Crush (2NE1 album)

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Crush
2NE1 CRUSH.jpg
Studio album by
2NE1
ReleasedFebruary 27, 2014 (2014-02-27)
June 25, 2014 (2014-06-25) (Japanese version)
Recorded2012–14
Genre
Length35:06 (Korean) and 36:12 (Japanese)
LanguageKorean
Label
ProducerTeddy
2NE1 chronology
Global Tour: New Evolution
(2012) 		Crush
(2014) 		World Tour Live CD (All or Nothing in Seoul
(2014)
Singles from Crush
  1. "I Love You (Japanese version)"
    Released: September 19, 2012
  2. "Come Back Home"
    Released: February 27, 2014
  3. "Gotta Be You"
    Released: February 27, 2014
  4. "Crush (Japanese version)"
    Released: June 25, 2014
Japanese edition cover
CD only and digital download editions cover
CD only and digital download editions cover

Crush (stylized as CRUSH) is the second Korean-language, third and final studio album overall by South Korean girl group 2NE1. It was released at midnight local time on February 27, 2014 through YG Entertainment. The album marked the group's first official album release since Nolza in 2011 and the first studio album following To Anyone in four years. Crush was primarily produced by Teddy Park with additional contributions from Choice 37, Dee.P, Masta Wu, Choi Pil-kang and Peejay, as well as group leader CL. Stylistically, the album incorporates a broad range of musical influences, utilizing a variety of genres such as R&B, hip hop, dance, electronic, and reggae.

Crush received widespread positive reviews from music critics, who highlighted its modern electronic innovation and was further listed as one of the best albums of the year worldwide by Rolling Stone and Fuse. Commercially, the album peaked at number 2 on the Gaon Album Chart as well as on the US Billboard World Albums. Crush sold over 5,000 copies within a week in the US and debuted at number 61 on the Billboard 200—simultaneously becoming the best-selling K-pop album and the highest charting record on the Billboard 200 by an Asian artist, at the time of its release. The Japanese edition of Crush was made available on June 25, 2014 and went on to peak at number 4 on the Oricon Albums Chart.

The first single from the album—"Come Back Home"—peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart for two weeks, becoming the group's ninth number-one hit in South Korea. "Gotta Be You" was also chosen for promotions on weekend music shows, and peaked at number 3. Shortly after the release of Crush, 2NE1 commenced their All Or Nothing World Tour to promote the album internationally.

Background[]

On January 15, 2014, a poster for the group's upcoming All or Nothing World Tour was revealed on their agency's website, with hints about a new album.[1] On February 19, it was revealed the album would contain of a total of 10 songs. All of the songs are new, except two; Scream, which was previously featured on their 2012 Japanese language album Collection and an Acoustic Version of the album's title track. It was further revealed that the group's leader CL co-composed and wrote lyrics for three and five songs respectively, a first for the group.[2]

Promotion and release[]

The digital download of the album was originally slated for release on midnight local time on February 24, 2014, but was pushed back to midnight local time on February 27, 2014, to coincide with CL's birthday on February 26. Two music videos for its lead single "Come Back Home" were planned for release on February 28: a regular version and an unplugged version, although they were not formally released until March 2.[3] The album in physical format was released on March 7.[4][5] The music video for "Happy" was released on March 2.[3]

Prior to the release of the album, 2NE1 held a private listening party for a group of 21 people selected from fans and music experts.[6] It was revealed the new songs would be showcased for the first time at the opening dates of the group's All or Nothing world tour in Seoul, South Korea on March 1 and 2.[3] On May 20, 2NE1 released the music video for "Gotta Be You".[7][8]

Reception[]

Crush was met with both commercial and critical success following its release. The album sold over 5,000 copies in the United States, and charted at number 61 on the Billboard 200 in its first week. In doing so, the album broke two records: the Best-Selling K-Pop Album (the record has since been beaten by EXO's album Exodus which sold 6,000 copies)[9] and the Highest-Charting K-Pop album on the Billboard 200, beating the records previously held by Big Bang's EP Alive (4,100 copies) and Girls' Generation-TTS's EP Twinkle (which had peaked at number 126), respectively.[10] The album was also chosen as the 'Favorite Girl Group Album' on the "Girl Group Week Readers' Poll" hosted by Billboard, beating Girls Aloud, Little Mix, Destiny's Child and Spice Girls album,[11] as well as being listed by Fuse as one of the "25 Best Albums Of 2014 So Far", alongside artist such as Coldplay, Michael Jackson, Pharrell Williams and Mariah Carey.[12] According to Gaon's mid-year charts, the tracks from Crush have been downloaded over 5.2 million times.[13]

