Artist of the Month- 2NE1

Oct 07, 2010

PROFILE
Member : Park Bom (vocalist)
Real Name : Park Bo Mi
Date of birth : 24th March 1984
Height : 165cm
Talents : English, Japanese, piano, flute, cello
Hobby : Listening to music
Favorite colors : Green, pink, red

Member : Sandara Park (vocalist)
Date of birth : 12th November 1984
Height : 162cm
Hobbies : Listening to music
Talents : Acting, speaking Tagalog, English, and Chinese
Favorite color : Pink

Member : Gong Min Ji (rapper)
Date of birth : Jan. 18th January 1994
Height : 161cm
Hobbies : Listening to music, writing lyrics, studying song composition
Favorite color : Pink
Her grandmother is Gong Ok-jin, a legendary traditional Korean dancer.

Member : CL
Real Name: Lee Chae Rin
Date of birth : 26th February 1991
Height : 162cm
Hobby : Writing lyrics
Favorite colors : Black, white

BIOGRAPHY

This week’s Soompi featured artist is 2NE1. This four-member female group had gained a lot of attention from before their official debut. Trained under Yang Hyun-seok, president of YG Entertainment, 2NE1 is comprised of four very talented ladies. Most of the members are fluent in foreign languages and exceptional in singing and dancing, so much so that they were nicknamed “the female Big Bang”.

They made their explosive debut on March of 2009 with “Lollipop” featuring their label mates Big Bang. They soon released their single “Fire” in May which was followed by “I Don’t Care” in July. They took the K-Pop industry by storm through their music, but also their unique style.

Their songs started topping the major music charts. They won three Cyworld Digital Music Awards with their songs “Lollipop” and “Fire”. After debuting on the various music shows, they won Mutizen awards on a popular music performance show about a few weeks . They started appearing on commercials and represented Korea at the 6th Asia Song Festival in September of 2009. There, they also received the Asian Newcomer’s Award.

After a whirlwind of success, the girls laid low for about a year. During this time, there was news that they traveled to Los Angeles to meet up with singer/producer Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas. After seeing a 2NE1 music video, Will.i.am was so taken by the girls’ talents that he said he wanted to work with them. They produced ten English songs together during the summer of 2010, which were then set aside for a tentative 2011 release in the US.

The reason why the songs weren’t released right away was because the group was focusing on their Korean comeback. They released their first official album in September of 2010 with an unprecedented three title songs. They were able to perform all three on their first comeback stage on a popular music performance show. However, this was met with mixed reviews as some enjoyed the longer exposure time of the girls, while others felt that the 11+ minutes allotted for just 2NE1 alone wasn’t fair for other groups who were only allowed to perform one to two songs.

YG Entertainment revealed tentative plans for the girls to focus on making a successful comeback in Korea, and then soon debuting in the US as well as Japan.

2NE1 is finally back with their first full studio album “To Anyone”. The girls did well last year with their powerful charisma on stage and their showy fashion sense. 2NE1 will have three title tracks – “Can’t Nobody,” “Go Away,” and “Clap Your Hands” – that will be performed simultaneously for promotions, probably a first in Korean music that an album have three different title songs. Top producers, Teddy, e.knock, choice37, and PK among others have participated in the album to bring out strong hip-hop beats, R&B, as well as reggae.

DISCOGRAPHY

* Lollipop (digital single, 2009-03-27)

* Fire (digital single, 2009-05-06)

* 2NE1 1st Mini Album (EP, 2009-07-08) Purchase this album

* I Don`t Care (Reggae Mix Ver.) (Single, 2009-09-03)

* Try To Follow Me (Digital Single) (Single, 2010-02-09)

* To Anyone (1st album, 2010-09-09)
Purchase this album

AWARDS

2009
April Cyworld Digital Music Awards: Song of the Month – Big Bang and 2NE1’s Lollipop
May Cyworld Digital Music Awards: Song of the Month – 2NE1’s Fire
May Cyworld Digital Music Awards: Rookie of the Month – 2NE1
090614 SBS Inkigayo #1 Fire
090621 SBS Inkigayo #1 Fire
090717 KBS Music Bank #1 I Don’t Care
090723 Mnet M!Countdown #1 I Don’t Care
090724 KBS Music Bank #1 I Don’t Care
090726 SBS Inkigayo #1 I Don’t Care
090731 KBS Music Bank #1 I Don’t Care
July Cyworld Song of the Month – 2NE1’s I Don’t Care
090802 SBS Inkigayo #1 I Don’t Care
090806 Mnet M!Countdown #1 I Don’t Care
090807 KBS Music Bank #1 I Don’t Care
090809 SBS Inkigayo #1 I Don’t Care
090813 Mnet M!Countdown #1 I Don’t Care
090814 KBS Music Bank #1 I Don’t Care
090827 Mnet M!Countdown #1 I Don’t Care
2009 Mnet 20’s Choice: Hot New Star – 2NE1
2009 Mnet 20’s Choice: Hot CF Star – Big Bang & 2NE1
2009 Mnet 20’s Choice: Hot Online Song – Fire
090919 2009 6th Asia Song Festival: Best Asian Newcomer’s Award
091111 2009 Style Icon Awards: Female Artist Hot Icon Award
091121 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards: Music Portal Mnet Award
091121 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards: Best New Female Artist Award
091121 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards: Best Music Video Award
091121 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards: Song Of The Year (I Don’t Care) Award
091216 Melon Music Awards: 2009 Top Ten
091216 Melon Music Awards: 2009 New Artist

2010
100301 Cyworld Digital Music Awards 2009: Best Rookie Group
100301 Cyworld Digital Music Awards 2009: Best Song “I Don’t Care”
100301 Cyworld Digital Music Awards 2009: Best Artist
100301 Cyworld Digital Music Awards 2009: Bonsang Award
100302 Rhythmer Awards 2009: R&B Artist of the Year
100302 Rythmer Awards 2009: R&B Album of the Year
100302 Rythmer Awards 2009: R&B Single of the Year- I Don’t Care
100302 Rythmer Awards 2009: Rookie of the Year
100916 Mnet M!Countdown #1 Clap Your Hands (comeback stage)
100917 KBS Music Bank #1 Can’t Nobody (comeback stage)
100919 SBS Inkigayo #1 Can’t Nobody
100923 Mnet M!Countdown #1 Can’t Nobody
100924 KBS Music Bank #1 Go Away
100926 SBS Inkigayo #1 Can’t Nobody
100930 Mnet M!Countdown #1 Can’t Nobody
101001 KBS Music Bank #1 Go Away
101003 SBS Inkigayo #1 Can’t Nobody
September Cyworld Digital Music Awards: Song of the Month – Go Away