Biography

After dominating the K-pop scene with girl group 2NE1 in the early 2010s, singer Park Bom returned to her roots as a solo artist in 2019. That year, she issued a prolific string of singles, including the international hit "Spring," featuring former 2NE1 bandmate Sandara "Dara" Park. Born in Seoul in 1984, Park spent some time in the U.S. before launching her music career in the late 2000s. Signed with YG Entertainment, she made early appearances on Big Bang singles "We Belong Together" and "Forever with U." In 2009, the label decided to form a girl group, joining Park with CL, Dara, and Minzy. 2NE1 went on to become one of K-pop's biggest international exports, breaking the Japanese and U.S. markets with albums To Anyone and Crush, as well as the 2011 worldwide smash single "I Am the Best." On the solo front, Park began to branch out as early as 2009 with her hit single "You and I" (a spotlight track that featured on 2NE1's debut) and again in 2010 with the chart-topping "Don't Cry" (featured on 2011's 2NE1 EP). She also featured as a guest vocalist on a handful of songs with GD & TOP, G-Dragon, and Epik High. Landing in some legal trouble in 2014, she took a step back from the spotlight, appearing on reality television shows before rejoining 2NE1 for a series of farewell activities that preceded their official 2016 disbandment. After years of label shuffling, Park signed with D-Nation in 2018 and launched her comeback in early 2019 with the Dara-featuring hit "Spring." The track appeared on the Spring and re:BLUE ROSE EPs. Without losing momentum, Park joined the reality competition Queendom, issuing a pair of songs from the show including her covers of (G)I-DLE's "Hann (Alone)" and Taeyang's "Eyes, Nose, Lips." She closed her big year with another seasonal-themed duet with Dara, "The First Snow." ~ Neil Z. Yeung