Welcome Back Tour

The Welcome Back Tour was the fourth concert tour by South Korean girl group 2NE1. Held in commemoration of the group's 15th anniversary, it is the quartet's first headlining concert tour since the All or Nothing World Tour (2014). Spanning twenty-seven shows across Asia, the Welcome Back Tour commenced at the Olympic Hall in Seoul on October 4, 2024, and concluded at the KSPO Dome on April 13, 2025.

Background

On July 22, 2024, YG Entertainment officially announced the reunion of 2NE1 for their 15th debut anniversary, after having been disbanded for eight years since November 2016. It was announced that the group would embark on a world tour beginning in South Korea in October 2024, with shows slated to be scheduled in other regions within 2025, in response to the requests received from across the globe.

Three days later, it was unveiled that the tour would kick off at the Olympic Hall in Seoul, the venue which 2NE1 performed at for their first concert tour Nolza in August 2011. Fans expressed discontent regarding the venue's capacity after the announcements were made; in response, YG Entertainment issued a statement explaining that all larger venues in Seoul had "already been booked". It was announced the following day that 2NE1's Japanese fanclub, Blackjack Nolza, would be re-opened in early August.

On September 6, 2024, concert dates in Manila and Jakarta were announced, followed by Hong Kong and Singapore four days later, and Bangkok and Taipei on September 13. Dates in Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, and Macao were announced on November 6. On January 6, 2025, encore concerts in Seoul at the KSPO Dome were announced for April 12 and 13, 2025.

Production

2NE1 aimed to capture the essence of their classic sound during the Welcome Back Tour by performing their songs in their original form. The group's leader, CL, expressed that this was in contrast to their previous tours, where they often presented rearranged versions of their songs or featured reworked choreography. Furthermore, the quartet actively crafted the concert's experience through their involvement in all of its aspects during its preparation, spanning from the setlist, stage design, choreography, and costumes, amidst others.

Ticketing

In Singapore, ticket sales for the quartet and Hong Kong singer Andy Lau's concerts, sufficed a loss of $66,000 within a period of two weeks due to scams over fake concert tickets. It resulted in a minimum of 92 reported police cases where the victims completed transactions through third party platforms in early October. The police advised the public to utilize the "Scam Shield" app, and to purchase tickets from authorized sellers and legitimate ticket marketplaces.

Their Seoul concerts was attended by numerous K-pop artists including NewJeans, Winner, G-Dragon, Daesung, Blackpink's Jennie, Aespa's Winter, BoyNextDoor, Kang Daniel, members of Stray Kids, iKon, and The Boyz, Jung Yong-hwa, and Shinee's Key; actors such as Ross Butler, Rowoon, Lee Joon, Lee Soo-hyuk, and Lomon; veteran singers such as Uhm Jung-hwa, and Yoon Do-hyun; and entertainers such as Noh Hong-chul and Jun Hyun-moo, among others.

Commercial performance

General sale

Demand for the Seoul concerts resulted in over 400,000 people vying for tickets accommodating 3,000 to 4,000 seats at the venue, thereby crashing the server. An additional concert was added for October 4, alongside the release of additional restricted-view seats for all three dates. All four initial shows in Japan were sold out within a day, therefore two additional shows were added. Over 100,000 users queued for tickets for the Jakarta show and over 200,000 users queued for the Singapore show, resulting in both shows selling out. A second performance was added in both cities.

The virtual queue for the general sale of tickets for the Manila concerts recorded over 200,000 users on the first day and 350,000 users on the second day, resulting in both dates selling out immediately. On October 11, YG Entertainment announced that all shows for the Japanese leg were sold out. Shortly after the presale for the Taiwan show on October 15, an additional performance was added. It was reported that all 18,000 tickets in Taiwan were sold out in 90 seconds. In Macao, over 300,000 users were recorded trying to buy tickets, and all tickets were sold out.

The shows in 2024 attracted around 170,000 people from 16 shows.

