October 14, 2014
Music
Awards.
Their
follow-up singles, such as "Go
Away", "Lonely" and "I Am
the Best" were similarly
successful, with "I Am the
Best" winning 2NE1 their
second "Song of the Year"
award in 2011.
2
From left to right: Minzy, CL, Bom & Dara
NE1 is a four-member South Korean girl group formed by YG
Entertainment in 2009. The name, pronounced to anyone
ortwenty one, combines the phrases "21st century" and "new
evolution. The band consists of CL, Minzy, Dara, and Bom.
First appearing in "Lollipop", a commercial campaign with Big Bang
for LG Electronics, 2NE1's debut single "Fire" was released on May 6,
2009. Since then, the group has released two eponymous extended
plays, 2NE1 (2009) and 2NE1 (2011), and one studio album, To
Anyone. Their first EP spawned the number-one single "I Don't Care",
which won them the "Song of the Year" award at the 2009 Mnet Asian
2NE1 officially debuted in
Japan in September 2011 with
a Japanese version of their
second extended play as Nolza.
Since then, the group has
released one studio album,
Collection, and two physical
singles in Japan. In 2012, The
New York Timesnamed 2NE1's
performance at the Prudential
Center in New Jersey as one of
the "Best Concerts of 2012". In
October 2012, Zack Greenburg
of Forbes Magazine noted that
2NE1 has sold 27 million
digital download.
1
JUDY ANN GREGORIO
October 14, 2014
History
Mnet for four weeks in a row.
first extended play. Promotions
Conception
On April 30, YG Entertainment's
CEO Yang Hyun Suk revealed
that 2NE1's debut song would
contain elements of hip-hop and
reggae, and that it would be
digitally released on May 6,
2009.Titled "Fire", the song was
written and produced by 1TYM's
Teddy Park. Teasers of the song
were released on their official
website at the beginning of May,
with a 20-second clip released on
May 1.
for their new release officially
commenced in early July. Yang
Hyun Suk stated that the song
would demonstrate a softer, more
feminine image of the group than
illustrated by "Fire”. A reggae
version of "I Don't Care" was
debuted with a performance on
SBS's Inkigayo in September
2009, signalling the end of
promotions for the song.Due to
the remix's popularity, it was
released to digital outlets on
September 3, 2009, and became
their next digital single.
2NE1 was first mentioned by
South Korean press in late
2004
before
YG
Entertainment announced in
early 2009 that the group
would consist of four members
and debut sometime in May of
that year. The company
stated that the group had
trained for four years, and
that their debut album would
contain songs produced by
1TYM's leader Teddy Park.
The group's name was initially
announced as "21"; however,
due to the discovery of a
singer with the same name,
the group was quickly
renamed "2NE1".
2009: Debut and first
Korean EP
In collaboration with Big Bang,
2NE1's first CF song "Lollipop",
was digitally released on March
27, 2009. The song was created
for LG to promote their Cyon
phone. The music video was
released on March 28, 2009.
Although it was not a promoted
single because it was an
advertisement (there were
problems with network chart
eligibility), "Lollipop" went to
number one on various online
charts and topped the online
chart of music television network
"Fire" was released as planned on
May 6, with two versions of the
music video — a "space" version
and a "street" version — released
on the same day. Within the first
24 hours of release, the videos
each received over one million
views. The group held their first
performance of "Fire" on May 17,
2009, on SBS's Inkigayo,marking
the start of the group's activities.
A reality show, 2NE1TV, was
also launched in May 2009 to
assist in the group's debut
promotions.
Both the song and the group
became popular online: "Fire"
topped Mnet's online chart and
2NE1 became a popular search
term. The group was awarded
three Cyworld Digital Music
Awards; "Lollipop" and "Fire"
both won "Song of the Month"
award and the group won
"Rookie of the Month" for May
2009, 2NE1 received their first
Mutizen award after their fourth
stage performance in SBS's
Inkigayo (Popular Song) on June
14, 2009. They received their
second Mutizen award on the
same show on June 21, 2009.