The album was named the sixth best pop album of 2014 by Rolling Stone, who says "Almost two years after K-pop first giddily barged into America's imagination, the genre hasn't sustained a post-"Gangnam Style" wave, but the Seoul machine keeps humming. Female foursome 2NE1, buoyed by a cameo on The Bachelor, moved more units of their album in its first week of release than any previous Korean act. That was about it for sales records, but the album itself was no stiff; in fact, it's a canny downshift from the wigged-out "I Am the Best" maximalist mash-ups of the past. "Happy" is a sunny, strummy jaunt with no manic gimmicks and the ballad "Good to You" soars and sweet-talks likably. But Crush's centerpiece is "MTBD," which spotlights group member CL on a bratty squirt of EDM-hip-pop with a bubblegum trap groove."[14]

Fuse also named the album one of the best 40 pop albums of 2014, making 2NE1 the only Asian artist to have appeared on the year-end list. Fuse wrote that "After fans waited nearly four years for their second full-length album, the K-pop phenoms did not disappoint with a slew of forward-thinking, wholly-accessible tracks. Crush proves 2NE1's knack for genre-melding from the start, opening with the title track that blends Indian tabla drums and switchboard-button buzzing, followed by the reggae/trap-hybrid single "Come Back Home." Group leader and head rapper CL even takes center stage on the incredible solo track "MTBD," which sounds like an upgraded version of DJ Snake's "Turn Down for What."[12]

Pitchfork rated the album with 7.3, becoming the highest rated Korean female album on the magazine tied with F(x)’s 4 Walls and Twice’s Taste of Love.[15] Corban Goble wrote for Pitchfork that “The brash all-female Korean pop supergroup 2NE1's new album, Crush, bottles up contemporary trends as well as their usual EDM/reggae/hip-hop/R&B stylemash. But it represents a sleeker, more refined vision for the group.”[16]

CL performing edited version of "MTBD" on the tour in Jakarta

Controversy[]

Listeners accused the sixth track, "MTBD 멘붕(Mental Breakdown)" of having an audio sample of a young boy reciting Quran verses. This struck social media by storm amongst 2NE1's Muslim listeners, with even death threats being posted on both the group's and CL's social media pages. Because of this controversy, YG Entertainment released an alternate version of "MTBD" which omits the sample.[17]

Japanese edition[]

The Japanese edition of Crush was released on June 25, 2014. The Limited Edition (Type A) contains the both Japanese and Korean versions of the album on 2 CD's, as well as a bonus DVD with music video clips and "making of Crush". The Special Edition (Type B) contains the DVD and Japanese version of the album while the Standard Edition (Type C) contains only the Japanese version of the album, without the DVD. The Fan Club Special Edition (Type D) has DVD footage of a fan club event from 2013. The Music Cards also contain information from the group's 2014 All or Nothing tour.[n 1] All editions have alternate covers.

Track listing[]

Korean edition[]

No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Crush"CLCL, Choice 37Choice 373:14
2."Come Back Home"TeddyTeddy, P.K, Dee.PTeddy, P.K, Dee.P3:50
3."Gotta Be You" (너 아님 안돼; Neo Anim Andwae)Teddy, Masta WuTeddy, P.KP.K3:52
4."If I Were You" (살아 봤으면 해; Sara Bwasseumyeon Hae)CLCL, Dee.PDee.P3:30
5."Good to You" (착한 여자; Chakhan Yeoja)Teddy, G-DragonTeddy, Choice 37Choice 373:41
6."MTBD (Mental Breakdown)" (멘붕; Menbung; CL solo)Teddy, CLTeddyTeddy3:16
7."Happy"TeddyTeddyTeddy3:37
8."Scream" (Korean version)CLTeddy, Dee.PDee.P3:40
9."Baby I Miss You"CLCL, Choice 37, PeejayChoice 37, Peejay3:12
10."Come Back Home" (Unplugged version)TeddyTeddy, P.K, Dee.PTeddy, P.K, Dee.P3:14
Total length:35:06

