2NE1 () is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment in 2009. The group consists of Bom, Dara, CL, and Minzy. Known for their musical experimentation, fashion, and stage presence, they are leading figures of the Korean Wave and among the most influential K-pop girl groups of all time. They are recognized for expanding girl group styles in the Korean music industry, which in turn broke stereotypes of K-pop.
The group was introduced in March 2009 after appearing on the promotional single "Lollipop" alongside labelmate BigBang. 2NE1 rose to prominence with the release of their debut eponymous extended play (EP) that same year, which featured the singles "Fire" and "I Don't Care". They followed with their debut album To Anyone (2010). Their second self-titled EP (2011) produced the chart-topping singles "Don't Cry", "Lonely", "I Am the Best", and "Ugly". They embarked on the New Evolution Global Tour in 2012, the first world tour by a Korean girl group; A show at the Prudential Center in New Jersey was named the second-best concert of the year by The New York Times. Their second and final album, Crush (2014), was the first by a Korean artist to appear within the top 100 on the US Billboard 200 and the highest-charting Korean album for two years.
At the end of 2014, 2NE1 had amassed nine No. 1 songs on the Gaon Digital Chart, becoming the group with the most number-one singles in South Korea. They took a two-year hiatus, after which in 2016, Minzy left the group and YG Entertainment announced their disbandment. Their final single, "Goodbye", was released in January 2017. They made a surprise reunion performance at Coachella 2022, and in 2024, announced a reunion under YG. They embarked on the Welcome Back Tour that same year, which attracted over 250,000 people.
2NE1's accolades include nine Melon Music Awards, ten MAMA Awards, and eleven Cyworld Digital Music Awards. They were the first artists to receive all three daesangs (grand prizes) at the MAMA Awards, doing so within two years of their debut. They have sold over 66 million digital and physical records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling girl groups of all time.
Name
The group was named "21" until the discovery of a singer with the same stage name; "2NE1", spoken in Korean to the approximate English pronunciation for "to anyone" and "twenty-one", is said to combine "21" for "21st century" and "NE" for "New Evolution".
History
2006–2008: Formation and pre-debut activities In May 2008, reports began circulating in South Korea media about the lineup of YG Entertainment's upcoming girl group, then dubbed "female BigBang". On May 19, the agency said the new group would include Park Bom and CL—who had previously appeared in the music scene—and Minzy. The agency said Sandara Park might join as well. In early 2009, YG confirmed that the four would debut as part of a group in May of that year, the agency's first girl group to debut since Big Mama in 2003. The company said they had trained for four years and that their debut album would contain songs produced by former 1TYM leader Teddy Park.
2009–2010: 2NE1 1st Mini Album and To Anyone
2NE1's first extended play (EP), 2NE1 (2009), was preceded by two singles. The first, "Lollipop", was recorded with labelmate BigBang and released on March 27, 2009, to promote the LG Cyon phone of the same name. Although a music video was filmed, "Lollipop" was not promoted because of its product advertising; this created issues with its eligibility to enter the music charts in South Korea. The second single, "Fire", was written and produced by 1TYM's Teddy Park. The single, featuring elements of hip-hop and reggae, was released in May. Two music videos for "Fire" were released: a "space" version and a "street" version. Within 24 hours of the single's release, both videos each accumulated over one million views—a feat that "has never been seen before." "Fire" and "2NE1" subsequently became popular online search terms. The final single, "I Don't Care", was released alongside their first eponymous EP in July. Promotional activities that followed demonstrated a softer, more feminine image for the group that contrasted the edgier tone conveyed in "Fire". "I Don't Care" was the most-downloaded song that month, and the music platform Bugs later named it the most-downloaded song of the year. It topped the platform's chart, with four of the group's other songs tracking in the top 100, making 2NE1 the group with the most top-100 songs on Bugs in 2009. The song was ranked number one on Cyworld's 2009 year-end popularity chart in January 2010, the third consecutive track by a YG group to top the annual list.
Although group members recorded and released solo material throughout late 2009, 2NE1 performed a reggae version of "I Don't Care" on Inkigayo in September; the reggae version became popular and was released as a digital single on September 3. Buoyed by the singles' success, sales of 2NE1 reached 120,000 units by the following year. 2NE1 performed at the sixth Asia Song Festival in 2009, representing Korea with three other groups and receiving the Asian Newcomer Award.Han, Sang-hee. 6th Asia Song Festival To Take Place Next Month . The Korea Times. August 11, 2009. Retrieved September 4, 2009. In February 2010, the group released "Try to Follow Me" digitally to promote the Samsung Corby cellphone, with no previous announcement. The song peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart. 2NE1 traveled to Los Angeles and London in mid-2010 to record English-language songs for an American debut album with music producer Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, recording 10 songs in their initial sessions.