Two days afterwards, 2NE1
signed a deal with Fila to become
the models for the company's
new
commercial
campaign.
"I Don't Care" was released as
the group's second single on July
1, 2009 along with the group's
In August, after finishing "I
Don't Care" promotions, 2NE1
took a temporary hiatus with
each member releasing their own
solo singles. Sandara Park was
the first to release her own digital
single,
titled
"Kiss",
in
September 2009. The song
featured fellow member CL as a
rapper and was used in a
commercial for CF Beer. Park
Bom's single "You and I" was
released next in October 2009; it
proved to be the most successful
of the group's solo singles,
peaking at the top of the GaOn
chart. CL collaborated with
Minzy in the following month for
their single "Please Don't Go".
Along with three other groups
representing
Korea,
2NE1
performed in the 6th Asia Song
Festival in September 2009,
where they received the 2009's
"Asian Newcomer's Award."
2NE1 received many year-end
awards, including Best Rookie
Award and Song of the Year
Award. Their hit single "I Don't
Care" was named 2009's Best
Selling Song on music sites Mnet,
Bugs, Monkey3, and Cyworld
and second in MelOn. Their
debut EP also reached a
milestone of 100,000 in sales by
the end of the 2009 year.
2
JUDY ANN GREGORIO
October 14, 2014
2010: To Anyone
On February 9, 2010, without
previous
announcement,
"Follow
Me"
(Korean:
"날따라해봐요", "Nal ddara
haebwayo") was released to
digital outlets and used as the
promotional
song
for
Samsung's Corby Folder.Over
the summer of 2010, 2NE1
traveled to Los Angeles and
London in order to record
English songs for an American
debut album with The Black
Eyed Peas's member and music
producer will.i.am. The group
recorded a total of 10 songs in
their
initial
sesions.
The group's first full length
album, To Anyone, was
released on September 9, 2010
and proved to be a huge
success.Upon release of the
album, it achieved an all-kill as
all six new songs in the album
stayed in the Top 10 on various
music charts for one week. The
album also charted at No.1 on
the iTunes Hip-hop chart, No.
7 on Billboard World Albums
Chart, No.1 on HMV Japan,
aside from topping various
charts in Korea. Prior to the
release of the album, it had
already received 120,000 preorders. The album eventually
sold 150,000 copies by the end
of the year.
The album contains 12 tracks,
including three title tracks,
"Clap Your Hands" (Korean:
"박수쳐"), "Go Away" and "Can't Nobody", which were promoted
simultaneously. 2NE1 won first place on Mnet's M! Countdown for
"Clap Your Hands" on the day of their comeback followed by a KChart win the next day on KBS Music Bank for "Go Away", and a
Mutizen a week after for their SBS Inkigayo performance of "Can't
Nobody". Overall, 2NE1 won first place eleven times on various music
shows throughout the promotional period for To Anyone.
To promote the album, the group made its first entertainment show
appearance as a group on KBS variety-talk show Win Win while also
airing the second season of 2NE1TV.
On October 21, Yang Hyun Suk announced that 2NE1 would be
releasing a follow-up single on October 31, later revealed to be "It
Hurts (Slow)" (Korean: "아파").It was first performed on SBS's
Inkigayo. The music video was directed by Kim Hye Jung, who also
directed G-Dragon's "Butterfly." The music video was released on
November 1 and utilized a Halloween theme.
In addition, on October 28, it was revealed that 2NE1 would release
Japanese material under the Avex Group, and that To Anyone would
be re-released in Japan on December 8, 2010. However, the release was
later delayed to early 2011.Other non-Korean promotions took place in
Thailand, where To Anyone was released on October 28, 2010.On
November 26, 2NE1 released the single "Don't Stop the Music" as a
"special gift for Thai fans" and as the promotional accompaniment to
the group's Yamaha Fiore endorsement.
