2NE1 (2011 EP)

2NE1 (also known as 2NE1 2nd Mini Album) is the second eponymous extended play by South Korean girl group 2NE1. It was released through YG Entertainment on July 28, 2011, and was distributed by KMP Holdings. It contains six songs composed and produced by Teddy Park and Kush; five of them were released as digital singles.[2] "Don't Stop the Music" was initially released as the Yamaha Fiore CF Theme Song in late 2010. A Japanese version of the mini-album, titled Nolza, was released by YGEX on September 21, 2011.[3]

2NE1 2nd Mini Album
Digital cover
EP by
2NE1
ReleasedJuly 28, 2011 (2011-07-28)
Recorded2010–2011
StudioYG Studios, Seoul
Genre
Length21:41
Language
  • Korean
  • Japanese
Label
Producer
2NE1 chronology
To Anyone
(2010)		 2NE1 2nd Mini Album
(2011)		 1st Live Concert (Nolza!)
(2011)
Singles from 2NE1
  1. "Don't Cry"
    Released: April 21, 2011
  2. "Lonely"
    Released: May 12, 2011
  3. "I Am the Best"
    Released: June 24, 2011
  4. "Hate You"
    Released: July 21, 2011
  5. "Ugly"
    Released: July 27, 2011

Upon release, the EP reached number one on both the weekly and monthly Gaon Album Charts in South Korea and topped the Oricon Albums Chart in Japan, where they became the first Korean female artist to debut at number one.[4] Four of its singles—"Don't Cry", "Lonely", "I Am the Best", "Ugly"—each reached number one on the Gaon Digital Chart. The EP and its singles won various accolades, including the Melon Music Award for Album of the Year, while "I Am the Best" won the 2011 MAMA Award for Song of the Year and Best Dance & Electronic Song at the 9th Korean Music Awards.

Development and background

On April 18, 2011, 2NE1 announced they would postpone their Japanese debut due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and would resume Korean release plans, pushing the extended play's promotions forward, from April to July.[5]

Plans for the album's promotions were later released on YG Life's blog on April 27, 2011, where the group stated that they we will be releasing a new single every three weeks leading up to the album's release in July. The group stated that the reason behind this plan was because they were more than satisfied with the level of quality in the album's track list and intended to use them all as title tracks for its promotion.[6]

Promotion and release
Bom and Dara at a signing event for the EP in 2011.

Bom's solo track "Don't Cry" was released as the first single on April 21. It was then followed by the group's single "Lonely" on May 11. Both songs topped the Gaon Digital Chart; in addition, "Lonely" became the first song to achieve a perfect all-kill by a K-pop girl group since the concept's inception in 2010. Neither were promoted extensively on music shows; but on May 29, the group made a surprise two-part performance with both songs on SBS's Inkigayo.[7] The surprise appearance was attributed to the popularity of the two songs and was done as a gift to their fans.[8]

On June 24, the third single "I Am the Best" was released at midnight, and subsequently topped all South Korean real-time charts, achieving another perfect all-kill. The song gained international recognition and is often regarded as an industry classic.[9][10] It was performed for several weeks on the music programs Inkigayo, Show! Music Core and M Countdown. The plans for a mini album then stated another digital single would soon follow along with the release of the group's second mini album.

"Hate You", was initially intended for their second album To Anyone, but was later included into the mini-album's tracklist.[11] It was released one week prior to the mini album's release on July 21 and became a top-three hit. The next single "Ugly", became the EP's fourth number one single, and won three music program wins during the course of its run. It ended the album's promotions on SBS's Inkigayo on August 21.

Following their Korean promotions, the group announced the release of the album in Japan under the title Nolza. It was released on September 21 by YGEX, a newly created label by YG Entertainment Japan in association with Avex. They appeared on the Japanese music program Music Station to promote the EP, performing the lead single "I Am the Best".[12]

Reception

Recognition

The album ranked sixth on Spin magazine's list of "20 Best Pop Albums of 2011", placing ahead of Ellie Goulding, Coldplay and Rihanna. The publication said that "it might be the year's most boldly thrilling recorded statement", featuring the collision of various genres, from electro-house, hip-hop, and pop-rock guitar.[13] In 2012, the same publication ranked "Ugly" at number 9 and "I Am the Best" at number 3 in their list of 21 Greatest K-pop Songs of All Time,[14] while Stereogum included both songs in their list of 20 Best K-pop Music Videos at number 6 and 1, respectively.[15] FrancoMusique named the EP one of the 20 best albums of the decade, writing that the "six-song EP would go down in history" as "[2NE1] became K-pop queens overnight."[16]

Commercial performance

2NE1 2nd Mini Album debuted at number one on the Gaon Album Chart in the chart issue dated July 24–30, 2011.[17] It was the top-selling album in the month of July with 54,900 copies being sold in just three days.[18] The singles off of 2NE1 showed to be some of the most popular songs in South Korea during 2011; "Lonely", "Don't Cry" and "I Am the Best" were ranked 4th, 5th and 7th on the year-end Gaon Digital Chart, respectively.[19] "Ugly" and "Hate You" additionally ranked within the top 50. In Japan, Nolza claimed the top spot on the weekly Japanese Oricon album chart, where it became the first album by a South Korean girl group to debut on the chart at number one, and the second K-pop girl group album to do so in the chart's history overall.

