THE Philippines has one of the highest numbers of K-pop fans around the world. Unquestionably, it is the home of loud, devoted, and extremely enthusiastic fanatics who will go the extra mile to show their love and support for their celebrity crushes.
So, when a certain situation turns into a negative occasion for their stanned idols, brace yourselves because all hell will break loose.
One of the KPop idols that Filipinos are extremely fond of is none other than the record-breaking girl group, BLACKPINK.
Fan projects are commonly held among different fan bases around the world to convey fans’ warm support, admiration, and appreciation for these KPop idols.
Since BLACKPINK will be visiting the Philippines for its BORN PINK World Tour in March in time for the birthday of member Lalisa Manobal (also spelled as Manoban), professionally known mononymously as Lisa, Filipino fans have joined forces to plan a celebration for her special day.
However, disagreements over designs arose, causing a ruckus among BLACKPINK fans, also called BLINKS.
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How the incident transpired
On February 6, one of the local BLACKPINK fan bases in the Philippines initiated a fan project for the forthcoming concert of the girl group in March.
BLACKPINK PH is the first and largest Philippine fanbase of BLACKPINK. Since the group’s Philippine tour will be on March 25 to 26 and Lisa’s birthday will be on March 27, BLINKS have donated money to BLACKPINK PH for Lisa’s early birthday present.
In its proposal that was shared on its Twitter page, the fan community disclosed several activities and outputs that it plans to produce during the Manila leg of the BLACKPINK tour.
These include a birthday project for Lisa, the group’s main dancer and lead rapper.
However, it seems things did not turn out as planned since most BLINKS had problems with the design and cost of the cake.
Lisa’s birthday cake was supposed to feature a design that encapsulates her personality. However, BLACKPINK PH reportedly changed the layout, and it has turned into a cake that will also showcase other BLACKPINK members.
The allotted budget for the birthday cake, which costs P5,000, also became an issue. Filipino fans pointed out that the group collected a huge amount of donations from the fandom, and this small fund for Lisa’s cake seemed unfitting.
Due to this incident, Filipino BLINKS lost their cool and vented their fury and rage on Twitter.
BLACKPINK PH explains
Responding to complaints, BLACKPINK PH said the reason it proposed the cake design with other members in it is because several previous suggestions were declined.
“The producer asked for specific design and size of the cake (Lisa’s birthday cake) as they have declined several proposals for this. We have [thoroughly checked] the cakes from other members which were approved so we will have [a] basis on what can be potentially approved by YG,” it wrote.
On Lisa’s birthday cake
In addition, BLACKPINK PH said its objective is to guarantee that the BLACKPINK member will have a birthday cake during the second day of the concert.
It also said it wants to strictly stick with the three-tier cake for the purpose of uniformity as other BLACKPINK members received this cake design on stage during their respective birthdays.
“This is to ensure we get higher chances of approval,” BLACKPINK PH said. “YG is [very sensitive] with solo fan projects, thus, as much as possible, we need to make it at least almost similar to the approved ones.”
On Lisa’s concert banners
Moreover, the fan base also addressed the conflict regarding the handheld banners for the second day of the concert. Since the design featured Lisa’s face, BLACKPINK PH said the group’s management rejected it.
“Day 2 banner cannot be approved for the fairness of all four artists. Anything with the artists’ face cannot be approved as it has a potential to be thrown away or stepped on and can be uncomfortable for the staff and the artists,” YG said, according to the statement released by BLACKPINK PH.
Failure to meet deadlines
Since the designs for both the cake and the Day 2 banner needs to be revised, BLACKPINK PH said it reached out to other fan bases TEAMLISA PH and LOVELISA PH to settle the matter.
However, the two communities reportedly failed to comply with the revision requirements during the allotted time, which resulted in the collaboration of TEAMLISA PH and BLACKPINK PH to generate and finalize the designs.
But they also failed to reach an agreement, and BLACKPINK PH said it would let TEAMLISA PH submit the cake design to concert organizers for approval. It would just handle the other projects, it said.
Meanwhile, TEAMLISA PH responded on Twitter to call out BLACKPINK PH for the actions it pursued.
It also seems that the issue is not about to end, as the BLACKPINK BLINK UNION, the worldwide supporter of BLACKPINK, also aired its own view on the “misconduct” of BLACKPINK PH.
Reports by Rhuf Jhoi Ventura