At the end of 2010, 2NE1 took home the "Artist of the Year" award
and the "Album of the Year" award at the 2010 Mnet Asian Music
Awards, thus making them the only artist to win all 3 grand awards at
the
said
award
ceremony.
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JUDY ANN GREGORIO
October 14, 2014
2011: Second Korean EP and Japanese
debut
2NE1 in 2011
O
n January 19, 2011, "Can't Nobody (English
Version)" was released on the Japanese
digital retailer Recochoku as a ringtone and
ringback tone.On February 2, the "Can't Nobody
(English Version)" music video was made available
for download through iTunes Japan. On February
22, Avex announced that 2NE1 would release their
Japanese debut single "Go Away", previously used
as a Korean promotional single, as a ringtone on
March 9, 2011.It was later announced to be the
theme song of Japanese television program
Mezamashi TV.On March 16, the group released
2NE1, their first extended play, in Japan, with no
promotions because of the Tōhoku Earthquake and
tsunami.It debuted at #24 on the Oricon charts,
selling 3,860 copies in its first week of release.2NE1
initially planned to make their official Japanese
debut live on Music Station, but instead postponed
their debut to the fall of 2011 due to the
earthquake.2NE1 participated in the Naver "Pray
for Japan" campaign alongside many other Korean
celebrities, helping to raise funds for earthquake
victims.
On April 18, 2NE1 announced their plans for a
Korean comeback, pushing the release of their
second self-titled EP, 2NE1, forward from the fall
to "May or June".Park Bom's second solo single,
"Don't Cry", was unveiled on April 21, 2011. The
song climbed to the top of the charts and achieved
an "All-Kill" on Korea’s real-time music charts
(Bugs, Melon, Soribada, Monkey3, Dosirak,) within
24 hours of its release. Later on, the song went on
to achieve a perfect all-kill.
After Park Bom concluded her solo promotions by
singing an acoustic version of "Don't Cry" on YG
on Air, the group officially confirmed that a new
single titled "Lonely" would be released on May 12,
2011. A behind-the-scenes video of "Lonely" was
shown on the second episode of YG on Air, with the
full music video being released on May 11, 2011 on
2NE1's official YouTube account. The song
enjoyed similar success to "Don't Cry", ranking #1
on live, daily, and weekly music charts. The music
video also garnered over 4 million views over the
course of four days and ranked #1 on Korean video
portals like Gom TV. Later on, the song achieved a
perfect all-kill.
On June 24, 2NE1 released a single produced by
Teddy Park at midnight, titled "I Am the Best".
Within 24 hours of release, "I Am the Best" topped
all the major Korean charts, except for Monkey3
where the song was ranked second. As the day
progressed, the song ultimately became first and
was certified as another "perfect all-kill" for the
group. On July 21, 2NE1 released an animated
music video directed by Mari Kim for their next
single, "Hate You", which proved to be another
success for the group, peaking at #3 on the Gaon
Chart. On July 28, along with the release of the full
mini-album, the single "Ugly" and its music video
were released, and again 2NE1 topped all major
Korean charts with the single. The album itself was
also a major success, topping the Gaon Chart and
selling over 85,000 copies by year's end and over
100,000 copies by September 2012. 2NE1 became
the first K-pop artist in history to release and reach
five straight "all-kill" singles. Promotions for
2NE1's second Korean mini-album officially
concluded in late August. Following the end of
promotions, 2NE1 held their first sold-out solo
concert at the Olympic Hall in the Chamsil
Olympic Park on August 26, 27 and 28 in Seoul,
South Korea.
2NE1 at Nikon's 'A Shot a Day' event
After concluding Korean promotions for their
second extended play, 2NE1 made their official
debut in Japan in September 2011. They kicked off
their official debut with a Japanese version of
2NE1 (2011) as Nolza, which was promoted by the
release of various singles throughout the summer of
2011 – including Japanese versions of "I Am the
Best", "Hate You", and "Lonely". On the day of its
release, 2NE1 scored high points on various music
charts, and landed in second place on the Japanese
iTunes chart and fourth place on the Oricon charts.
