CL

CL is a South Korean rapper and singer. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she spent much of her early life in Japan and France. She debuted and rose to fame as the leader of the girl group 2NE1 in 2009, which went on to become one of the most popular South Korean girl groups worldwide. As a solo artist, CL made her debut with the single "The Baddest Female" in May 2013 and released the solo track "MTBD" in February 2014 as part of 2NE1's final studio album Crush. Following the group's hiatus at the turn of 2015, CL pursued a solo career with the release of the standalone singles "Hello Bitches" (2015) and "Lifted" (2016). The latter single led CL to become the first female Korean solo artist to place onto the Billboard Hot 100, and the third Korean artist to do so overall. In November 2016, YG announced the disbandment of 2NE1 after nearly two years of hiatus, and CL subsequently remained under the label. Shortly after leaving YG in December 2019, she released her solo EP project In the Name of Love (2019), consisting of six tracks written during the three years since her previous single "Lifted". Her debut studio album, Alpha, was released in October 2021. CL ranked 2nd and 25th on the readers polls for Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2015 and 2016, respectively. She appeared on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list (2019) and was named amongst the best girl group members of all time by The Guardian. Beyond the field of music, she is recognized as a style icon by numerous publications worldwide.