source: AKP + 2NE1 official youtube

Last October, the four-piece girl group 2NE1 debuted in Japan with six live shows in front of 70,000 fans—the latest product of a South Korean music machine that has already surged past the point of being just another East Asian fad. While “K-pop” has gained popularity as the catch-all term for a host of glossy boy and girl bands, 2NE1—with its signature tune, “Ugly”—represents K-hop, a budding movement that backs up its slick pop sheen with true R&B talent.

East Asia’s music industry is being astutely tailored for a global audience in the digital age. “There is no line between Korean, Japanese, or international music since YouTube,” explains 2NE1’s lead rapper, CL. “It’s just the whole world through the Internet.”

K-pop groups have certainly found success abroad: bands like Girls’ Generation and TVXQ draw impressive crowds at shows in New York and L.A. Now K-hop is getting in on the act: Internet exposure helped boy band Big Bang win the World Wide Act award at the MTV Europe Music Awards last June, and MTV Iggy just crowned 2NE1 the Best New Band in the World.

While some critics still question whether K-hop will ever make waves on mainstream U.S. radio, Korean-American producers such as Teddy Park (of 2NE1) and Jae Chong (of Aziatix) are hoping that the genre will be the true crossover hit, with its ties to hip-hop, soul, and electronica. Park grew up in New Jersey and California on a diet of Queen and the Wu-Tang Clan. The 33-year-old, who has overseen 2NE1’s career from its inception, always wondered why the world music scene was missing a big global Asian act. Meanwhile, Chong was among the first producers to bring soul and R&B to Korea, in the early 1990s. For Chong, raised in Los Angeles, it was a challenging time. “Seoul’s hip-hop community was tiny,” he says.

By the turn of the millennium, star acts started to emerge from Korea, including the hip-hop group Drunken Tiger, led by L.A.-raised Tiger JK, and his wife, solo hip-hop artist Tasha Reid (née Yoon Mi-rae). The Texas-born Reid ended up in Korea as a child during her father’s Army posting, and she explored the country’s nascent hip-hop scene in underground clubs. Now, she says, “if I were to check the singles chart, at least 90 percent of [Korean] songs are R&B-influenced.”

Many of the rising stars of the genre have spent ample time abroad. 2NE1’s singer Park Bom studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston; lead rapper CL lived in France and Japan before returning to her homeland. The 2NE1 gals feel they’ve found a kindred spirit in their producer Park. “He is a musician who knows how girls feel,” says CL, who adds that “Ugly,” which confronts insecurities about beauty, emerged from a conversation with Park. For his part, Park admits he gets flak for penning lyrics to inspire independent women but says, “Especially for this country, we needed women to stand up.” It’s an attitude that may translate well overseas, where outspoken female artists such as Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry are wildly successful.

The ultimate validation for K-hop would be lifting Asian music out of its tacky stereotype and bringing it to the same level as Latin and European music on the global music scene. The early signs are promising: will.i.am has already begun working on tracks for 2NE1.

Chong’s latest project is the Korean-American K-hop guy band Aziatix. The group’s eponymous mini-album placed at No. 4 on the U.S. iTunes Top Soul Albums last May. “I want to introduce the next phase [of K-hop],” says Chong, who feels that the classic ’80s and ’90s formula of rhythm, melody, and lyrics is what U.S. hip-hop lacks today. The integrity of K-hop may be at stake, though, if it becomes overly tailored for a U.S. audience, something that concerns Tasha Reid. “I’d hate to see the soul of Korean music lose itself in the process,” she says.

A/N: The Daily Beast is a smart, speedy take on the news from around the world, combined with the depth and investigative power of Newsweek Magazine. The Daily Beast and Newsweek are basically the same thing since they merged in 2010, creating a combined company, The Newsweek Daily Beast Company. Newsweek is a VERY well known American weekly news magazine published in NYC and it’s distributed throughout the United States and internationally. They they have about 1.5 Million followers on twitter.

Source: http://www.thedailybeast.com
Reuploaded & Info by: Sieljjang@CLTheBaddestFemale.com
PLEASE TAKE OUT WITH FULL AND PROPER CREDITS.

For all people following it, SBS‘s famous K-Pop Star has released an exciting preview for their upcoming 9th episode!

BoA, Yang Hyun Suk, and J.Y. Park have now picked their drafts from the big pool of tryouts, and will be coaching them at their respective company headquarters (SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment). That means Yang Hyun Suk will be training his drafts at the building 2NE1 and BigBang are being trained, too.

While all three judges will personally oversee the growth and coachability of their wards, the teaser revealed that Yang Hyun Suk brought in 2NE1‘s Park Bom and CL as well as Big Bang‘s Daesung and Taeyang to help with his assessment of their talents.