They began their Japanese debut tour "‘2NE1 First
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JUDY ANN GREGORIO
October 14, 2014
Japan Tour – NOLZA" on September 19 and 20th
at the Yokohama Arena, attracting a combined
total of 10,000 fans. Altogether, 2NE1 held six
concerts during their ‘2NE1 First Japan Tour –
NOLZA’ at three locations, including Yokohama
Arena (9/19 – 9/20), Kobe World Commemoration
Hall (9/24 – 9/25), and Chiba’s Makuhari Messe
Hall. The concerts attracted an impressive figure of
70,000 fans and marked a strong debut in Japan.
2NE1 released their first official Japanese single, a
Japanese version of "Go Away", on November 18,
2011 in three versions, following their September
2011 Japanese mini-album promotions.The music
video for the Japanese version of "Go Away"
showcased the JS Collage Wings x 2NE1 sneakers
designed by American designer Jeremy Scott, who
has been a contributing factor in their style and
global attention.
In October 2011, MTV Iggy, an international
branch of MTV that promotes new international
music, held a global competition with 10 bands
from all around the world who competed in a
voting competition for the "Best New Band”. With
their song "I Am the Best", 2NE1 were crowned
winners of this title on November 10, 2011, making
this their first US Award. 2NE1 performed at
Times Square in December 2011 to accept the
honor.
At the end of 2011, 2NE1 were nominated for the
Japan Record Award for Best New Artist, but lost
to
the
Japanese
girl
group
Fairies.
2NE1 sneakers designed by American designer
Jeremy Scott, who has been a contributing factor
in their style and global attention.
2012: Collection, I Love You & New
Evolution
On March 28, 2012, 2NE1 released their first fulllength Japanese album titled Collection along with
their second Japanese single "Scream". The album
includes Japanese remakes of their Korean songs
such as "Love Is Ouch", "Fire", and "I Don't Care",
and a cover of Madonna's 1984 hit song "Like a
Virgin". Multiple editions of the album were
released to include a DVD containing the groups
Japanese and Korean music videos, according to
Oricon's music website. The album peaked at #4 on
the Oricon Daily Chart and went on to sell over
40,000 copies in Japan.
The group and their fellow label-mates Big Bang
were invited to perform for the first time at 2012's
Springroove festival in Japan alongside some of the
top American and Japanese hip hop artists. The
previous year, 2NE1 and GD&TOP were invited,
but due to the Japan tsunami and earthquake
tragedy, the festival was cancelled.
The group collaborated with Japanese hip-hop
group M-Flo for the song "She's So (Outta
Control)", which was featured on the Japanese
group's sixth studio album Square One. The song
was released as the leading track from the album,
two weeks before the album's release on February
29, 2012.The song reached number 43 on the
Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart.
On June 6, 2012, the group released a promotional
single for the Intel Make Thumb Noise Project,
titled "Be Mine."
2NE1 performed at the 2012 MTV Video Music
Awards Japan, which took place on June 23, 2012
at the Makuhari Messe, to conclude initial Japanese
promotions. They also won the 'Best New Artist
Video' award for their song "I Am the Best". The
group served as the public speakers for the 59th
‘Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival’
in France in June 2012, along with the nation’s top
advertising agency "Cheil Worldwide", after having
been picked as the favorite K-pop group by French
Hallyu fans. The seminar they gave was titled,
“Korean Wave Through Digital Wave.”
The group made their official Korean comeback on
July 5, 2012 with "I Love You", which was
produced by Teddy Park and achieved an all-kill
within
hours
of
release.
Also confirmed in June 2012 was that 2NE1's first
world tour, the New Evolution World Tour, would
begin in Seoul, South Korea on July 28 and visit
New Jersey and California in the United States in
the following month before a September Japanese
leg. Jeremy Scott designed the costumes for the
concert, with Divinity Roxx assisting in music for
the concert.
On September 26, a Japanese-language version of
"I Love You" was released as the group's third
official Japanese single.
