dara quipped on her favourite memories about Singapore.

“You can only share one (memory),” CL teased. So she did. “Back then, we held an event at Clarke Quay when we were still [ambassadors] for Singtel,” she said.

Yes, 2NE1 was once the face of our local telecommunications company. “If you want to renew the contracts, we’re here,” she wittingly said.

More than just their intense performances, dance breaks and humour, it’s their thoughtfulness and sincerity that shines.

We’re not just talking about the outfit changes they incorporate for every stop of the tour. But on the first day of their two-day show, the ladies served up an early Christmas gift.

During the encore segment, they covered Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You (1994), as the members donned adorable Santa and elf hairbands. “It’s our first-ever Christmas carol in Singapore, or in fact, anywhere,” the group said.

“I haven’t learnt a new song in such a long time,” CL said. “So while we were rehearsing this track, it brought back memories from our trainee days”.