2NE1 (Pronounced To Anyone or Twenty One) is a four-member South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment in 2009. The band consists of CL, Minzy, Dara, and Bom. The name 2NE1 combines the phrases "21st century" and "new evolution".

First appearing in "Lollipop", a commercial campaign with Big Bang for LG Electronics, 2NE1's debut single "Fire" was released on May 6, 2009. Since then, the group has released two extended plays, 2NE1 and 2NE1 2nd Mini Album, and one studio album, To Anyone. Their first EP, 2NE1 spawned the number-one single "I Don't Care", which won them the "Song of the Year" award at the 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards. Their follow-up singles, such as "Go Away", "Lonely" and "I Am The Best" were similarly successful, with "I Am the Best" winning 2NE1 their second "Song of the Year" award in 2011.

2NE1 officially debuted in Japan in September 2011 with a mini album titled NOLZA, which contained re-made versions of the Korean songs featured on the group's 2nd Mini Album. Since then, the group has released one studio album, Collection, and two physical singles in Japan. 2NE1 are set to debut in the United States in 2013, with work on the group's debut English studio album beginning in 2010 withproducer will.i.am.

On April 30, YG Entertainment's CEO Yang Hyun Suk revealed that 2NE1's debut song would contain elements of hip-hop and reggae, and that it would be digitally released on May 6, 2009.Titled "Fire", the song was written and produced by 1TYM's Teddy Park.Teasers of the song were released on their official website at the beginning of May, with a 20-second clip released on May 1.

"I Don't Care" was released as the group's second single on July 1, 2009 along with the group's first mini-album.Promotions for their new release officially commenced in early July.Yang Hyun Suk stated that the song would demonstrate a softer, more feminine image of the group than illustrated by "Fire".A reggae version of "I Don't Care" was debuted with a performance onSBS's Inkigayo in September 2009, signaling the end of promotions for the song.Due to the remix's popularity, it was released to digital outlets on September 3, 2009, and became their next digital single.

In collaboration with Big Bang, 2NE1's first CF song "Lollipop", was digitally released on March 27, 2009.The song was created for LG to promote their Cyon phone. The music video was released on March 28, 2009. Although it was not a promoted single because it was an advertisement (there were problems with network chart eligibility), "Lollipop" went to number one on various online charts.and topped the online chart of music television network Mnet for four weeks in a row.