The group released its first full-length album, To Anyone, on September 9. It debuted at number seven on the Billboard World Album Chart and amassed 120,000 preorders before its release. Several of To Anyone twelve tracks were released as singles, and the top-three hits "Clap Your Hands", "Can't Nobody", and "Go Away" were released with the album.Gaon chart single rankings:
2NE1 was the first group in K-pop history to have three singles from one album top different music program charts, and was the first artist to top the Inkigayo chart for four consecutive weeks. The Halloween-themed music video for the fourth single from To Anyone, "It Hurts (Slow)", was released on October 31. A fifth track, "Don't Stop the Music", was released on November 26; the song, recorded as a "special gift for Thai fans", was also used in conjunction with the group's Yamaha Fiore endorsement.
2011–2012: 2NE1 2nd Mini Album and Japanese debut On January 19, 2011, the English-language version of "Can't Nobody " was released by the Japanese digital retailer Recochoku as a ringtone and ringback tone. The following month, its music video was made available for download through iTunes Japan. The group went on to hold The Party, their one-off solo concert held at the Araneta Coliseum in Manila, Philippines on June 4, 2011, both as their first ever solo and international concert. The group's Japanese debut single, "Go Away", was released as a ringtone on March 9; it was later used as the theme song for the Japanese television program Mezamashi TV. 2NE1's first Korean EP, 2NE1, was released in Japan on March 16, 2011; promotional activities were canceled, however, due to the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. 2NE1 debuted at number 24 on the Oricon charts, selling 3,860 copies in its first week. Plans for their Japanese debut on Music Station were postponed due to the earthquake, and the group participated in the Naver "Pray for Japan" campaign with other Korean celebrities to raise funds for earthquake victims.The group released its second EP, 2NE1 (2011), with the number-one hits "Lonely", "I Am the Best" and "Ugly", and the top-three hit "Hate You".Gaon chart single rankings:
Bom's solo single "Don't Cry" additionally reached number one for two consecutive weeks. The EP was a success, topping the Gaon Music Chart and selling over 108,000 copies. Spin Magazine ranked the EP the sixth-best pop album of 2011, ahead of albums by Coldplay, Ellie Goulding and Rihanna. In late August, 2NE1 began their Nolza Tour with a solo concert at the Olympic Hall in Seoul's Chamsil Olympic Park. Originally scheduled for August 27 and 28, tickets for both dates sold out instantly, and a third show on August 26 was added. The singles from the second EP were some of the year's most popular songs in South Korea. Three reached the top 10 of the year-end 2011 Gaon Digital Chart: "Lonely" at number four, "Don't Cry" at number five, and "I Am the Best" at number 7.
2NE1 embarked on their first Japanese concert tour in September at the Yokohama Arena as part of their Nolza Tour. All 70,000 tickets were sold out within a day and revenue from the concerts was expected to exceed ₩10 billion. The Japanese edition of 2NE1 2nd Mini Album was released on September 21, 2011, which sold over 48,000 copies and reached number one on the Oricon Albums Chart, making 2NE1 the second South Korean girl group to top the chart in its history. The Japanese-language versions of "I Am the Best", "Hate You", "Go Away", and "Lonely" were also released. That October, MTV's Iggy held a global competition in which 10 bands from all around the world competed in a voting competition for the title of "Best New Band". With their song "I Am the Best", the group was awarded the title on November 10, 2011, making it their first American award. 2NE1 traveled to and performed at New York City's Times Square in December to accept the honor, where they were described as "an unparalleled presence in today's K-Pop scene". MTV wrote that "it's a sign of the times", symbolizing "America opening its doors to pop music from around the world". At the end of 2011, 2NE1 was awarded the New Artist Award at the 53rd Japan Record Awards.
On March 28, 2012, 2NE1 released their first full-length Japanese album Collection along with their second Japanese single "Scream". The album includes Japanese versions 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, some of which include a DVD containing the group's Japanese and Korean music videos, according to Oricon's music website. The album peaked at number 5 on the Oricon Daily Chart and sold over 32,000 copies in Japan. Later that year, 2NE1 were invited to perform at the 2012 Springroove festival in Japan alongside American and Japanese hip hop artists. 2NE1 and the subgroup GD & TOP had been invited to play at the festival the previous year, but it was canceled due to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami disaster. 2NE1 also collaborated with Japanese hip-hop group M-Flo for the song "She's So (Outta Control)", which is included on M-Flo's sixth studio album Square One. "She's So (Outta Control)" was released as the album's lead single on February 29 and reached number 43 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.