2NE1 and the Blackjacks

 

2NE1

Concept: Girl Crush (Independent Woman)
Debut: May 6th, 2009
Debut Song(s): Fire and I Don’t Care
Status: Disbanded
Agency: YG Entertainment
Fandom Name: Blackjacks

 

Contents

 

 

Members

 

Prime Lineup

 

 

1. CL (Lee Chae Rin) 이채린

Role: Antagonistic to The Tripartite Alliance Queen, VIP, Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer, Main Rapper

Pursuing Solo Career. Sadly failing in America at least….


– Leader, Main Rapper, Lead Dancer, Lead Vocalist, Face of the Group
– Has never followed anyone on her personal Instagram (check it out for yourself). People follow her, but she doesn’t follow them
LMAO.
– Has a very close friendship with G-Dragon. In fact, this is one of the most popular ship of 2nd Gen (and one of the most elegant ship-name: “SkyDragon”; CL = sky (ciel in French)). But then again G-Dragon is also very often shipped with another 2NE1 member, Sandara Park.
– Often portrayed with a “baddest girl” image in 2NE1 and in Kpop overall (to go along
with 2NE1’s overall tough image). However, ironically, the members have named her the best at ageyo among them (I mean look at this)

 

2. Dara (Sandara Park) 박산다라

Role: Visual, Fake VIP, Vocalist, Rapper

Pursuing Solo Career. Probably now the most known from 2NE1


Vocalist, Sub-Rapper Visual
– Basically 99.9999% of all who enter the trainee life as a nobody hoping to make it big. Well, not Sandara. She was already a star in the Phillipines before entering YG, with four hit movies and platinum-certified (twice!) album under her belt. In fact, YG scouted her from watching her documentary, “My name is Sandara Park”, on KBS LOLOL. In fact, she only returned to Korea with her family because her father abandoned them and took most of her money with him (damn).
– Known for having crazy hairstyles that no other girl group member would even think about trying, such as the Palm Tree hair or the Apple Hair
– Starred in one of the most famous CFs in Korean history with Lee Min Ho, which featured a kiss that started a thousand ships

 

3. Minzy (Gong Min Ji) 공민지

Role: Young Member, Main Dancer, Lead Rapper, Lead Vocalist

Pursuing Solo Career


– Got recruited by YG (the BOY, the legend, the myth) himself when a video of her dancing on the internet went viral for her skills and talent (while she was still just an elementary schooler!)
– Keeps in contact with IU (they probably discuss their shared preference for older men). She’s also a part of 문미엔 (Moonmien), which stands for “Christian Meeting for Culture Media Entertainment Workers” (also include Siwon (duh), Tiffany, Luna, Amber, Hyoyeon, Yoona, etc.)
– Loves to wear dresses and skirts (ironic considering 2NE1’s image of tough, badass girls)

 

4. Bom (Park Bom) 박봄

Role: Main Vocalist

Pursuing Solo Career

– Her ideal type is Jay-Z. Yes, that’s right, global superstar, rap icon, and older than her by 15 years ahjusshi Jay-Z is her ideal type (Queen Bey is shaking).
– Was rejected by YGE the first time she auditioned. And the second time. And the third time. And once by SME before finally getting accepted by YG. Ironic considering that at her peak, she had one of the most unique and best voice in all of 2 nd Gen.
– Once voted one of the most beautiful faces of kpop idols. Yet she was still so insecure about her looks that she almost cried when she heard her antis calling her ugly. And now, her face is almost unrecognizable from her predebut days because of the plastic surgery (she’s probably one of the saddest case for Korea’s stupid double standards for Kpop idols).

Overview/History

 

Before Blackpink, there was 2NE1, except they released way more songs than Blackpink. Debuting with the iconic line “I go by the name CL of 2NE1. It’s been a long time coming, but we’re here now. And we’re about to set the roof on fire baby…” in “Fire”, 2NE1 indeed set the roofs on fire as they went on to become one of the best selling girl-group of all time in the entire world. Named by will.i.am as the “pioneer” of the international K-pop movement, the group is the epitome and the model of the girl crush concept in K-pop. At their peak, they had no rivals in the K-pop scene saved for SNSD. Let’s take a look back at one of the true legends of 2nd gen K-pop.

