2NE1 (pronounced "to anyone" or "twenty-one"), is a 4 member South Korean group, formed under YG Entertainment in 2009. Originally considered to be a female answer to BIGBANG and going by the name "21", the "NE" was soon added after discovering another artist of that name. 2NE1 stands for "New Evolution of the 21st Century": "NE" meaning "New Evolution" and "21" standing for the "21st Century." They are often cited as the "Queens of K-Pop." The group was legally forced to disband by YG Entertainment on November 24, 2016, and existed in a sort of limbo state, as all members continued to refer to themselves as members of the group and had infrequent surprise group activities, before officially reforming in 2024, once again under YG Entertainment. 2NE1 released a promotional song featuring the group Big Bang called Lollipop. The song was released as a promotional song for the CYON cellular phone Lollipop. Although it was not a promoted single (as it was an advertisement song, there were problems with network chart eligibility), "Lollipop" proved to be a strong chart hit, going to #1 on various online charts and topping music television network Mnet's online chart for four weeks in a row. Despite already achieving chart success, the group did not officially debut until May. On May 6th 2009, they released their debut digital single, "FIRE ". The group released 2 music videos for the single, one known as the "space version" and the other known as the "street version. They then released a self-titled mini-album and promoted their hit "I Don't Care" followed by "Pretty Boy." Both songs received a substantial amount of success, with the former becoming one of their biggest hits. In August 2010, YG Entertainment founder, Yang Hyun Suk, announced that 2NE1 will promote three title tracks for their first full length album, TO ANYONE. In addition, three music videos would be produced, filmed, and released for the tracks. The album would be released on September 9, 2010. Two days before the release of the album, the pre-orders for the copies of the album were very high. YG Entertainment stated that the pre-orders for the album have already reached around 120,000 copies surpassing the amount of sales made by their previous mini-album which only sold around 100,000 copies in total. Music videos for 박수쳐 and GO AWAY were released on September 9 and 10, respectively.CAN'T NOBODY was originally scheduled to be released on September 11, 2010 but was instead unveiled on September 12. 2NE1 held their comeback stage of Korean music program Inkigayo on September 12. They performed their three title tracks, 박수쳐, GO AWAY, and CAN'T NOBODY. The performances were recorded early in the day so they could perform at the Hallyu Dream Concert in Gyeongju later in the evening. According to a YG Entertainment representative, promotions for the album alone cost the company a total of $850,195. The height of 2NE1's commercial success was reached in the time surrounding their following two Korean projects. Their 2nd Mini-Album, released in 2011, brought them their biggest hit, I AM THE BEST, as well as 3 other hit songs, Lonely, Hate You, Ugly , and a solo hit by Bom, and also included 2010's Don't Stop The Music. They released multiple successful singles and Japanese projects between 2011 and 2014. Their second full album, CRUSH, was released in 2014, alongside its massively successful single, Come Back Home. The album debuted at number 61 on the United States "Billboard 200", and was followed with its second single, Gotta Be You. Maknae Minzy left the group in April of 2016 following dissatisfaction with the group's long hiatus and alleged mistreatment from the label. 2NE1 released one song, Goodbye, without her following their disbandment, a song written by CL as a goodbye to Minzy, now serving also as a goodbye from the group to their fans. Minzy has since been promoted multiple times as "Minzy of 2NE1", singing the group's songs and carrying their name at events. The other three members left the label within the following years, and also sing the group's songs while referring to themselves on multiple occasions as members of 2NE1. The group often meet and speak privately, and reunited on stage in 2022 during CL's set at Coachella 2022 to perform their signature song, "I Am The Best." This made them the first Korean girl group to perform on the Coachella's "Main Stage", and second to perform at Coachella over-all, after BLACKPINK. It is also worth noting that YG and multiple members of BLACKPINK have cited 2NE1 as inspiration for the group, with BLACKPINK even receiving at least one known unreleased 2NE1 song, titled "Blame It On Your Love". BLACKPINK released their version of the track, now titled "As If It's Your Last," in 2017. 2NE1 was intended to have a collaboration as solo artists on CL's 2021 album, ALPHA. The song, Let It, was released in the end as a solo song by CL, due to time constraints surrounding Minzy's schedule. CL previewed Bom and Dara's parts during a livestream upon her album's release. In 2024, CL organized a group photoshoot for 2NE1's 15th anniversary, posting the photos with the hashtag, "2NE14L", meaning 2NE1 For Life. The group continued to tease a reunion throughout the year, often posting "XXI" and meeting up together even more frequently, with CL posting solo photos from the photoshoot with the caption "Pre Game". In summer 2024, it was reported by multiple outlets that members had been meeting with YG Entertainment officials, a fact eventually confirmed by the company itself, assuring fans that they were "looking forward to being able to convey good news to the fans soon". On July 22nd 2024, at 12am KST, 2NE1 was announced to have officially resigned to YG Entertainment for group promotions through a company statement. They were announced to host multiple anniversary concerts in Asia in the fall of 2024 before embarking on their third world tour in 2025, which will make them the first 2nd Generation K-Pop girl group to do so. • CL (Leader, Main Rapper, Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer, Center, Face Of The Group) Real Name: Lee Chae Rin (이채린) Date of Birth: February 26, 1991 (1991-02-26) • 박봄 (BOM / Park Bom) (Main Vocalist) Real Name: Park Bom (박봄) Birth date: March 24, 1984 (1984-03-24) • 산다라 (DARA / Sandara Park) (Vocalist, Visual) Real Name: Sandara Park (박산다라) Date of Birth: November 12, 1984 (1984-11-12) • 공민지 (MINZY / Gong Min Ji) (Main Dancer, Lead Rapper, Lead Vocalist, Maknae) Real Name: Gong Minji (공민지) Date of Birth: January 18, 1994 (1994-01-18)