Popularity

The Group 2ne1 was getting a lot of attention in South Korea. Almost everyone was talking about them. After a two weeks from the release of 'Lollipop', one of their songs from the new album was released. It was about hardships one faced in their youth. This song showed bullying, alcoholism, peer pressure, heart-break and having no money and no support in life. Each different hardship was played by a different person.

So-Young was shown as a victim of bullying. It was a scene where a group of girls locked her in a bathroom and poured dirty water on her. Minzy was facing peer pressure. She had to lock away her interests because it was not mainstream. CL had her heart broken. In the video, it was shown that her boyfriend cheated on her. Dara was facing a problem of alcoholism. Bom was shown as a poor girl trying hard to pay her fathers debt and college fees.

The song then begins with a sad tune while they show all the five of them facing difficulties. Then, it begins to get lighter as they start to face their problems and grow from them. It shows all of the girls in the future. All of them are friends and have become very successful. The bullies So-Young had faced now are facing difficulties in their life. Minzy was now shown as pursuing her dreams. CL was now shown as an independent woman. Dara got over her alcoholic problem with a lot of difficulty but was finally living a healthy life. Bom had paid off all the debts and had a good carrier.

The song had them showing their vocals and the rapping growth. It really tested their vocal range. There were some really hard harmonies and fast rapping. CL and So-Young had a hard time remembering the rap verses and fluently saying them. It was only practice, practice and practice.

The song had massive success the moment it was released. It really spoke to everyone. Each and everyone of them had faced at least one of the problems that was shown in the video at some point in their life. There were multiple messages the song contained and each and everyone of them were meaningful. 2ne1 gathered a massive fan base right then and there.

And before the wave of enthusiasm drowned out, another song from their album released. And the same thing happened once more... and again. They managed to stay in the top spots of the hot songs list for 3 months. It was only after Girl's generation and Bigbang released their songs that they dropped from their positions on the hot songs list.

They did stop their endeavors right there. They went to a bunch of variety shows and participated in a lot of fan signs. The now had a stable fanbase. They even got a proposal to advertise a popular perfume brand. Overall, their debut was very successful and they were the first group that had such a successful launch.