Japanese edition[]

Crush – Standard version
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Crush"Sunny BoyCL, Choice 37Choice 373:14
2."Come Back Home"Teddy, Sunny BoyTeddy, P.K, Dee.PTeddy, P.K, Dee.P3:49
3."Gotta Be You"Teddy, Masta Wu, Sunny BoyTeddy, Masta WuChoi Pil Kang3:51
4."Do You Love Me"Teddy, Sunny BoyTeddy 3:35
5."Happy"Teddy, Sunny BoyTeddy 3:37
6."Falling in Love"Teddy, Choice37, Sunny BoyTeddy 3:46
7."I Love You"Teddy, Sunny Boy, Tatsuji Ueda, Izumi Soratani, KeisukeTeddy, Lydia Paek 3:57
8."If I Were You"Ritsuko TanifujiCL, Dee.PDee.P3:30
9."Missing You"Teddy, Tatsuji UedaTeddy 3:39
10."Come Back Home" (Unplugged version)Teddy, Sunny BoyTeddy, P.K, Dee.PTeddy, P.K, Dee.P3:14
Total length:36:12
Crush Type A – CD (Disc 2: Korean edition)
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Crush"CLCL, Choice 37Choice 373:14
2."Come Back Home"TeddyTeddy, P.K, Dee.PTeddy, P.K, Dee.P3:50
3."Gotta Be You" (너 아님 안돼; Neo Anim Andwae)Teddy, Choi Pil KangTeddy, Masta WuChoi P.K3:52
4."If I Were You" (살아 봤으면 해; Sara Bwasseumyeon Hae)CLCL, Dee.PDee.P3:30
5."Good to You" (착한 여자; Chakhan Yeoja)Teddy, G-DragonTeddy, Choice 37Choice 373:41
6."MTBD (CL solo)" (멘붕; Menbung)Teddy, CLTeddyTeddy3:16
7."Happy"TeddyTeddyTeddy3:37
8."Scream" (Korean version)CLTeddy, Dee.PDee.P3:40
9."Baby I Miss You"CLCL, Choice 37, PeejayChoice 37, Peejay3:12
10."Come Back Home" (Unplugged version)TeddyTeddy, P.K, Dee.PTeddy, P.K, Dee.P3:14
Crush Type A and Type B – DVD (Japanese music videos)
No.TitleLength
1."Crush" (music videos) 
2."Come Back Home" (music videos) 
3."Gotta Be You" (music videos) 
4."Happy" (music videos) 
5."Missing You" (music videos) 
6."Do You Love Me" (music videos) 
7."Falling in Love" (music videos) 
8."I Love You" (music videos) 
9."Making of Crush" 
Crush Type D – DVD (Fan Club Limited Edition)
No.TitleLength
1."2NE1 1st FANCLUB EVENT 2013 ～DO YOU LOVE ME～" (only sale for Blackjack Nolza Shop) 

Personnel[]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Crush.[18]

Charts[]

Sales and certifications[]

Region Sales
Japan (Oricon) 7,000[25]
South Korea (Gaon) 72,514[26]
United States (Nielsen SoundScan) 10,000[27]

Japanese edition[]

Region Sales
Japan (Oricon) 30,000

Awards and nominations[]

Year Awards Category Nominee/work Result
2014 Bugs Music Awards Top 10 Album Crush Won
MTV Iggy Awards Song of the Year "Gotta Be You" Won
Gaon Chart Music Awards Song of the Year (March) "Come Back Home" Won
Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Female Group Nominated
Melon Music Awards Best Electronica Song Won
Album of the Year Crush Nominated
Best R&B Song "If I Were You" Nominated
Crush on year-end lists
Critic/Publication List Rank Ref.
Billboard The 10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2014 1 [28]
Fuse Best 40 Pop Albums of 2014 – [12]
KultScene Top 20 K-pop Albums of 2014 10 [29]
Rolling Stone 20 Best Pop Albums of 2014 6 [14]

