“Is 2NE1 not supposed to be pretty?” (Interview)

[TV Report=Kim Ye-na] They suddenly changed. There are no more unique, fierce, or sometimes peculiar girls anymore. They became sweet, fresh, and lovely. They even became pretty. There was a reason for the change of the five-year-old girl group.

2NE1 came back with their official album in two years. They are releasing a new track every month to present various performances. They expanded their area of activity. They used to appear on certain music programs. Now, they are showing up in variety shows.

“Many people consider that 2NE1 has a strong image. We did not intend to be feminine. We sought change just for our song. We always changed according to our music. We think that ‘I am the Best’ had the strongest image, but it was just an image. We were not like that actually.”

◆ Four different persons have the only common ground: 2NE1

2NE1 members say that they set this year as the ‘beginning year of 2NE1’. They were aware that it was time to rise above the career they built. They were very stressed out due to the homework before them. After all, 2NE1 decided to see things from a different perspective. They hypnotized themselves that having fun is the key. Probably because of that, they saw the largest number of male fans since their debut. Every time they released new songs (‘Falling In Love’ in July, and ‘Do You Love Me’ in August), the number of male fans went up.

“Male fans are always noticeable when our fans get together because there are only a few of them (laughter). The number of male fans, however, is increasing this time. We thought, “What is going on?” We thought that we were loyal crew of female fans. We are just happy if fans, whether they are male or female, trust and support us.”

Each member of 2NE1 was different. CL says that she would have been living as an average student if she had not debuted. Park Bom says that she would have debuted as a solo singer or engaged in music industry. Sandara Park says that she would have lived as an actress with a pure image. Min-ji says that she would have lived as a student and then become a good wife and wise mother. They could be together because of music.

“It may make your toes curl, but we can be the one because we have music. We have totally different personalities. We are at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. It is marvelous that we do not have a fight. We sometimes wish that the other members would enjoy the same music. We believe, however, that such difference gave birth to 2NE1. The four different vertexes found a middle ground through 2NE1.

◆ In 2013, 2NE1 changed dramatically.

2NE1 tried another attempt. CL wore a lovely dress. Gong Min-ji had her hair dyed pink. Sandara Park gave off feminine vibes instead of being playful. Park Bom is showing off her slim and beautiful legs that she got through her successful diet.

“We did not dread new challenges for the past five years. All of us do not like boredom. We seek new things continuously. As the youngest member Min-ji turns 20 this year, we started to have interest in feminine charm. We thought that it was natural. We wanted to show to the fullest what we did not show before due to short promotion periods and limited areas of activity.”

Before coming back, 2NE1 listened to each other. Can we return to the beginning and start over now? They unanimously decided to muster up energy and go for it as they did in ‘Fire’.

“We thought that the public may have forgotten us for our two-year vacancy. Therefore, we should have an attitude like a rookie. Let’s not feel pressured from the expectations for 2NE1. Let’s just have the responsibility that we should let ourselves know to people all over again. We are just rookies with the first official album (laughter).”

Credits: Star Naver Cast