K-pop 2NE1 투애니원

2NE1 투애니원

2NE1 (Korean: 투애니원; Tuaeniwon) is a popular South Korean hip-hop/pop girl group formed by YG Entertainment in 2009. The band consists of four members: CL, Dara, Bom and Minzy. The name 2NE1 combines the phrases "21st century" and "new evolution", and is pronounced "twenty-one" or "To Anyone".

They first appeared in "Lollipop", a commercial campaign with Big Bang for LG Electronics, and their 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.

Fans of 2NE1 are called Blackjacks, which is a reference to the card game Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one.

History 2NE1투애니원

Pre-debut

The group was first mentioned by the press in late 2008. YG Entertainment announced that the group would consist of four members and debut sometime in May 2009. The company stated that the group had trained for 4 years, and that their debut album would contain songs produced by 1TYMleader 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

In collaboration with Big Bang, 2NE1's first CF song was "Lollipop", digitally released on March 27, 2009. The song was created for LG to promote their Cyon phone. The music video debuted 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 CEO Yang Hyun Suk revealed that 2NE1's debut song would be a hip-hop and reggae song, 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 the same day. During the first 24 hours, the videos received over one million views. The group's first performance of the song was on May 17, 2009, on SBS's Inkigayo, beginning the group's activities.

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" and the group won "Rookie of the Month" for May 2009. 2NE1 received their first Mutizen award after their fourth stage performance in SBS Inkigayo (Popular Song) on June 14, 2009. They received their second Mutizen award on SBS Inkigayo on June 21, 2009. Two days afterwards, 2NE1 signed a deal with Fila to become the models for the new commercial campaign.

"I Don't Care" was released as the second single on July 1, 2009 with promotions starting in early July. Yang Hyun Suk stated that the song would demonstrate a softer, more feminine image. A reggae version of "I Don't Care" was performed on SBS's Inkigayo, signaling the end of promotions for the song. However, due to the remix's popularity, it was released to digital outlets on September 3, 2009, and became their next digital single.

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 Bugs, Monkey3, and Cyworld.

2010: Return to group activities, and To Anyone

On February 9, 2010, without previous notice, "Follow Me" (Korean: "날 따라해봐요", "Nal ddara haebwayo") was released to digital outlets and used as a theme song for Samsung Corby Folder. Over the summer, 2NE1 traveled to Los Angeles and London in order to record English songs for a possible American debut with The Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am. So far, group has recorded 10 songs. YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun Suk stated that the girls are planned to debut sometime in 2011 or early 2012, after The Black Eyed Peas' global tour and 2NE1's own activities in Korea and Japan.

The first studio and full length album, To Anyone, was released on September 9, 2010 and was a huge success. The album contains 12 tracks including three title songs, namely "Clap Your Hands" (Korean: "박수 쳐"), "Go Away" and "Can't Nobody", which were promoted simultaneously. 2NE1 won first place on Mnet 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 their SBS Inkigayo comeback for "Can't Nobody." Overall, 2NE1 won first place eleven times on various music shows.

To promote the album, the group made its first entertainment show appearance as a group on KBS variety-talk show Win Win. 2NE1 also aired the second season of 2NE1 TV.

On October 21, Yang Hyun Suk announced that 2NE1 would be releasing a follow up song on October 31, later revealed to be "It Hurts (Slow)" (Korean: "아파"). It was first performed on SBSInkigayo. The music video is directed by Kim Hye Jung, the same director for G-Dragon's "Butterfly." The music video was released on November 1 and was themed for Halloween.

In addition, on October 28, it was revealed that 2NE1's official record label in Japan will be Avex, and that To Anyone would be re-released in Japan on December 8, 2010. However, the release was delayed to an indefinite time. The group also promoted in Thailand, where To Anyone released on October 28, 2010. On November 26, 2NE1 released the single "Don't Stop the Music" as a "special gift for Thai fans".

2011: Korean Comeback and Japanese Debut

Originally, 2NE1's Japanese debut was planned for December 2010, but this was delayed to September 2011, with singles releasing throughout the summer. 2NE1's American promotions withwill.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas has no set time for release yet, because of the Black Eyed Peas' album release of The Beginning and subsequent touring.

