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 on July 28, 2011, through YG Entertainment, in both physical and digital formats. It was distributed by KMP Holdings. 2NE1 2nd Mini Album, like its predecessors 2NE1 1st Mini Album (2009) and To Anyone (2010), was primarily written and produced by Teddy Park, with additional songwriting contributions from Kush and Lydia Paek. The EP was re-released as the group's debut Japanese record titled Nolza on September 21, 2011, under YGEX.

2NE1 2nd Mini Album
Digital cover artwork
EP by 2NE1
Released	July 28, 2011 (2011-07-28)
Recorded	2010–2011
Studio	YG Studios (Seoul)
Genre	K-pop dance-pop electronic hip hop^[1]
Length	21:41
Language	Korean Japanese
Label	YG KMP
Producer	Teddy Park Kush Lydia Paek
2NE1 chronology
To Anyone (2010) 2NE1 2nd Mini Album (2011) 1st Live Concert (Nolza!) (2011)
Singles from 2NE1
"Don't Cry" Released: April 21, 2011 "Lonely" Released: May 12, 2011 "I Am the Best" Released: June 24, 2011 "Hate You" Released: July 21, 2011 "Ugly" Released: July 27, 2011

2NE1 was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, and was named amongst the best pop releases of the year by Spin. It saw commercial success upon release, reaching number one on both the South Korean Gaon Album Chart and the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart; 2NE1 became the first Korean female artist to reach number one with a debut record in Japan. It also appeared on the record charts in Taiwan and peaked at number four on the US World Albums chart. The group embarked on their first concert tour in support of the release, titled the Nolza Tour, travelling throughout South Korea and Japan. A live DVD of the tour was released in November.

Five singles were released to promote the record: Park Bom's solo "Don't Cry", "Lonely", "I Am the Best", "Hate You" and "Ugly". Each single saw success and reached number one on the Gaon Digital Chart (with the exception of "Hate You", which peaked at number three). Although the promotions for the first two singles were minimal, all five singles sold over 2,500,000 digital downloads in South Korea while "Don't Cry", "Lonely", and "I Am the Best" ranked in the top 10 on the year-end Gaon Digital Chart. The success of the EP led it to win Album of the Year at the 2011 Melon 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.^[2]

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. The full extended play was made available on July 28, 2011.^[3]

Promotion and release

"Normally, people will only remember the title song, and a lot of the songs on the albums never reach their full potential. We wanted all of our songs to shine. Every 3 weeks, we worked our hardest to reveal one new song at a time, [...] It's also interesting how there was no relationship between all five of the songs."

—CL commenting on the rollout of the extended play.^[4]

 

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

Park 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.^[5] The surprise appearance was attributed to the popularity of the two songs and was done as a gift to their fans.^[6]

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.^[7][8] 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. 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, 2011, by YGEX, a newly created label by YG Entertainment Japan in association with Avex.^[9] They appeared on the Japanese music program Music Station to promote the EP, performing the lead single "I Am the Best".^[10]

Critical reception

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.^[11] 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,^[12] while Stereogum included both songs in their list of 20 Best K-pop Music Videos at number 6 and 1, respectively.^[13] 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."^[14]

Accolades

Awards and nominations for 2NE1 2nd Mini Album

Organization	Year	Category	Result	Ref.
Melon Music Awards	2011	Album of the Year	Won	^[15]
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

Commercial performance

2NE1 2nd Mini Album debuted at number one on the Gaon Album Chart in the chart issue dated July 24–30, 2011.^[16] It was the top-selling album in the month of July with 54,900 copies being sold in just three days.^[17] 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,^[18] and the second K-pop girl group album to do so in the chart's history. Elsewhere, the record debuted atop the Taiwanese G-Music East Asian album chart in the issue dated August 26 – September 1, 2011, making it the group's first number-one album in the country.^[19] It additionally peaked at number 12 on the combo record chart during the same week.^[20] In the United States, the EP peaked at number four on the Billboard US World Albums chart and number 34 on the Top Heatseekers Album chart.^[21]

2NE1 2nd Mini Album was the 14th best-selling album in South Korea during 2011 according to the Gaon Album Chart. It re-appeared on the year-end Gaon Album Chart in 2012 at number 77, selling a cumulative 104,000 copies. The album has since sold over 114,000 copies in South Korea as of September 2016.^[22] The singles from 2NE1 2nd Mini Album 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 fourth, fifth and seventh on the year-end Gaon Digital Chart, respectively.^[23] "Ugly" and "Hate You" additionally ranked within the top 50.^[24] All five of the album's singles reached number one on all streaming record charts in South Korea upon release, marking the first time an artist achieved five consecutive "all kills".^[25]

Track listing

2NE1 2nd Mini Album – Standard edition

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"I Am the Best" (내가 제일 잘 나가; Naega Jeil Jal Naga)	Teddy	Teddy	3:30
2.	"Ugly"	Teddy	Teddy, Lydia Paek	4:08
3.	"Lonely"	Teddy	Teddy, Kush	3:29
4.	"Hate You"	Teddy	Teddy	3:33
5.	"Don't Cry" (Bom solo)	Teddy, Lydia Paek	Teddy, Lydia Paek	3:12
6.	"Don't Stop the Music" (new version – with alternative lyrics)	Kush	Kush	3:50
Total length:				21:41

