Time Magazine has recognized the popularity of K-pop
By Brooke Bigda
Comment Columnist
Time Magazine wanted to hear the opinions of their readers of who they believe are the most influential people in the world, including celebrities, actors, musicians, politicians, and activists. For over two weeks, Time Magazine allowed their readers to vote for their favorite celebrities online to be on their list of top 100 of 2015.
According to their results, K-pop artist and leader of the girl group 2ne1, CL, has been on the top of the list since the voting began. What’s particularly interesting about the rankings is looking at the other celebrities on the list.
Although she came in a close second to Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, CL had the highest number of votes since the beginning. Not only did she make 1st place over the last few weeks, CL received more votes than Taylor Swift, Dalai Lama, Lady Gaga, and even President Barack Obama. It’s incredible that her votes from her dedicated fans have more than American artists and before the debut of her American album.
Working with popular artists, including Diplo, Skrillex, and Will.i.am, CL will have no problem with gaining more American fans. Not to mention her incredible voice, talent and unique sense of style will be getting her a lot more attention in the U.S.
Born as Lee Chaerin, the 24 year old is from Seoul, South Korea. Although she was born in Seoul, she and her family traveled all over the world most of her life. CL adopted many different cultures and languages, including English, French, and Japanese. Being fluent in English is definitely a plus for debuting an album in America.
CL started her journey as a singer and rapper at YG Entertainment in 2006 as a trainee, where she was trained by professionals to help her grow into an incredible performer. In 2009, she was introduced to the world as the leader of girl group 2ne1, along with her group members, Park Bom, Dara, and Minzy.
Since the debut of their first album, 2ne1 became a phenomenon in all over the world. Their most popular single “I am The Best” even played in a Microsoft ad in 2014, and played at U.S. radio stations in New York and Boston. To top it off, they have become such a success, that the YG ladies were one of the only two K-Pop artists that placed in the YouTube Music Video awards of 2015.
CL is also an amazing solo artist, but that doesn’t mean that the band is breaking up. In fact, while she is working, the other ladies are taking a break from all their hard work and Dara has been getting into acting roles in television dramas. They do have plans to work together in the future.
When mentioning her album, CL has been dropping some major hints about collaborations with the Black Eyed Peas and Florence and the Machine. CL has been seen in the States hanging out with Pharrell, Rita Ora, and bestie and designer Jeremy Scott.
With 2.1 million followers on Instagram, 397k followers on Twitter, and her group having over 8.8 million likes on Facebook, it’s no wonder why more people voted for CL with 6.9% of the vote out of all these inspirational individuals. In fact, 79% individually voted for CL to be on Time’s top 100.
Clearly 2ne1’s fan club, Blackjacks, has done its part on supporting their idol. By using hashtags and retweeting the news on social media, fans were able to spread the word on voting for CL and showing their support.
Now that the voting has ended, we can now see where the K-pop diva stands in whether or not she will succeed in the U.S. Being that Time is an American publication, not only is this a sign that she will succeed, but that this will give her more publicity and anticipation for her upcoming album.
Brooke Bigda is a Comment Columnist. Follow her on Twitter @bbiggs900.