Though their debut was technically “Lollipop”, released in 2009 to promote the LG Cyon phone, their true debut was the single “Fire”, released in May 2009 to instant success, its music video receiving over a million views within 24 hours of release. 2NE1 followed the debut single with their first EP, 2NE1, released in July of that year with the lead single “I Don’t Care”, which is a softer, more ballad-y side of 2NE1 in contrast to the “harder” image of 2NE1 in “Fire”. “I Don’t Care” became a sensation, winning 12 music shows (still 2NE1’s highest number for any song ever), including a triple crown on Inkigayo, an impressive feat for a rookie group. The song went on to become the most downloaded song of the month, and snagged the prestigious Song of the Year award at that year Mnet Asian Music Awards.

In 2012, 2NE1’s On March 28, 2012, 2NE1 released their first full-length Japanese album 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 #5 on the Oricon Daily Chart and went on to sell over 32,000 copies in Japan.[56][51] 2NE1 continued their inroads into Japan in 2012. They collaborated with Japanese hip-hop group M-Flo for “She’s So (Outta Control)”. It was released as the leading track from M-Flo’s sixth studio album, on February 29, reaching number 43 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 Chart. They then concluded their Japanese promotions by performing at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards Japan, taking home the They “Best New Artist Video” award for “I Am the Best”. They further proved their digital prowess by releasing the single “I Love You” was also released in Korea, topping the chart and becoming their sixth number one single. They continued their reputation rise by making it to the MTV Style’s list of “Best Band Style of 2012”, one of only two Asian artists to make the list along with Big Bang.

In March 14, 2013 (pi day!!!), 2NE1 continued their partnership with will.i.am by releasing the English-language collaboration single “Take the World On” with him. A second collaboration with will.i.am brought forth “Gettin’ Dumb”, which was featured on will.i.am’s second album #willpower, released on April 23. 2NE1’s next singles in Korea were not tied to any album, with the chart-topping “Falling in Love” and “Missing You”, becoming their seventh and eighth number one singles.

In February 2014, 2NE1 released their second studio album Crush (2014), containing the two lead singles “Come Back Home” and “Happy”. “Come Back Home” peaked at number one on the Gaon Singles Chart, becoming their ninth number one hit. The album sold 5,000 copies in 4 days in America, peaking at #61 on Billboard 200 and setting a new U.S record for “Highest Charting and Best Selling Kpop Album”. On June 26, they released the Japanese edition of Crush, which charted at #4 on the Oricon Daily Album Chart. 2NE1’s previous single, “I Am The Best”, was released on December 11 in the U.S. Then, on December 18, their song “Gotta Be You” was crowned “Song of the Year” by MTV Iggy, giving them Western recognition. Crush was also the only record by an Asian artist to make it to Fuse TV’s “40 Best Albums of 2014″[77] and ranked first in Billboard magazine’s list of “Best Kpop Album of 2014” and eleventh for its year-end World Album chart.

However, in 2014, 2NE1 also faced their first major scandal when Park Bom was revealed to have been under investigation for drug smuggling through international mail (80 amphetamine-containing tablets). However, she was never charged. Her company later revealed that while the drug is illegal in Korea, it is not in the US, and so Bom contacted US physicians for the drugs to help with her treatments. Despite this explanation, 2NE1’s reputation suffered and other members began exploring independent ventures, sending the group effectively into hiatus. The group’s only activity in 2015 was a surprise performance at the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong. However, despite this, their 2015 MAMA’s performance is now the most-viewed MAMA performance by a girl-group and lauded as one of the best performances of 2015 by Fuse. In 2016, They also won China’s 2016 Korea First Brand Grand Prize award for “Top 10 Most Anticipated K-Stars of 2016”.

After a year of hiatus, YG Entertainment confirmed the departure of Minzy in April 2016, stating that the group will continue as a trio. However, later in November, YG Entertainment announced the disbandment of the group. A last single, “Goodbye”, was released in January 2017 as a farewell to their fans, topping the Billboard World Digital Songs chart, proving their power and iconic status for one last time.

 

Lead Tracks

-I am the best:

– Comeback home:
– I love you:
– Gotta be You:
– Love is ouch:
– Go Away:

 

B-Sides

– Crush:

– If I were you:

Latest Release

Check back later, Bom was busy with gardening

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