Crush (2NE1 album)

Last updated

Crush
2NE1 CRUSH.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 27, 2014 (2014-02-27)
Recorded2012–2014
StudioYG Studios (Seoul)
Genre
Length35:06
LanguageKorean
Label
Producer
2NE1 chronology
Global Tour: New Evolution
(2012)
Crush
(2014)
World Tour Live CD (All or Nothing in Seoul)
(2014)
Singles from Crush
  1. "Come Back Home"
    Released: February 27, 2014
  2. "Gotta Be You"
    Released: February 27, 2014

Crush is the second and final studio album by South Korean girl group 2NE1. It was released on February 27, 2014, by YG Entertainment. The album marked the group's first Korean album release since 2NE1 2nd Mini Album (2011) and their first studio album in four years following To Anyone (2010). Crush was produced by Teddy, 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 from R&B, hip hop, dance, electronic, and reggae.

Contents

Crush received positive reviews from music critics who praised its production and composition; the record's innovation was particularly appreciated with its integration of various stylistic elements. Rolling Stone and Fuse listed Crush as one of the best albums released during the year worldwide. The album sold over 5,000 copies within four days in the US and debuted at number 61 on the Billboard 200, making it the best-selling and the highest charting Korean album in the country at the time. The Japanese edition of Crush was made available on June 25, 2014, and peaked at number four on the Oricon Albums Chart.

The lead single from the album, "Come Back Home", peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart for two consecutive weeks, becoming the group's ninth number-one single in South Korea. The second single, "Gotta Be You", was promoted on music program Inkigayo and peaked at number three on the Gaon Digital Chart. Shortly after the release of Crush, the group embarked on their final concert tour, the All or Nothing World Tour, which visited multiple countries in Asia.

Background and development

Following the success of 2NE1's debut studio-album To Anyone (2010), [1] rumors began to circulate about the group's second full-length Korean-language album. Prior to the release of the group's 2012 single "I Love You", YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk unveiled plans for 2NE1 to release a new single every three weeks, eventually leading up to a new album. [2] One year later in June 2013, however, Yang once again unveiled plans for the promotion of a series of songs leading up to a new album, supposedly to be released that October. [3] It was only until February 13, 2014, when YG officially confirmed via YG Life the release of 2NE1's second Korean-language studio album, titled Crush, for February 24. [4] The agency announced that the full-length album would instead consist of ten new tracks, with the exception of the Korean version of their Japanese single "Scream" (2012). [5]

"For this album, we pretty much locked ourselves up in the studio and gave it 100 percent. We've also grown a lot as women since our first album, and you'll be able to hear that on this record. Also, since I wrote a lot of the music, it's even more personal to us than our previous records."

–CL talking about Crush [6]

On February 19, 2014, it was announced that the release of the album would be postponed to two days later than originally intended, in order to coincide with the birthday of CL on the 26th. [7] At the same time, the tracklist for the album was unveiled, and it was announced that "Come Back Home" and "Gotta Be You" would serve as its two singles. The name of the former track sparked curiosity among fans due to Yang's former group Seo Taiji and Boys having a song of the same name (1995); in an interview with Vice , 2NE1 leader CL confirmed that the name of the song was in fact intended to pay homage to the former group, although the concept of the music video would remain different. [8] [9] Crush and its two singles were released for digital consumption at midnight local time on February 27, while the album was released physically on March 7, 2014. [10]

Promotion and release

The digital download of the album was originally scheduled for release on February 24, 2014, but was pushed back to February 27 to coincide with CL's birthday on February 26. Two music videos for its lead single "Come Back Home" were scheduled for release on February 28, although neither were released until March 2. [11] The music video for "Happy" was released on March 2. [11]

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. [12] 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, 2014. [11] On May 20, 2014, 2NE1 uploaded the music video for "Gotta Be You" on their YouTube channel in commemoration of their fifth anniversary of debut. [13] [14]

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 World Tour. [n 1] All editions have alternate covers.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Idology (positive) [15]
IZM Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [16]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [17]
Pitchfork 7.3/10 [18]
Weiv 7/10 [19]
Yahoo! Voices Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [20]

Crush received positive reviews from music critics. Rolling Stone named it the sixth best pop album of 2014—the only appearance from an Asian artist on the list, with Charles Aaron writing "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 [2NE1] keeps humming." He further highlighted the diversity of all its tracks, and identified "MTBD" as the album's centerpiece. [21] Fuse noted the group's "knack for genre-melding" and 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". They selected "Come Back Home", "Baby I Miss You" and "Gotta Be You" as the album standouts. [22] [23] The publication further included Crush in their year-end ranking of best 40 worldwide albums of 2014. [24]

