This week we’re featuring a throwback track from 2NE1’s early discography, which is none other than their debut number ‘Fire’. It was released on May 6 in 2009, making 2NE1 the first girl group to emerge from the depths of YG Entertainment.
Though this was their first official release as a group, a few months prior they were featured in a collaborative track ‘Lollipop’ with labelmates BIGBANG. It helped spark interest towards the girl group as the general public tuned in to see what they could bring to the turbulent world of Korean music.
Bursting onto the scene with ‘Fire’ for their global stage, the song topped the major charts in Korea and became a hit for the girl group. The producer, Teddy Park, would be responsible for creating numerous hit tracks throughout 2NE1’s career.
The initial wave of success may have had something to do with a possible gap in the market that the YG girl group was able to fit into, they provided the general public a taste of something different. 2NE1 projected an image of being fierce and not being afraid to speak their minds.
With CL’s opening monologue at the start, it exhibits her charisma and confidence as the leader of the group. It’s a high-energy dance centric and even nearly ten years down the line, it has aged well over time. If anything, 2NE1’s last stage performance at MAMA 2015 had shown how to keep their songs relevant.
There were two parts released of the music video for ‘Fire which included the ‘Space’ and ‘Street‘ edited versions respectively. The former boasted of bright, fluorescent sets giving each of the girls their very own stages in the solo scenes. And the latter had more of a focus on the choreography of the song.
Both videos were directed by Seo Hyunseung, who has also helped to curate a substantial number of M/V’s from other YG groups such as BIGBANG, iKON and BLACKPINK.
The videos were reported to have received one million views within at least the first day that it was uploaded, which was regarded as quite a feat back in 2009. It was back during the time when K-Pop was starting to crop up on the radar on a global scale which in turn helped to garner their international fanbase
A group’s debut gives them the opportunity to showcase their potential and for 2NE1, the success of ‘Fire’ was only the beginning.