Critical reception

The tour received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who praised the spectacle of the show. Beginning in Seoul, Yoon Seo-yeon writing for ''Korea JoongAng Daily'' called the concert as a "true definition of what K-pop is and what it should be". Pyo Kyung-min writing for ''The Korea Times'' cited the show reaffirmed the quartet's "legendary status in the music scene". Hong Yoo writing for ''The Korea Herald'' wrote their choreography was vigorous and demanded much more energy than the routines of some of today's K-pop girl groups.

In Manila, Russell Ku writing for ''Rappler'' described how stunned he was at how an arena could be packed from front to back with fans, young and old, and felt the show was different from the other concerts he had gone to after witnessing the crowd already jumping, resulting in the arena to feel as though it were "shaking". Allan Policarpio writing for ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' narrated them as a group who "never looks too calculated or preoccupied with what they have to do next", elaborating how their "instincts guide the way they work their numbers, and make sure to always leave room for spontaneous interactions with each other, or with the crowd". In Singapore, Ang Benson from ''The Straits Times'' remarked that although a decade has passed since 2NE1 last performed, "their infectious energy and their fans’ fiery passion have not abated". Belinda Poh of ''HallyuSG'' praised the group's vocals, charisma, and stage presence, and likened the show to a "love letter to their fans".

Political impact

In the Philippines, former senator Francis Pangilinan called for political action and the introduction of a legislation to address ticket scalping in response to the Welcome Back Tour in Manila. In December 2024, the Anti-Ticket Scalping Act was filed in the Filipino senate, which aims to regulate the purchase of tickets to "protect consumers from exploitation and guarantee fair access to events".

Set list

This set list represents the show on October 6, 2024, in Seoul, South Korea. Variations to the setlist over the course of the concert run are noted below.

Main set

# "Intro" (contains elements of " Come Back Home")
# "Fire"
# " Clap Your Hands"
# " Can't Nobody"
# "Do You Love Me"
# "Falling in Love"
# " I Don't Care"
# "The Baddest Female" (CL solo, shortened with extended intro)
# " MTBD" (CL solo, shortened)
# " Missing You"
# " It Hurts (Slow)"
# "If I Were You"
# " Lonely"
# " I Love You"
# " Ugly"
# " Gotta Be You"
# " Come Back Home"
# "I Am the Best"
# " Go Away"
Encore
#

"Happy"
# "In the Club"
# "Crush" / "I Don't Care" (reprise) / "Ugly" (reprise) / "Go Away" (reprise) / "Can't Nobody" (reprise)

Double encore
#

"Let's Go Party"
# "Stay Together"
# "I Am the Best"

Notes
* In Manila, "In the Club" was replaced by "In or Out" (group version).
* In Jakarta, "Happy" and "In the Club" were replaced by "Follow Me" and "Baby I Miss You".
* In Kobe & Hong Kong, the same two songs were replaced by "Don't Stop the Music" and "Good to You".
* In Tokyo, the same two songs were replaced by " Scream" and "Don't Stop the Music". Additionally, the Japanese versions of "It Hurts (Slow)", "I Am the Best", "Go Away," "Scream", and "Don't Stop the Music" were performed.
* In Singapore, "Happy" was replaced by "All I Want for Christmas Is You".
* In Bangkok, "Happy" and "In the Club" were replaced by " Please Don't Go" and "Stay Together".
* In Kuala Lumpur, "In the Club" was replaced by " Hate You".
* In Taipei, "Happy" and "In the Club" were replaced by " Let's Go Party" and "Pretty Boy".
* In Ho Chi Minh City, the same two songs were replaced by "Kiss" (Dara solo) and " You and I" (Bom solo).
* In Macau, "Happy" was replaced by " Pretty Boy" .

Tour dates

Notes

References

External links

Welcome Back Tour Official Website

2NE1 15th Anniversary Japan Website

{{2NE1

2NE1
2024 concert tours
Concert tours of Hong Kong
Concert tours of Indonesia
Concert tours of Japan
Concert tours of the Philippines
Concert tours of Singapore
Concert tours of South Korea
2025 concert tours
Reunion concert tours
Concert tours of Thailand
Concert tours of Taiwan
Concert tours of Malaysia
Concert tours of Macau
Concert tours of Vietnam