Korean name Hangul 투애니원 Revised Romanization Tuaeniwon McCune-Reischauer T'uaeniwŏn 2NE1 (Korean: 투애니원; Pronounced To Anyone or Twenty One) is a four-member South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment in 2009. The band consists of CL, Minzy, Dara, and Bom. The name 2NE1 combines the phrases "21st century" and "new evolution", 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 extended plays, 2NE1 and 2NE1 2nd Mini Album, and one studio album, To Anyone. Their first EP, 2NE1 spawned the number-one single "I Don't Care", which won them the "Song of the Year" award at the 2009 Mnet Asian 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. 2NE1 officially debuted in Japan in September 2011 with a mini album titled NOLZA, which contained re-made versions of the Korean songs featured on the group's 2nd Mini Album. Since then, the group has released one studio album, Collection, and two physical singles in Japan. 2NE1 are set to debut in the United States in 2013, with work on the group's debut English studio album beginning in 2010 with producer will.i.am. August Brown from The Los Angeles Times has compared 2NE1 with Girls' Generation, describing the former as a "saucier and more hip-hop-inclined girl group", while Jon Caramanica from The New York Times acknowledged that the group has "become a huge success" and Lee Hawkins from The Wall Street Journal asserts that 2NE1 is "taking the world by storm right now". History: Pre-debut: 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 4 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 Mnet for four weeks in a row. 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. "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 first mini-album. Promotions 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, signaling 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. 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. 2010: To Anyone: On February 9, 2010, without previous announcement, "Follow Me" (Korean: "날 따라해봐요", "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 6 new songs in the album stayed in the Top 10 on various music charts for one week. The album also charted at #1 on the iTunes Hip-hop chart, #7 on Billboard World Albums Chart, #1 on HMV Japan, aside from topping various charts in Korea. Prior to the release of the album, it had already received 120,000 pre-orders. 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: "박수 쳐"), "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 K-Chart 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. 2011: Second Korean EP and Japanese debut: On 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 mini-album, 2NE1 2nd Mini Album, 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 an 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. After concluding Korean promotions for their second mini-album, 2NE1 made their official debut in Japan in September 2011. They kicked off their official debut by releasing their mini-album, '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 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 New York 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. 2012: Collection, New Evolution, New Evolution World Tour, and English debut: On March 28, 2012, 2NE1 released their first full-length 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 single "She's So (Outta Control)" as well, which was released in early 2012 and was featured on M-Flo's "Square One" album. The group is still at work on their debut English album, which is currently scheduled for release in 2013. In March 2012, DJ Poet (who is also working on 2NE1's English studio album) released new information regarding 2NE1's first U.S. single. According to DJ Poet, the song, titled "Take The World On", will be an electro-dance track and will also serve as the promotional single to the new range Intel Notebook PC's. Originally scheduled for release in May or June 2012, the song is currently awaiting release after delay. 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. The group was initially scheduled to release their second full-length Korean-language album in July or August 2012, with Teddy Park confirming in June 2012 that a total of seven songs had already been recorded for the set. 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. Due to the group's world tour, it was announced in July 2012 that the release of their second Korean album would be delayed into October of that year. 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 sales 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. In late summer of 2012 the group appeared along side 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. They are currently preparing for their 2nd full length album with an announced comeback of this November. Members: Stage name Birth name Position Date of birth Romanized Hangul Romanized Hangul CL 씨엘 Lee Chaerin 이채린 Leader, vocal, rap (1991-02-26) February 26, 1991 (age 21) Bom 봄 Park Bom 박봄 Lead vocal (1984-03-24) March 24, 1984 (age 28) Dara 다라 Park Sandara 박산다라 Vocal (1984-11-12) November 12, 1984 (age 27) Minzy 민지 Gong Minji 공민지 Vocal, rap (1994-01-18) January 18, 1994 (age 18) Artistry and influences: Musical styles: In 2NE1's debut EP 2NE1, the group was noted to have a distinct, mixed style. While "Lollipop" was categorized as for pop, debut single "Fire" is predominately influenced by hip hop. "I Don't Care," however, was intended as a song with a reggae feel. Their comeback album, To Anyone, was marked by a strong shift into electronic music. "Go Away", the most successful promotional single from the album, is classified as dance. However, songs like "It Hurts (Slow)" are R&B, another style that also characterized their first EP. The three title tracks, "Clap Your Hands," "Go Away," and "Can't Nobody" were noted for their lasting impressions, as they topped music charts weeks after release. Thematically, 2NE1's music explores independence and female empowerment, such as in songs like "Go Away" and "I Don't Care". Image: 2NE1 is known for a "unique and edgier style". During their debut single, the group was noted for being "hip-hop warriors" and the female counterpart to Big Bang but changed this perception with "I Don't Care" into strong, feminine women. During the "It Hurts (Slow)" music video, the members were noted for their Gothic, black attire and strange hair and wigs. Zack Greenburg from the American business magazine Forbes described 2NE1 as a pop group characterized by bold, bright outfits and big, catchy hooks punctuated by rap verses and an "in-your-face swagger". He also considers the group to be "bigger than Psy", singer of the worldwide hit single Gangnam Style. Styles and themes: 2NE1 recorded R&B songs with styles that encompasses urban, contemporary, and dance-pop. 2NE1 revealed that R&B female group Destiny's Child is one of their influences. Park Bom cited American singers, Beyoncé and Mariah Carey as her main influences because of their strong vocals and powerful performances. She has listed hip hop and R&B as her favorite music genres. Youngest member Minzy cited famous entertainer Michael Jackson, Kelly Rowland, while leader CL said producer Teddy Park and American entertainers Madonna, Lady Gaga and Lauryn Hill are her role models.Dara states that singer-actress Uhm Jung Hwa is her inspiration, and idolizes Regine Velasquez. She also enjoys Britney Spears's style and music, citing her as a role model who's songs she often sang to while growing up during American interviews stateside for their New Evolution World Tour stop in California
