On the eve of their 2NE1 New Evolution World Tour in Singapore, KAvenyou met up with the bubbly 2NE1 girls for their concert press conference, where they shared details of their upcoming plans, their unforgettable experiences with their Blackjacks and about their own 2NE1 style!
Q: How does it feel like to be back in Singapore again?
CL: Well, I think it’s our third time, or our fourth time here. We’re very very happy to come back and we loveSingapore, and this time it’s for our show so we’re very excited.
Q: How do you stay in shape with such a fully packed schedule?
CL: Actually, we’re on tour so it’s easier because we spend a lot of energy to do all these travelling. So it’s actually easier when we’re on tour, and harder when we’re just staying in Korea!
Q: When you do have some free time, what do you guys do to relax and enjoy yourselves?
CL: Well, I think we’re all different, so for me – I don’t know, I’m not good at relaxing, I’m a workaholic!
Dara: I will spend some quality cat time, I love spending time with my cat at home! (Emcee: So what’s your cat’s name?) Dadoongie! Do you know Thunder? He’s my brother and his Korean name is Chundoong, so its name is Dadoongie!
Bom: I eat!
Minzy: I like knitting during my free time!
Q: What do you miss most from home when you’re away travelling?
CL: I think Dara should answer this question because she’s homesick all the time.
Dara: I miss my family and my cat!
CL: She is the one that misses the food mostly…
Q: With each image transformation that you guys go through, do you feel that you’ve grown and matured in terms of your dance style and music?
CL: Of course! I think from our debut we did, and I think that’s our goal, everyday to improve and get inspired and to change. But definitely when we’re on tour, when we’re on stage, we’ll get inspired and we do a lot.
Q: Being fashion icons, is there any person or place that you get your fashion inspiration from for your everyday dressing?
CL: Well, thank you first of all (laughs) I think the four of us have different styles. But mostly as 2NE1, we get inspired from our music!
Q: Can you share any upcoming plans that you might have in the near future?
CL: Actually this tour in Singapore is our last tour for our 2NE1 New Evolution Global Tour, and we’re working on an album right now, so hopefully you guys can see it next year!
Q: Which is your favourite song from your current album?
CL: Actually, our Korean album was last year so it’s really hard to pick a song – I think it will be I Am The Best! We don’t have a favourite song actually – we love all of our songs!
Q: How would you actually describe your music?
CL: I never liked describing my music or how 2NE1 is, because we wanna be just spontaneous and changingall the time. I don’t want us to be defined.
Q: Have any acting opportunities come up for any one of you or as a band?
Dara: Yes, I would love to try acting because I used to be an actress in the Philippines before, so I really miss it. Acting is really fun because I can be anybody I wanna be and I can slap someone’s face – I can’t do that in real life!
Q: If you guys weren’t 2NE1, what do you guys will possibly be doing right now?
CL: Before we became 2NE1, we were actually preparing for our solo albums, so I think we will still be doing music anyway, because we love music.
Q: Let’s make it harder! If you’re not doing music, then what will you do?
CL: (No!) Well, it could be shocking, but when I was a little girl, I wanted to be a nun.
Dara: I never thought of doing anything else, but maybe an actress or a housewife.
Bom: Yeah, I never thought of other stuff. I wanted to be a singer always!
Minzy: I wanted to be a poet!
Q: Being away on tour must be hard on you guys, so how do you stay connected to your family?
CL: Well, we have our phones. (Emcee: Skype?) Yes!
Q: Any messages for the Singapore Blackjacks who have been waiting for so long for this (2NE1′s solo concert) to finally happen?
CL: Actually, we’ve been waiting so long to come to Singapore and have our own show and meet our Blackjacks here, so we’re very excited and I know how energetic they are. So we’re very happy to be here and I hope we can have some fun tomorrow!
Q: What’s your favorite form of social media – Twitter, Facebook?
CL: We have a 2NE1 Facebook, and the 3 of them have Twitters, so it’s hard to be connected to me… but you could always go through the other members and I’ll be checking through them!
Q: 2NE1 had a very successful stint in the US. Did you expect this level of international recognition when you first started?
CL: That wasn’t our plan to be international, but we did what we love and stuck to it.
Q: How would you guys explain the Kpop phenomenon across the world, breaking all language barriers and transcending the music as dance as well? What would you say was the secret of Kpop’s success?
CL: I think it’s passion, because Korea right now is very passionate about music, art and everything cultural, so it’s passion.
Q: What advice would you have to fans aspiring to be a pop star/singer, from your career experience so far?
CL: I will tell them to never give up, for there will be your time, if you stick into it, love it and have passion for it.
Q: What’s the most special thing that fans have done for you that you feel touched?
CL: It’s actually a hard question, but for me, I like simple things like when I’m home on New Year’s or Christmas or my birthday, they will send me cards and letters. Those simple things that I could do when no one’s around, I’m very touched when I see that.
Dara: It’s really hard to pick one, but I remember this box full of noodles from all over the world!
Bom: It’s really a hard question for me! There was one girl who was wearing a costume that I really liked, calledPoong Poongie. That’s a character I really liked and she wore exactly the same thing!
Minzy: During the concert while I was singing a song, there was this Blackjack holding up my fanboard and I was touched.
Q: How do you guys prepare for your concerts and tours – what rituals do you all do?
Bom: I prepare energy to eat!
Q: How much time do you take to start preparation for the tour?
CL: I think we’ve prepared for 2 months full, and I think we learnt a lot and worked with great people.
Q: What can we expect tomorrow at the 2NE1 tour?
CL: They just need to be ready to have fun with us!
We would like to thank Singtel for inviting us to cover 2NE1 New Evolution Global Tour 2012 in Singapore, and Launch Group for the holding the concert in Singapore.