Release history[]

Korean version[]

Region Date Label Format
South Korea February 27, 2014 YG Entertainment
KT Music 		Digital download
March 7, 2014 CD
Japan March 19, 2014 YGEX
Avex Trax 		CD, Digital Download
Taiwan April 3, 2014 Warner Music Taiwan CD+Pendant (Black)
CD+DVD (Pink)
Philippines March 29, 2014 Warner Music Philippines CD

Japanese version[]

Date Version Catalog No. Format Label
June 25, 2014 Type A AVCY-58236~7/B[n 1] 2CD+DVD+Photobook Avex
Type B AVCY-58238/B[n 1] CD+DVD
Type C AVCY-58239[n 1] CD only
Type D AVC1-58240/B[n 1] CD+DVD
Music Card Type A AQZ1-76335[n 1] Digital download
Music Card Type B AQZ1-76336[n 1] Digital download

References[]

Discography

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "DISCOGRAPHY". 2NE1(トゥエニィワン) Japan official website (in Japanese). Retrieved June 4, 2014.

Other references

  1. ^ "2NE1 – All or Nothing". YG Life. January 15, 2014.
  2. ^ "2NE1 – New album CRUSH Tracklist". YG-Life. February 19, 2014.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Hong Gil-dong (March 3, 2014). "2NE1 releases videos for 'Come Back Home,' 'Happy'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  4. ^ "News about 2NE1: Part 2". YG Life. February 19, 2014.
  5. ^ Benjamin, Jeff (February 18, 2014). "2NE1 Announces Full-Length Album 'Crush,' New Singles Details (Updated)". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  6. ^ "2NE1 Invites 21 Fans to Their Private Music-Listening Event before Comeback". YG Life. February 18, 2014.
  7. ^ Choi Hyun-Jung (May 24, 2014). "Billboard MV of 2NE1's 'Gotta Be You'". Yahoo Entertainment. Singapore. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  8. ^ Benjamin, Jeff (March 15, 2014). "2NE1 Embraces Pop Art in 'Gotta Be You' Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  9. ^ "EXO Ousts 2NE1 as K-Pop Act with Biggest Sales Week, Sets New Records on Billboard". Soompi. April 17, 2015.
  10. ^ "2NE1 Sets New U.S. Record for Highest-Charting, Best-Selling K-Pop Album With 'Crush'". Billboard. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  11. ^ "2NE1, Spice Girls and Fifth Harmony Dominates Girl Group Week". May 3, 2014.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b c "2NE1's album 'Crush' named among Fuse TV's top 25 albums of 2014". The Korea Herald. June 18, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  13. ^ "2NE1 Charts 6 Songs on GAON 2014 Mid-Year Charts + Reaches 5.2 Million Downloads". YG Ladies. July 18, 2014. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b Aaron, Charles; Ganz, Caryn; Johnston, Maura; Spanos, Brittany; Walters, Barry (December 19, 2014). "20 Best Pop Albums of 2014". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  15. ^ "Pitchfork's Best K-Pop Albums of All Time". Album of The Year. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  16. ^ "2NE1: Crush". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  17. ^ "CL Receiving Death Threats From Alleged Muslims For Possible 'MTBD' Quran Verse On 2NE1 'Crush' Album". KPopStarz. March 10, 2014.
  18. ^ Crush (booklet) (in Korean). 2NE1. YG Entertainment. 2014.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ "2014年06月23日～2014年06月29日のCDアルバム週間ランキング". Oricon Style (in Japanese). July 7, 2014.
  20. ^ "Gaon Album Chart". Gaon Chart. March 3, 2014. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  21. ^ "2ne1 Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  22. ^ "2ne1 Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  23. ^ "2ne1 Chart History (World Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  24. ^ "2014 Year-End Charts – Billboard World Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  25. ^ "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree']. Oricon. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  26. ^ "2014년 Album Chart" [2014 year album chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  27. ^ Benjamin, Jeff. "Will a K-Pop Girl Group Take Over the U.S. Soon (Or Ever)?". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  28. ^ "The 10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2014". Billboard. December 11, 2014.
  29. ^ "Top 20 K-Pop Albums of 2014". KultScene. December 30, 2014.

External links[]

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