Near the end, fans got to see CL deliver her comments in fluent English, which drew some off-side admiration from Yang Hyun Suk himself. I’m curious! What about you? What will CL and Bom bring? ^^

Check out the video below!

Source: allkpop 

Thanks to other editors have been helping the site and updating it. Really glad that you all (YGNGENERATIONers) are being active.

Well, today i am just going to share with the Blackjack on 2NE1′s 1st Live Concert “NOLZA” DVD + CD. I just got them about few weeks ago and i have been trying to find time “show-off” to you guys the awesome-ness of their DVD and CD.

To all the Blackjack, who have not get the chance to watch 2NE1 1st Live Concert, you can still watch it by buying their DVD and CD from any sites selling it online. Especially, you can it from YGESHOP.COM.

Without wasting any time. So, here you go, some pictures of my copy of 2NE1′s 1st Live Concert “NOLZA” DVD and CD.

2NE1 1st Live Concert “NOLZA” CD

2NE1 1st Live Concert “NOLZA” DVD

I didn’t take pictures of the POSTERS because too lazy to open them from the tube. If you’re wonder how the posters look like and how exciting are the DVD and CD, get them now! You won’t regret it. This is the way to support 2NE1! Make sure you get the ORIGINAL…

Where to buy the DVD? Try the websites below!
- YesAsia
- YGeShop
- Amazon

Netizens commented, “2NE1 is so caring!” and “Dara unni, you have such a kind heart.” I’ll have to agree with these comments, but it also must be hard seeing children in a hospital… But it’s great 2NE1 is willing to visit them, I’m sure they cheered up the children, even if it’s only a little bit. We’d like to wish the children to get well soon… Thanks again, 2NE1! ^^

Source: allkpop & Dara’s me2day

These performances were uploaded by YGConcert on YouTube.

Lonely
Just when 2011 started, YG Entertainment announced 2NE1 would be releasing a new mini-album. Firstly, the single Lonely would be released along with a music video. We’ve been waiting eagerly until the release and speculations were made because of the teasers being released and photos being taken on the filming set. Soon after, 2NE1 released their single Lonely on May 11th. A great success followed right after, having topped the music charts with a number 1 spot for weeks. Two other versions (acoustic and reggae) of Lonely were to be released, 20th of May, in case you didn’t know yet!

I Am the Best
This single was probably the most successful and famous one of all. Releasing the MV did not go all smoothly; YG Entertainment revealed that we had to wait a bit longer in order to show us a high quality MV. Disappointment followed, but when the MV was released it was all forgotten. It was definitely worth the wait! End of June (27th) the single and MV were finally released. I Am The Best topped the music charts on the number 1 spot for weeks and became one of the most popular songs of the year. It also got many recognition overseas, being the song that described 2NE1 best!

Hate You & Ugly
During July this pack of songs were released. Hate You was released the 20th of July, wherafter Ugly followed 27th of July. Especially Ugly received lots of attention. A description by YG: “The strong guitar riff carries this song’s mood throughout the entire song, with a mix of rock and elec. Ugly is the perfect addictive summer song which has refreshing chorus melody!” Right they were, because Ugly became a great success in South-Korea. The song also proved that 2NE1 is only human too, it enables fans to relate to them better. I think it’s a good step towards connecting with fans even better.
I personally love Hate You a lot too, even though it was a bit less popular than their other songs. The base immediately captured a place in my heart. This song is very different from their previous songs in my opinion. I love its refreshing and new melody, the strong lyrics and the great use of instruments. In my opinion, one of the best works by Teddy! Did you know Teddy originally wanted to call the song Fuck You?

MTV Iggy
Especially 2NE1′s music has been standing out so much in this industry. 2NE1 is completely different – badass, swaggy, daring, creative, arty and blinking of being so new all the time. Trendsetting! 2NE1 gained attention worldwide, which I think was caused by several things: their music, their fashion and their attitude. Therefore, 2NE1 was nominated on a worldwide music award: MTV Iggy’s Best New Band in the World. Another big achievement for 2NE1, was winning the award and being 2011′s Best New Band in the World!

Going global
Winning the award brings us to the next subject; 2NE1 went partly global this year. They started their debut in Japan which is still going on today, and they are working on a US debut album with Will.i.am. 2NE1 also received a lot attention in Hollywood; Kat Graham, Nina Dobrev (Vampire Diaries) and more Americain celebrities mentioned 2NE1 in interviews and showed their fondness.

