2NE1: 'We Want to Become Icon'

Published on 2010/09/15 | Source

Three songs among the title songs included in 2NE1's first album have brought about a sensation on the music charts.

People in the music industry recently have been keeping a close watch on 2NE1's (CL 19, Sandara 26, Park Bom 26, and Kong Min Ji 16) first album release. Because of word-of-mouth saying their songs included in their first regular album are very good, some music management companies even rescheduled the release of new albums for their singers. As anticipated, 2NE1's first album, which was released on September 9, has received an enthusiastic response. They adopted a strategy to advertise the three title songs "Can't Nobody", "Clap Your Hands" and "Go Away", and those three songs all ranked from first to third on various music charts. In addition, other songs included in the album such as "Slow", "I'm Busy" and "Love is Ouch" are all ranked in the top 10.

In a recent interview with Yonhap news, members of 2NE1 said confidently, "The first order for the first album reached 120,000 copies. We had been raring to get back to the stage. We wanted to show that our music and style have evolved.

◇"Hip hop music and cross-gender appeal are our charms". = As they had built up trust from the public by releasing the hit songs "I Don't Care" and "Fire" within one year after their debut, they could gain a favorable response for their new album from people. In addition, they have also kept their image intact by abstaining from appearing on entertainment programs. The most important point is that they have differentiated themselves from other girl groups such as Girls' Generation and Kara by utilizing their charms based on their hip hop music. Lyrics expressing the image of confident women in their songs attracted female fans. The leader of the group, CL, said, "YG's music contains strong hip hop beats. The representative of our company, Yang Hyun Seok, wanted to reveal the appeal of hip hop music presented by women through us. So I think this is why he has tried new things with us, rather than Big Bang".

The group members explained that the song "Can't Nobody", which also has an English version of the song featured in the album, is "strong music". But other songs such as "Go Away" with a pleasant beat and "Clap Your Hands" with a hip hop rhythm sound very familiar thanks to their popular melodies.

In the various genres of hip hop, reggae, rock and R&B, individual members of 2NE1 definitely showcase their strengths in those songs. But group members all agree that their strengths could only be spotlighted thanks to YG producers Teddy and Kush.

Sandara said, "Actually, hip hop music is not associated with my voice. But Teddy had made part of the melody suitable for my voice tone when he made the song 'Can't Nobody' as he had already done when producing the song 'Fire', so I could make up for the weakness of my voice in hip hop songs". Gong Min Ji, who has the nickname of "megaphone in low voice tone", and CL, who has been picked as the singer who has the most attractive voice in YG, performed very well by rapping and singing together. Park Bom's strong vocals were also outstanding.

Park Bom and Sandara (right)

"People say that we look like oriental dolls in a cartoon". = 2NE1 could not take a rest at all while taking a break because they had prepared songs with a member of the famous American group Black Eyed Peas and producer Will. I. Am, for debut in the USA scheduled for next year. Jinu from in the group Jinusean had introduced a music video of 2NE1 at a party held in the USA, and Will. I. Am had reportedly shown interest in the 2NE1 and revealed his intention to be a producer for 2NE1.

2NE1 members had visited the studio of Will. I. Am located in Los Angeles last April and stayed there for one week to finish their first recording. In May, they had additionally recorded at a studio in London, where the Black Eyed Peas had held a concert, and again in Los Angeles. They said, "Will. I. Am told us that we looked like oriental dolls appearing in a cartoon. He was curios about our Asian image. We also had Korean food, Samgyetang and Kimchi, together. He had also shown interest in the sound of the Korean traditional instrument Gayageum that he happened to listen to through video streaming on the Internet. When he made our songs, he also considered how we can mix our Asian image with international trends that can appeal to people all around the world". Their method of recording songs was reportedly different from that of Korean methods. CL said, "We recorded ten songs in English that were produced by Will. I. Am alone or produced in collaboration with his composing team. In Korea, we tend to divide several parts of the songs and record each part many times, but Will. I. Am let us sing the entire songs only several times and finished recording the songs. So we felt a lack of something after finishing". While saying this comment, they all clapped their hands and added, "We still cannot believe that we recorded songs with Will. I. Am".

CL and Kong Min Ji (right)