2NE1 tops major music charts with new album ‘Crush’

Popular K-pop girl group 2NE1 has returned to the music scene ― and with a powerful force.

The four-member hip-hop-infused girl group released their sophomore studio album “Crush” on Thursday, immediately sweeping all local real-time music charts.

The title track “Come Back Home” topped the music charts of major online music services such as Melon, Bugs Music, Naver Music, Daum Music, Cyworld Music, Soribada and Monkey3.

“Gotta Be You,” another title track, trailed behind closely at second place. Other songs from the album filled the rest of the top 10 list with singles such as “Crush” ― produced and written by the group’s leader CL ― “Baby I Miss You” and “Hope to Live” soaring on the charts.

“That a single group is dominating all of the major music charts ― and with several songs ― is a rare achievement in the music world, reaffirming 2NE1’s strength and potential,” said YG Entertainment in a press release on Thursday.

The title of 2NE1’s new album “Crush” embodies a dual meaning ― to destroy and to also fall madly for someone. The 10-track album features the group’s distinctive color and style that has pushed them to the forefront of the K-pop scene over the years.

The top-ranking title track “Come Back Home” is the result of a collaborative effort by YG’s main producer Teddy and other junior producers in the company. The song is a mash-up of different genres including R&B, reggae and hip-hop and features an addictive retro melody with a modern sound source.

2NE1 is scheduled to stage the first live performance of their new songs at the Olympic Handball Stadium in eastern Seoul on March 1-2.

By Sohn Ji-young (jiyoung.sohn@heraldcorp.com)