2NE1 2nd Mini Album – International release^[26]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
1.	"Ugly"	Teddy	4:08
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

Nolza – Japanese edition

No.	Title	Length
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

Nolza DVD – Type A

No.	Title	Length
1.	"I Am the Best" (Japanese)
2.	"Ugly" (Japanese)
3.	"Lonely" (Japanese)
4.	"Hate You" (Japanese)

Nolza DVD – Type B

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Highlights from 2NE1TV Season 1 & 2"

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (2011) Peak position Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[27] 16 Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[27] Japanese version 1 Japanese Top Albums (Billboard)^[28] Japanese version 2 South Korean Albums (Gaon)^[29] 1 Taiwanese Albums (G-Music)^[20] 12 Taiwanese East Asian Albums (G-Music)^[19] 1 US World Albums (Billboard)^[30] 4 US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)^[21] 34

Monthly charts Chart (2011) Peak position Japanese Albums (Oricon) Japanese version 11 South Korean Albums (Gaon)^[17] 1 Year-end charts Chart (2011) Position South Korean Albums (Gaon)^[31] 14 Chart (2012) Position South Korean Albums (Gaon)^[32] 77

Sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Japan	—	57,000^[33]
South Korea	—	114,406^[22]

Release history

Release history and formats for 2NE1 2nd Mini Album

Region	Date	Edition(s)	Format(s)	Label(s)
Various^[34]	July 28, 2011	Korean	Digital download streaming	YG
South Korea			CD digital download streaming	KMP Holdings
Taiwan	August 26, 2011			Warner Music Taiwan
China
Japan	September 21, 2011	Japanese		YGEX
			CD+DVD
Thailand^[35]	October 7, 2011	Korean	CD	GMM Grammy
Philippines	May 26, 2012			YG Universal

References

1. "20 Best Pop Albums of 2011". Spin. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
2. Gil, Hye-seong (March 16, 2011). "양현석 "2NE1, 日안정되면 언제든 활동OK..韓활동먼저"" [Yang Hyun Suk: "2NE1, waiting until Japanese situation is stable"]. Star News (in Korean). Retrieved April 2, 2011 – via Nate News.
3. . Soribada. July 28, 2011. Archived from the original on February 15, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
4. Lee, Kyung-jin (August 3, 2011). "2NE1, 첫 단독 콘서트 '이번 곡 상상이상 힘들었어요'" [2NE1, first solo concert 'This song was harder than I imagined']. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). Retrieved March 16, 2024 – via Naver.
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNSyuHxkmts "Don't Cry" Performance
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLN4m9g0Yfs Inkigayo Interview
7. "The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s: Staff List". Billboard. November 25, 2019. from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
8. Glasby, Taylor (December 20, 2019). . British GQ. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
9. (in Japanese). Avex. Archived from the original on September 23, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
10. "투애니원 "일본서도 내가 제일 잘나가"". sports.donga.com (in Korean). September 21, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
11. SPIN's 20 Best Pop Albums of 2011 December 22, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2012
12. Bevan, David; Eddy, Chuck (June 1, 2012). "The 21 Greatest K-Pop Songs of All Time". Spin. from the original on February 7, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
13. Breihan, Tom (March 22, 2012). . Stereogum. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
14. "Les meilleurs albums de la décennie". FrancoMusique (in French). December 19, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
15. "Winners of 2011 Melon Music Awards". KBS World. November 24, 2011. from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
16. "2011년 32주차 Album Chart" [Gaon Album Chart: Week 32 of 2011]. Gaon Music Chart. from the original on May 6, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
17. "Gaon Album Chart – July 2011". Gaon Music Chart. from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
18. "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.
19. (in Chinese). G-Music. September 1, 2011. Archived from the original on September 6, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
20. "G-Music Combo Chart – Week 35 of 2011" (in Chinese). G-Music. September 1, 2011. from the original on September 6, 2011.
21. "Heatseekers Albums Chart". Billboard. August 13, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
22. Gaon Album Chart: 85,819 (2011) + 18,416 (2012) + 5,001 (2013) + 2,988 (2014) + 1,741 (2015) + 441 (Sept. 2016)
23. (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on October 18, 2013.
24. Jang, Hongjoong (December 30, 2011). [What was the song that touched your heart in 2011?]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
25. Kallen, Stuart A. (February 1, 2014). K-Pop: Korea's Musical Explosion. Twenty-First Century Books. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-4677-2042-7.
26. "2NE1 2nd Mini Album – EP by 2NE1 on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
27. "【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.
28. "Top Albums Sales – 2011/09/28". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). September 28, 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
29. "Gaon search – 2NE1" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
30. "2NE1 Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
31. "2011년 Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
32. "2012년 Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart.
33. "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree'] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
34. "2NE1 2nd Mini Album – EP by 2NE1". Apple Music.
35. "2NE1: The 2nd Mini Album (Thailand Edition)". BoomerangShop.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2012.

External links

• 2NE1 official site