2NE1 (Korean: ? ???; pronounced "to anyone" or "twenty-one"), formerly known as 21, is a South Korean group under YG Entertainment in 2009. Previously promoted as ?female BIG BANG" and 21, YG officially stopped using the name 21 because another Korean musical group was using the same name. 2NE1 is supposed to stand for "New Evolution of the 21st Century": "NE" meaning "New Evolution" and "21" standing for the "21st Century."
2NE1 is made up of 4 members. All 4 girls have been YG Trainees and have been preparing for their debut for 4 years.
? CL (Leader, Rapper, Vocalist)
Real Name: Lee Chae Rin (???)
Date of Birth: February 26, 1991 (1991-02-26) (age 19)
?CL's name is not only the initials of her first name and last name but also a nickname thought up by both Tae Yang of BIG BANG and CL. Since when you pronounce CL's name it means "sky" in french.
? ?? (BOM / Park Bom) (Lead Vocalist)
Real Name: Park Bom (??)
Birth date: March 24, 1984 (1984-03-24) (age 26)
? ??? (MINZY / Gong Min Ji) (Rapper, Vocalist, Maknae)
Real Name: Gong Minji (???)
Date of Birth: January 18, 1994 (1994-01-18) (age 16)
? ??? (DARA / Sandara Park) (Vocalist)
Real Name: Sandara Park (????)
Date of Birth: November 12, 1984 (1984-11-12) (age 25)
2NE1 has 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 M.Net's online chart for four weeks in a row. However, despite this, the group did not officially debut until May. On May 6th, 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 much success.
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 ??? 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, ???, 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
From Wikipedia:2NE1 (Hangul: ????; RR: tu-aeniwon; pronounced "to anyone" or "twenty-one") is a South Korean hip-hop/pop girl group formed by YG Entertainment in 2009. 2NE1 consists of four members: CL, Dara, Minzy, and Bom. The group's name 2NE1 stands for "New Evolution of the 21st Century".
They first appeared in "Lollipop", a commercial campaign with Big Bang for LG Telecom, 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 call themselves "Blackjacks", a reference to the card game Blackjack.