2NE1 (usually pronounced "twenty-one" or "to anyone" , Korean: 투애니원) is a K PopGirl Group from South Korea. They debuted in 2009 and obtained instant success, due in part to the fact that their style and lyrics gave the quartet an edge unheard of in the vast Korean girl group scene. As of 2014, they have released 2 mini albums in Korean, 1 mini album in Japanese, 2 full albums in Korean and 1 full album in Japanese, becoming incredibly popular at home and impressing Black Eyed Peas' Will.i.am, with whom they recorded an album in English for their debut in the States, that got stuck in Development Hell; it has probably been shelved for good.Members:
CL, born Lee Chaerin, The Leader of the group (Type II/Type IV), and the main rapper. Usually wears Cool Shades. She's the second youngest member at 22.
Minzy, born Gong Minji. She's the youngest member of the group, but has the deepest voice and is a main singer and rapper.
Dara, born Park Sandara. She sings and is the director of communications for the group. Although she and Bom are 29, Bom was born nine months before her.
Bom, born Park Bom, the main singer. Bom is known for her unique voice and her affinity for mini dresses. She's also the oldest member at 29, being born about nine months before Dara.
Discography:
2NE1 1st Mini Album (2009)
To Anyone (2010) (first full album in Korean)
2NE1 2nd Mini Album (2011)
NOLZA! (2011) (Japanese version of their 2nd Mini Album)
2NE1 1st Live Concert (Nolza!) (2011) (their first live concert album)
Collection (2012) (first full album in Japanese; all but two of the album's songs are covers of their Korean hits)
2012 2NE1 Global Tour: New Evolution (Live in Seoul) (2012) (their second live concert album)
Falling In Love (2013) (summer single)
Do You Love Me (2013) (summer single)
Missing You (2013) (winter single)
Crush (2014) (second full album in Korean)
They also have several solo singles:
Kiss (Dara solo - featuring CL)
You And I (Bom solo)
Please Don't Go (Minzy and CL duet)
Don't Cry (Bom solo)
The Baddest Female (CL solo)
All I Want For Christmas Is You (Bom and Lee Hayi duet)
The "Falling In Love" MV features Minzy dancing in a crop top, and even the usually very covered Dara shows a bit of stomach in that video.
Big Eater: Bom. Just... Bom. Her love of food, especially corn, has reached memetic status within 2NE1's fanbase.
CL, talking about the time when she visited Bom on the set of the MV for one of her solo singles: "It turns out Bom unnie was escaping with a muffin in her mouth. There also was a muffin in one hand and a cupcake in the other".
Dark and Troubled Past: Dara. Her previously wealthy family had to emigrate to the Philippines, where Dara had trouble adjusting. She managed to become quite a starlet, but her father gambled a lot of her money away.
Dismissing a Compliment: Their song Ugly contains an example of this. Instead of actually being about an unattractive person, it seems to be about an attractive person with severe insecurity issues who claims that someone is lying to her face when they tell her she is pretty.
The other members dye their hair too; Dara is usually some shade of brown, except for the "Falling In Love" and "Missing You" videos, where she's a blonde, and the promotions for "Crush", where she had blue hair. Bom has either brown or red hair, while Minzy... she has tried almost everything, including purple and (even if it was only a wig) pink.
Epic Fail: In this live performance of GD&TOP's "Oh Yeah" (which Bom originally featured in), Minzy, CL and Dara also perform part of the song. Minzy and CL nail it, but Dara... She runs out of breath/can't keep up and starts jumping around maniacally in an attempt to cover for herself. (See here at about 2:18 onwards.) Not exactly reassuring to those who've been... less than enthusiastic about her singing style (some feel she should leave 2NE1, as her vocal skills are far below Bom, Minzy and even CL - she allegedly "had" to be given the role of "PR Representative" so that she wouldn't be eclipsed and made redundant by the others). Love her or hate her, she's still a sweet, dorky Genki Girl.
Fangirl: Minzy, for the Black Eyed Peas and Usher. CL for 2NE1's own producer, Teddy Park.
Genki Girl: Dara, despite being in her late twenties, is as energetic as a pre-teen on a sugar high.
Genre Shift: From the R&B-influenced K-Pop of their debut EP, to the electro-influenced To Anyone.
Their second mini album has a different sound than To Anyone, too. 2NE1 (or rather, their producer Teddy Park) does not shy away from experimenting with different sounds and genres. This hasn't led to any Broken Base, surprisingly. Or rather, that's not why their base is broken.
Gratuitous English: For a K-Pop group, not so much - their producer's half American after all.
Idol Singer: Obviously. But unlike other idols, they pretty much stick to music - when they appear in TV, it's an event. May be because, when they're not on stage, they're really shy.
They don't really appear on variety shows because their CEO has said "the reason we minimize their variety appearances is because we care for our artists. [...] If we became a company that succumbed to the requests of broadcast companies and stressed the importance of building relationships with related representatives, it would have been easier for us, but we are lasting as long as we can by having a different mindset from others."
This may be backfiring on him, as netizens complain that they don't really know the girls because they rarely get to see them outside of performances. (There was "2NE1TV", though - a reality show that followed the girls around.)
This seems to be changing, though, concerning the group's recent appearance on Running Man.
Innocent Fanservice Girl: Minzy once off-handedly spoke about her fondness for going naked in the apartment she shares with Bom and, some time afterwards, she had another similar outburst.
Lyrical Dissonance: the lyrics of the upbeat, cheerful-sounding Happy are anything but happy.
Old Shame: After the Dark and Troubled Past-related event told before, Dara's popularity in the Philippines began to lessen, and she posed in lingerie for an adult magazine.
Older than They Look: Both Dara and Bom are in their late twenties but look years younger.
Out-of-Genre Experience: The reggae version of their hit I Don't Care, and Ugly, a song influenced by punk rock. Also, their ballads, but it's usual for them to put a ballad on every album.
Pool Scene: Their MV for Do You Love Me features a pool and the 2NE1 girls in swimsuits. Cue nosebleeds all around the world.
True Companions: They may have been put together by their label, there may be a 10-year age difference between the youngest member and the oldest one, but the girls are inseparable now. They even got matching tattoos.
Would Hit a Girl: The guy in the "Go Away" music video. He pays for it, though.
In all fairness, though - the guy made it clear to CL that he was done with her and never wanted to see her again. What does she do? First she refuses to shake the new girlfriend's hand (who was trying to be polite and ease the awkwardness), then she (CL) gets drunk and goes to the guy's house (while the new girlfriend is over) and harasses the couple until he snaps. Definitely a reprehensible act (and the guy's clearly in the wrong), but CL's not exactly blameless either.
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