generasia:Featured article for 2011 week 38

2NE1

2NE1 (투애니원) is a Korean pop girl group created by YG Entertainment. Dubbed the "female BIGBANG" by YG Entertainment, that consisted of Park Bom, Lee Chae Rin, Gong Minji, and Sandara Park when the group was created on October 18, 2008. Yang Hyun Suk, the founder of YG stated: "The final decision is that they will debut next February after sorting out the various preparations for their debut. This new female group will consist of at least 4 members, if not 5, though we have not come to a final decision on that yet. But we are confident that they will be a strong group which will display a different type of charisma for fans." Their debut was announced to occur in April of 2009, yet was postponed to May 2009. Their name stands for "New Evolution of the 21'st Century".

In just 2 short years, 2NE1 has taken Korea, Japan, and even the world by storm. They've won various awards, including "Best Song" and "Best New Female Artist" awards at the Mnet Asian Music Awards. 2011 saw the group branch out into Japan under the avex label with the release of the digital single "CAN'T NOBODY (ENG VER.)". The song was previously released in Korea on their first full album To Anyone. Their first Japanese album, 2NE1, was released on March 16. The album compiles their Korean debut-mini album of the same title, 2NE1, and three songs from their first Korean full album To Anyone

2NE1 released their first Japanese mini-album, NOLZA, on September 21, 2011. It consists of "I Am The Best", "Hate You" and "UGLY", which were previously released as their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Japanese digital singles.