2NE1TV Season 3
Last year we also got to see 2NE1 on a new season of 2NE1TV - Season 3 was on! This time with English subtitles, which allowed international fans to see a bit of 2NE1′s personal and professional life, too. We’ve been enjoying 2NE1TV as always; it’s funny (hilarious ^^) and very interesting to see how 2NE1 live their lives. We’ve seen 2NE1 working together with Will.i.am in Las Vegas (find some sounds of their songs here), going on holidays, performing their new mini-album, going through their success and last but certainly not least, we’ve seen 2NE1 preparing their first own concert. NOLZA! (= let’s play!) This brings us to the next subject, once again.

NOLZA
2NE1′s very first solo concert was held in 2011! It took place in Olympic Hall, at Olympic Park in Seoul. Two concerts were planned; one at 27th and one at 28th of August. But after the tickets being sold out in 3 hours, YG Entertainment decided to add another date. The girls certainly felt worried and nervous on 2NE1TV since it was their very first concert since their debut. Filming was not allowed, but you can find videos on YouTube to see a bit of the concert. All 2NE1 members got to perform a solo stage and were highlighted in their own way. I personally can’t stop watching CL’s solo performance! Also, if you weren’t there like me, consider buying the live concert CD or DVD on YesAsia or YGeShop. ^^

All in all, 2NE1 had a great year. They’ve been successful, gained global attention, got to work together will Willi.am, got to perform their solo concert and probably developed personal changes. They made us BlackJacks very happy last year! Also thanks to Dara, Bom and Minji who would always keep us up to date by using social media. They also regurarly upload photos or videos of CL so we’d still know how she’s doing too. ^^

We’ll eagerly be waiting for 2NE1′s activities this year. (:

Thank you, 2NE1!

Happy Minji shared a photo of a birthday cake with us on Twitter. The cake (and presents!) were sent to her by her loving fans. Very sweet!

She shared the above photo via her official Twitter page on the 13th of January and wrote: “The cake is so pretty, and all the presents are important things that I can use. Thank you~! I hope to be with you guys forever as I turn 19, 29, 39, 49, 59, 69, 79, 89, 99..!”

On the birthday cake was an animated version of her face – and did you notice the hat she’s wearing? Familiar, right? She also received boxes full of presents and another shopping bag full of gifts. Minji’s will turn 18 on January 18th, so the presents were certainly early – but rather too early than too late!

Netizens who saw the photos remarked: “Happy Birthday Gong Minzy!”, “There’s only one of that cake in the world“, “Your fans are so devoted“, “So popular, Minzy“, and more.

Happy early birthday to Minji!

Source & Image: allkpop and Minzy’s official Twitter

Back in 2009, it was reported that famous song producer and Black Eyed Peas member, Will.I.Am would be producing a U.S debut album for Korean hip-hop girl group, 2NE1. Afterwards, there has been huge anticipation for their collaboration and new album. Will.I.Am’s recent tweet has boosted the buzz surrounding this particular topic.

On January 7th, the U.S entertainer tweeted, “2NE1 is coming out crazy“.

In 2011, Will.I.Am showed great interest in 2NE1 as he complimented and met with them several times throughout the year. Back in May, the producer visited Korea and met with YG‘s CEO Yang Hyun Suk and YG’s main producer, Teddy to hold discussions on 2NE1′s U.S debut album.

In addition, Will.I.Am revealed, “We are carefully working to turn 2NE1 into superstars not only in Korea, but everywhere in the world” through an interview with Cambio.

2NE1′s CL and Will.I.Am also collaborated on stage in the ‘2011 MAMA‘ back in late November.

Will.I.Am’s latest tweet can be taken as a sign that there will most likely be a U.S album release in 2012.

source: akp

Dara is overjoyed this year – she is absolutely free to date whoever she wants this year! Bom, who is also the same age as Dara, is also free from the dating ban that was in their contract with YG.

She posted on her me2day saying: “Today’s new years! 99% of the texts that I received from my friends and acquaintances were, ‘I hope you get a cool boyfriend this year’ and ‘Have a wonderful love this year!’. It seems that people around me are more worried than I am about getting a boyfriend! As promised by YG CEO, we are free to date starting this year! Woot! Anyways, everyone, have a blessed new year! I want to become cuter this year!”

She continued, “Age does not matter for us anymore! Cuter! More fun and entertaining! Fighting!”

She also upload a picture along with her post. She’s seen wearing a bright hot pink T-shirt, along with cutesy makeup and a long wavy brown hairstyle.

The netizens that saw this post commented, “Big congratulations on your dating ban being over!”, “I hope you meet a nice/cool boyfriend this year” and “You’re plenty cute right now, I wonder how you’ll become even cuter.. I’m curious.”

I’ll be cheering for Dara and Bommie, finally getting to date! Do you have ideas on who they might date this year? Another celebrity, or a non-celebrity? The best of luck, anyhow!

Source: soompi