In Taiwan, the mini-album debuted atop the G-Music East Asia album chart in the issue dated August 26 – September 1, 2011, making it the group's first number-one album in the country.[20] It additionally peaked at number 12 on the Combo album chart during the same week.[21] In the United States, the mini-album peaked at number 4 on the Billboard US World Albums chart and number 34 on the Top Heatseekers Album chart.[22]

Accolades
Awards and nominations for 2NE1 2nd Mini Album
Organization Year Category Result Ref.
Melon Music Awards 2011 Album of the Year Won [23]
Mnet Asian Music Awards 2011 Album of the Year Nominated
Music program awards
Song Program Date
"Lonely" Inkigayo May 29, 2011
"I Am the Best" July 17, 2011
Music Bank August 5, 2011
"Ugly" M Countdown August 4, 2011
Inkigayo August 7, 2011
August 14, 2011

Track listing

Korean EP – 2NE1 2nd Mini Album
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."I Am the Best" (내가 제일 잘 나가; Naega Jeil Jal Naga)TeddyTeddy3:30
2."Ugly"TeddyTeddy, Lydia Paek4:08
3."Lonely"TeddyTeddy, Kush3:29
4."Hate You"TeddyTeddy3:33
5."Don't Cry" (Bom solo)Teddy, Lydia PaekTeddy, Lydia Paek3:12
6."Don't Stop the Music" (new version – with alternative lyrics)KushKush3:50
Total length:21:41
Korean EP – 2NE1 2nd Mini Album (international edition)[24]
No.TitleLyricsLength
1."Ugly"Teddy4:08
2."Lonely" 3:29
3."Hate You" 3:33
4."Don't Cry" (Bom solo) 3:12
5."Don't Stop the Music" (new version – with alternative lyrics) 3:50
Total length:21:41

Japanese EP – Nolza
No.TitleLength
1."I Am the Best" (Japanese)3:31
2."Ugly" (Japanese)4:11
3."Lonely" (Japanese)3:30
4."Hate You" (Japanese)3:33
5."Don't Stop the Music" (Japanese)3:50
Total length:18:32
Japanese EP – Nolza (DVD – type A)
No.TitleLength
1."I Am the Best" (Japanese) 
2."Ugly" (Japanese) 
3."Lonely" (Japanese) 
4."Hate You" (Japanese) 
Japanese EP – Nolza (DVD – type B)
No.TitleLength
1."Highlights from 2NE1TV Season 1 & 2" 

Chart performance

Sales and certifications
Chart Amount
South Korea (Gaon)[31] 114,406
Japan (Oricon)[32] 57,000

Release history
Release history and formats for 2NE1 2nd Mini Album
Country Date Format Label
Various[33] July 28, 2011 Digital download YG
South Korea
  • CD
  • digital download
 KMP Holdings
Taiwan August 26, 2011 Warner Music Taiwan
China
Japan September 21, 2011 (Japanese ver.)
Thailand[34] October 7, 2011 CD GMM Grammy
Philippines May 26, 2012

References
  1. "20 Best Pop Albums of 2011". Spin. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  2. "2NE1 2nd Mini Album (EP) at Soribada". Soribada. July 28, 2011. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  3. "DISCOGRAPHY / 2NE1(トゥエニィワン) Japan official website" (in Japanese). Avex. Archived from the original on September 23, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  4. "2NE1、日本セカンド・シングル＆ライヴDVD登場" [2NE1 Releases Second Japanese Single & Live DVD]. Tower Records Online (in Japanese). December 22, 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  5. Gil, Hye-seong (March 16, 2011). "양현석 "2NE1, 日안정되면 언제든 활동OK..韓활동먼저"" [Yang Hyun Suk: "2NE1, waiting until Japanese situation is stable"]. Nate News (in Korean). SK Communications. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
  6. "2NE1 announces Bom's solo, new mini-album, and first concert info". April 17, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNSyuHxkmts "Don't Cry" Performance
  8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLN4m9g0Yfs Inkigayo Interview
  9. "The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s: Staff List". Billboard. November 25, 2019. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  10. Glasby, Taylor (December 20, 2019). "The game-changers from a decade of K-pop". British GQ. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  11. "2NE1's "Hate You" Teaser is Out!". Soompi. July 17, 2011.
  12. "투애니원 "일본서도 내가 제일 잘나가"". sports.donga.com (in Korean). September 21, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  13. SPIN's 20 Best Pop Albums of 2011 December 22, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2012
  14. Bevan, David; Eddy, Chuck (June 1, 2012). "The 21 Greatest K-Pop Songs of All Time". Spin. Archived from the original on February 7, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  15. Breihan, Tom (March 22, 2012). "The 20 Best K-Pop Videos". Stereogum. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  16. "Les meilleurs albums de la décennie". FrancoMusique (in French). December 19, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  17. "2011년 32주차 Album Chart" [Gaon Album Chart: Week 32 of 2011]. Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on May 6, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  18. "Gaon Album Chart – July 2011". Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  19. "Gaon Digital Chart: 2011" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on October 18, 2013.
  20. "G-Music J-pop Album Chart – Week 35 of 2011" (in Chinese). September 1, 2011. Archived from the original on September 6, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  21. "G-Music Combo Chart – Week 35 of 2011". G-Music. September 1, 2011. Archived from the original on September 6, 2011.
  22. "Heatseekers Albums Chart". Billboard. August 13, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  23. "Winners of 2011 Melon Music Awards". KBS World. November 24, 2011. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  24. "2NE1 2nd Mini Album – EP by 2NE1 on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  25. "【オリコン】2NE1、初登場首位デビュー…韓国女性グループ最速6日". Oricon (in Japanese). September 27, 2011. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
  26. "Top Albums Sales – 2011/09/28". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). September 28, 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  27. "Gaon search – 2NE1" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  28. "2NE1 Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  29. "2011년 Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
  30. "2012년 Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart.
  31. "Gaon album chart". Gaon (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  32. "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  33. "2NE1 2nd Mini Album – EP by 2NE1". Apple Music.
  34. "2NE1: The 2nd Mini Album (Thailand Edition)". BoomerangShop.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
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