Reunited and It Feels So Good

The joy of a return is palpable for K-pop star Sandara Park, who's back on stage as a member of 2NE1 for the Welcome Back tour— the group's first headlining concert since eight years of inactivity.

- GORDON NG

Surprise might, in a way, be what defines the K-pop girl group 2NE1. Says Sandara Park, the vocalist of the quartet: “2NE1 has always been somewhat unpredictable.”

Let’s set the stage a little with a jaunt down memory lane 15 years ago. It was around the middle of the second generation of Korean pop idols. The defining sound of the moment was saccharine bubble gum pop, tinged with a kind of coy innocence and naivete. In May 2009, 2NE1 made its debut with ‘Fire’, a boldfaced single with hip-hop and reggae sonic influences. The song opens with these lines: “It’s been a long time coming, but we’re here now/ And we’re about to set the roof on fire, baby/ You better get yours ’cause I’m gettin’ mine.”

Call it prophetic perhaps because, in the seven years that followed 2NE1’s activities, the girl group scaled incredible heights and became one of Korean pop music’s bestselling acts. The quartet—made up of vocalists Sandara and Park Bom, and rappers CL and Minzy—carved out a special place of its own. The sound and look of 2NE1 has a distinct identity, apart from the mainstream of the industry even as it topped charts. From club bangers such as the electropop hit ‘I Am The Best’, the group’s signature song with a powerful, unwavering sense of confidence and self-empowerment, to wistful ballads like ‘Lonely’ which put the group’s vocals front and centre accompanied by spare string instrumentation. For a time, it seemed as if 2NE1 was the living legend of K-pop—every release turned into a hit, with nary a flop in the catalogue.

That all came to a halt in 2016 when the group was unceremoniously and suddenly disbanded. Members of the group have gone on the record to say they learnt of the news after the fact, from reports in the media. The momentum of seven years, two studio albums, two EPs, 18 singles, halted and brought to an abrupt end. Until this year, the group has been inactive for eight years—longer than it had existed.