IT SEEMS LIKE SO MUCH IS WRITTEN ABOUT 2NE1’S FIERCE LEADER CL NOWADAYS, ESPECIALLY AFTER SHE ANNOUNCED HER MUCH ANTICIPATED UPCOMING US SOLO DEBUT. WHETHER WE’RE GAWKING AT HER MOST RECENT CRAZY FASHIONS OR REJOICING IN THE GREATNESS OF HER LATEST RELEASES WITH HER GROUP OR OTHER ARTISTS.
EVEN THOUGH FASHION IS A BIG PART OF WHO CL IS AND SURELY SOMETHING THAT STANDS OUT ABOUT HER, IT’S DEFINITELY NOT AS FAR AS IT GOES. WHILE EVERYTHING ABOUT HER APPEARANCE SCREAMS FOR WELL-DESERVED ATTENTION, IT’S HER TALENT AS AN ARTIST THAT HAS MADE IT LAST.
SHE’S MULTILINGUAL Growing up, Chaerin Lee lived in Japan and France and attended international schools before settling in Seoul as a teenager. Because of this and the fact that she comes from a family of academics, CL learned English, French, Japanese, and Korean. Throughout 2NE1’s and her own solo releases, CL has shown her rapping skills in Korean, English, and Japanese, maintaining an almost identical flow and style in each.
SHE’S A LYRICIST
The most basic thing a person has to have down in order to be a rapper is to write their own lyrics. In K-pop, companies train kids to be rappers in their assigned groups, even if this didn’t come to them organically. However, YG Entertainment is the Mecca for hip-hop in Korea’s mainstream, and that’s why, even after auditioning and not being accepted, CL, as a teenaged aspiring rapper, didn’t stop until she handed her demo to the CEO herself.
Instead of completely inventing CL, YG worked with her and crafted her into the Baddest Female (her onstage persona). And while most of 2NE1’s songs are written by YG producers, CL has slowly begun to participate in the creative process as well. For 2NE1’s latest album “Crush,” she wrote and co-wrote five tracks, including “Baby I Miss You,” “MTBD,” and “If I Were You,” being the only member involved in the process. She also provided her English rap for Skrillex and Diplo’s “Dirty Vibe.”
SHE’S A TRIPLE THREAT
As mentioned before, each individual member in a K-pop group is assigned a role by the company, with these ranging from main vocalist to dancing machine to visual. In 2NE1’s case, CL was destined to be the leader and rapper, with Bom as the main vocalist, Dara as visual, and Minzy as the main dancer and backup vocalist. CL has previously stated that she wasn’t a good singer when she joined YG. Unlike her rapping, her vocals have improved throughout the course of her career and is now given singing parts in the group’s songs.
Moreover, K-pop groups are known for their intricate choreographies, but 2NE1 has established themselves more as performers than dancers. But even though Minzy is one of the best dancers in K-pop, miss CL can hold her own on stage. These three skills plus her overall fierce persona are what make CL the Beyonce of 2NE1.
SHE OPPOSED GETTING PLASTIC SURGERY
It is secret to no one that K-pop entertainment companies make their trainees get plastic surgery in order for them to be more attractive once they debut.
CL has openly talked about YG Entertainment’s CEO telling her to get plastic surgery prior to her debut because she was ugly, and how she stood up for herself and refused. In an interview with ELLE last year, she explained, “I love CL, but I still want to be Chaerin. And if I felt like I had to change I would. But I love the natural way I look. I said no [to plastic surgery] and I’m not planning to.”
I hate that the media are hyping up her debut because I feel like they're just bigging her up to fail I really want her to succeed but all the media buzz just gives people more of a reason to mindlessly drag her.
Getting plastic surgery is probably one of the least painful things that trainees have to endure. You should see some of the stuff they go through, and some don't even end up making it into a group, or their time as a trainee last longer than their actual career. Kinda sad, but k-pop stars are always killing the game, so I guess it's worth it.
It's mostly fans who are hyping her up. Billboard is the biggest and one of the few I've seen supporting her.
And it's not like they do the most. And seeing who her manager is (Scooter) I'm really surprised
I hate that the media are hyping up her debut because I feel like they're just bigging her up to fail I really want her to succeed but all the media buzz just gives people more of a reason to mindlessly drag her.
Me too but I remain hopeful. She's got everything you could possibly want to break into America as an Asian act, but still, it's not going to be easy.
I really want her to succeed but all the media buzz just gives people more of a reason to mindlessly drag her.
Kinda sad, but k-pop stars are always killing the game, so I guess it's worth it.