In August, 2NE1 embarked on the US leg of their
New Evolution tour. On August 24, 2NE1 held an
independent concert at the Nokia Theatre in Los
Angeles. 6,680 of the 6,714 tickets put on sale were
sold, bringing in a gross sale of $653,716, and
ranking at #29 on Billboard’s Current Box Score.
This made 2NE1 the first girl group to rank on
Billboard‘s Current Box Score.
5
JUDY ANN GREGORIO
October 14, 2014
In late summer of 2012 the group appeared alongside Nicki Minaj and
other artists including Big Sean and athlete Derrick Rose promoting
their own line of Adidas, marking their first entrance into American
pop culture. The full video features them dancing in the heart of Tokyo
having an impromptu concert for surprise fans. 2NE1 has their own
line of Adidas with Jeremy Scott.
of South Korea's music portal
sites, becoming the group's
ninth number one single on the
Gaon Singles Chart. The next
single, "Do You Love Me" was
announced on July 28, and
released online on August 7.
2014: Crush and AON:
All or Nothing World
Tour
2NE1 posing at MTV Iggy Studios in 2012
In December, 2NE1 and Big Bang made MTV Style’s list of ‘Best Band
Style of 2012′. The two YG Entertainment groups are the only Asian
artists to make the list of 10, which includes One Direction, The
Wanted, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, Destiny's Child, Fun and No
Doubt.
2013: English releases, 2NE1Loves, new singles
On March 14, 2NE1 released a full version of "Take the World On",
which was a collaboration in English with American singer will.i.am.
The song had previously been used in an Intel Ultra book commercial
on March 21, in an interview with Elle, CL confirmed that the group
has not yet planned an album for the United States, but wanted to
produce more songs in English. On April 16, the group collaborated
with will.i.am on a second song called "Gettin' Dumb"; this time with
his bandmate apl.de.ap. The song was the sixth track on will.i.am's
second album #willpower, which was released on April 23.
In early May, YG Entertainment released a teaser image with the
caption "Who's Next?"; surrounding the text were the names of YG's
artists, including 2NE1 and CL. The website "2NE1Loves.com" was
launched and contained with a video teaser of CL with the song "I'm
Busy" as a background instrumental, which was also posted to
Vimeo.A subsequent teaser image was released, but had highlighted a
smaller list of names, including 2NE1, CL, and Taeyang.
2NE1Loves.com released a video teaser with Dara. After several more
promotional teaser images and video teasers, the project was revealed
to be 2NE1 Loves Shinsegae, an endorsement for a department store
and brand Chrome Hearts.
On December 26, 2013, 2NE1
posted on YG Life a teaser
image that listed some of the
cities and venues for the
group's next world tour. The
AON: All or Nothing tour
includes stops in China,
Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand,
Philippines, Japan, Malaysia
and Indonesia, as well as
possible venues in America. In
February
2014,
YG-Life
announced the group's second
studio album Crush, with its
online release date adjusted to
February 26, and its singles
"Come Back Home" and
"Happy" were released on
Match 2nd.Their third title
track "Gotta Be You" was
released on May the 20th.
On June 26, 2014, they
released the Japanese version
of "Crush" which charted at #2
on the 'Oricon Daily Album
Chart' and #1 on Japan's
'iTunes Top Pop Albums Chart'
on the day of its release!
2NE1 appeared on an episode
of The Bachelor in January
and will be appearing on the
finale for America's Next Top
Model when the latter show is
filmed
in
Korea.
On May 15, YG Entertainment announced that CL would release her
first solo single. Originally titled "Bad Girls", the single was renamed to
"The Baddest Female" because K-pop artist Lee Hyori had just
released a single with the same title. "The Baddest Female" was
released on May 28.
Following an announcement on June 17 where Yang Hyun Suk
planned to release four new tracks from the group, 2NE1 released the
single "Falling in Love" on July 8. The song was well-received on many
6
JUDY ANN GREGORIO