On January 19, "Can't Nobody (English Version)" was released on Recochoku as ringtones and ringback tones. 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 will 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. 2NE1 initially planned to make their official Japanese debut live on Music Station, but have since postponed their debut 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 Korean comeback plans, pushing their mini-album, 2NE1 2nd Mini Album promotions forward from July to April. Park Bom's solo project, "Don't Cry", was unveiled on April 21. After Park Bom sang an acoustic version of Don't Cry on YG on Air, leader CL said a new Korean single called "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, and the music video of Lonely premiered on May 11, 2011. 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 a "perfect all-kill". On July 21, 2NE1 released their animated music video, "Hate You", directed by Mari Kim, which also topped all major Korean charts, with the exception of 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 "Ugly" topped all major Korean charts. Promotions for 2NE1's Korean comeback were scheduled to end around late August. Following the end of promotions, 2NE1 had 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. Prior to this, 2NE1 has released Japanese versions of "I Am The Best", "Hate You", and "Ugly". 2NE1 also released the Japanese version of "Go Away" on November 18, 2011 in three versions, following their late 2011 Japanese album and promotions. The music video for the Japanese version of "Go Away" showcased their costome made JS Collage Wings x 2NE1 sneakers by American designer Jeremy Scott, who has been a contributing factor in their global success.

In the beginning of October, MTV Iggy, an international branch of MTV that promotes new and 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" they were crowned winners of this title on November 10th, 2011, marking their first US Award. 2NE1 performed atTimes Square New York in December 2011 due to this honor.

Lee Chae-rin "CL" 이채린

CL (Korean: 이채린; Lee Chae-rin; born February 26, 1991) is a South Korean idol rapper, singer , and dancer. She was born in Seoul, South Korea, but spent much of her early life in various places where she learned English, French, and Japanese. In 2009, she debuted along with YG Entertainment label mates Sandara Park, Gong Min-ji, and Park Bom as 2NE1.

CL has worked with Big Bang, Uhm Jung Hwa, YMGA, and Teddy Park. With 2NE1, she has released two extended plays, 2NE1 and 2NE1 2nd Mini Album, and one full length album, To Anyone. Her duet song with Gong Min-ji, "Please Don't Go," peaked at number 6 on the monthly Gaon Chart in November, 2009.

Sandara Park "Dara" 박산다라

Park Sandara (Korean: 박산다라, born November 12, 1984), better known as Dara (Korean: 다라; Japanese: ダラ), is a South Korean idol singer, actress,television host and model. She is best known as being a member and the Director of Communications of the Korean girl group 2NE1. However, she first gained major popularity on ABS-CBN's Star Circle Quest during her stay in the Philippines. Her younger brother, Park Sang-Hyun (Thunder), is also in the entertainment industry as a member of a Korean boy band, MBLAQ in J.Tune Entertainment.

Park Bom 박봄

Park Bom (Korean: 박봄, Japanese: パク・ボム) (born March 24, 1984), is a South Korean idol singer. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she eventually moved to the United States where she learned English. She is the main vocalist of girl group 2NE1, where her stage name became solely "Bom" (Pronounced BOHM [stress the OH]). She is signed to YG Entertainment.

Starting in 2006, Park recorded with labelmates Big Bang, Lexy, Masta Wu and starred with Lee Hyori in her CF, "Anystar" as a co-actress. Later in 2008, she starred as the lead actress in Kim Ji Eun's music video, "Tell Me Once More". In 2009, she debuted with 2NE1 as the main vocalist. The group's debutextended play, 2NE1, would be the third best selling album of 2009 in Korea. For the band's next album, Park sang her first solo single "You and I". It reached number one on the Gaon Chart, the national music chart of Korea. The song would be later released on 2NE1's next album, To Anyone, which would go on to sell over 120,000 copies.

Gong Minji "Minzy" 민지

Gong Minji (born January 18, 1994), more commonly known as Minzy (Korean: 민지; Japanese: ミンジ), is a South Korean idol singer, rapper and dancer. She was born in Seoul. She is currently the main dancer, lead singer and maknae of the Korean girl group 2NE1 which is signed to YG Entertainment.

Gong Minji debuted in 2009 with group 2NE1. Their first extended play, 2NE1 would go on to sell 100,000 copies in 2009. The follow-up studio album, To Anyone, sold 150,000 copies.