Billboard ranked it the number one best K-pop album of the year, where they felt that it "proved more than worth the nearly-four-year wait" and highlighted the record's venture into new sonic territory with the fusion of different genres. [25] August Brown of Los Angeles Times stated that "'Crush' has one foot in each country's pop music: K-pop's neon melodies, with sounds from America's trap and bass-music scenes. It's the most coherent LP to come out of this generation of K-pop." [17] Writing for Pitchfork, Corban Goble commented 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." [18] Conversely, Jeon Min-seok of webzine IZM had a more critical stance, feeling that the songs from the record were not as great as those found in the group's earlier albums. [16]

Crush was chosen as the Favorite Girl Group Album on the "Girl Group Week Readers' Poll" hosted by Billboard in May 2014, beating albums by Girls Aloud, Little Mix, Destiny's Child and the Spice Girls. [26] Billboard named it the 18th greatest K-pop album of the 2010s decade while Paste named it the 20th greatest K-pop album of all time, with the latter calling it a worthwhile last album "to one of K-pop's most important girl groups." [27]

Commercial performance

Following its release, Crush sold over 5,000 copies within four days in the United States and debuted at number 61 on the Billboard 200. In doing so, the album broke two records: the best selling K-pop album in the country (the record has since been beaten by Exo's Exodus which sold 6,000 copies) and the highest-charting album by a Korean artist on the Billboard 200, which would hold the record for two and a half years. In the group's native country South Korea, the album debuted and peaked at number two on the Gaon Album Chart in the chart issue dated March 2–8, 2014. [28] According to Gaon's mid-year charts, the tracks from Crush have been downloaded over 5.2 million times; [29] however, it underperformed it terms of physical sales compared to the group's previous records. Due to its successful digital performance, it landed their fourth nomination for Album of the Year at the 2014 Melon Music Awards. [30]

Controversy

CL performing edited version of "MTBD" on the tour in Jakarta CL AON 2014 Jakarta 5.png
CL performing edited version of "MTBD" on the tour in Jakarta

Listeners accused the sixth track, "MTBD", 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. [31]

Accolades

Awards and nominations for Crush
OrganizationYearCategoryResultRef.
Bugs Music Awards 2014Top 10 AlbumsWon [32]
Melon Music Awards 2014 Album of the Year Nominated [30]
Best R&B / Soul Song (for "If I Were You")Nominated
Philippine K-pop Awards2014Album of the YearWon [33]
Golden Disc Awards 2015 Album BonsangNominated
Red Dot Design Awards 2015Best Communication DesignWon [34]
Crush on critic rankings
PublicationListRankRef.
Billboard The 10 Best K-pop Albums of 20141 [25]
The 40 Best K-pop Deep Cuts of the Decade ("MTBD")2 [35]
The 25 Greatest K-pop Albums of the 2010s18 [36]
Fuse Best 40 Albums of 2014 [24]
Paste The 30 Greatest K-pop Albums of All Time20 [27]
Rolling Stone 20 Best Pop Albums of 20146 [21]
Vice The 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2014 ("If I Were You")7 [37]

Track listing

Korean edition

Crush track list
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Crush"CLCL, Choice 37 Choice 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;lit. I Wish I Could Live (That Way)CLCL, Dee.PDee.P3:30
5."Good to You" (착한 여자;Chakhan Yeoja;lit. Kind Woman)Teddy, G-DragonTeddy, Choice 37Choice 373:41
6."MTBD" (CL solo; 멘붕;Menbung;lit. Mental Breakdown)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 Wu Choi 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) 

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Crush. [38]

Recording

Charts

Sales

Sales for Crush
Region Sales amount
Japan36,000 [52]
South Korea71,236 [53]
United States10,000 [54]

Release history

Release dates and formats for Crush
RegionDateVersion(s)Format(s)Label(s)
VariousFebruary 27, 2014Korean
South Korea
March 7, 2014 CD
JapanMarch 19, 2014
  • CD
  • digital download
  • streaming
YGEX
PhilippinesMarch 29, 2014CD Warner Music Philippines
TaiwanApril 3, 2014
  • CD+Pendant (Black edition)
  • CD+DVD (Pink edition)
Warner Music Taiwan
JapanJune 25, 2014Japanese
  • Digital download
  • streaming
YGEX
CD
CD+DVD
2CD+DVD

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References

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