2NE1 hit their peak and by 2013, they were one of the biggest K-pop girl groups known internationally.
2NE1’s global recognition was the evidence of their flourishing career. It went on to the next level when their long-awaited collaboration song, “Take The World On”, with The Black Eyed Peas member, Will.I.Am, was finally released at the most precise point of time in their career.
Will.I.Am also released another track “Gettin’ Dumb” featuring 2NE1 in his second album ”#willpower”. It was a pleasing east-meets-west collaboration which everyone had their attention on.
Soon after, 2NE1 released 3 popular singles for their comeback: “Falling In Love”, “Missing You” and “Do You Love Me”. All 3 songs had different concepts and styles. “Falling In Love” had a refreshing reggae-infused tune; “Missing You” was a soothing ballad song; “Do You Love Me” adopted a fun pop song tempo.
The 3 songs kept 2NE1 busy with comeback stages on music station broadcasts. 2NE1’s “Falling in Love” was recorded with the highest first week sales of any song released in 2013.
The girls invited as one of the K-pop acts at the Asia Style Collection 2013 in Singapore. This one-day extravaganza attracted many Singapore blackjacks as 2NE1 represented Korea and performed their hit tracks “I Am The Best” and “I Love You”. Enthusiastic Singapore blackjacks cheered with unanimous fanchants and had the whole venue hyped up!
Getting back in action, the girls finally released their second full length album “Crush” in 2014. It was their album release after a 4-year hiatus. CL personally participated in composing the songs and writing the lyrics. Big Bang’s leader, G-Dragon, contributing to the stunning lyrics as well!
CL’s solo track “Mental Breakdown (MTBD)” was revealed in the album too. CL’s hard work and commitment are reflected through the impressive tracks and high quality of the album.
This album became the 6th best pop album in 2014 in Rolling Stone’s charts. Concurrently, it set a new record in USA for “Highest Charting and Best Selling Kpop Album”. It was highly praised for displaying 2NE1’s strength and representing a refined version of their previous concepts.
Subsequently, the Japanese edition of “Crush” was released 1 month later and the reaction fared pretty well too.
2NE1 held their world tour “AON (All Or Nothing)” with 20 dazzling shows and it was tied in conjunction to promote their “Crush” album. The tour started in Seoul, South Korea and wrapped up in Macau, China. They travelled to 11 countries with more than 180,000 blackjacks from all over the world attending the tour.
The “AON (All or Nothing)” world tour was 2NE1’s last concert tour before their disbandment. It was also remembered as the most unforgettable and largest tour ever in 2NE1’s music journey.
The girls truly blew the audience away with their undeniably strong charisma and incredibly edgy 2NE1-esque performances. They also celebrated their 5th anniversary together with Filipino blackjacks at the Manila stop. It was a heartwarming and beautiful occasion.
To celebrate 2NE1’s 5th anniversary, they released a new music video, “Gotta Be You”, as a special gift to reciprocate blackjacks’ unwavering heart through the years. “Gotta Be You” is one of the tracks in their second full length album “Crush”. It also won the “Song Of The Year” award by MTV Iggy.
2NE1 got the chance to participate in filming and performing in the season finale of America’s Next Top Model. It was actually a great exposure for the girls to appear and perform in such a high profile television series.
2NE1 accomplished groundbreaking influence at the 5th year of debut with their strong capabilities. They captivated the attention of millions and soared to greater heights. They reach their highest peak but still kept themselves humble. 2NE1 is the formidable queens acknowledged for their undying spirit.
Why, then, did the girls eventually disband? Well, let’s find out more about the end of their journey in the next article:
