Crush (2NE1 album)
Crush is the second and final Korean studio album and third and final studio album overall by South Korean girl group 2NE1. The single was released digitally at midnight local time on February 14, 2014. It is the group's first album release since 2011's 2nd Mini Album and second full-length album following 2010's To Anyone. Production of the album was handled mainly by Teddy with contributions from Choice 37, Dee.P, Masta Wu, Choi Pil Kang and Peejay as well as the group's leader, CL. Lyrics were written mainly by Teddy Park and CL, with contributions from Big Bang's G-Dragon and Choi Pil Kang. The album is classified as pop, but features elements of other genres, such as R&B, dance, hip hop, reggae and electronic music. This was 2NE1's last release to feature Minzy as a member of the group before her departure in 2016.
Crush was named the sixth best pop album of 2014 by Rolling Stone and one of the best 40 pop albums of 2014 by Fuse. The album also ranked at number 11 on Billboard's Year-End World Albums list, marking the first time a k-pop band has placed on the chart since its inception.
Background
On January 15, 2014, a poster for the group's upcoming was revealed on their agency's website, with hints about a new album. 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.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. The album in physical format was released on March 7. The music video for "Happy" was released on March 2.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. 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. On May 20, 2NE1 released the music video for "Gotta Be You".
Reception
The album sold over 5,000 copies in the United States, and charted at number 61 on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release. In doing so, the album broke two records: the Best-Selling K-Pop Album and the Highest-Charting K-Pop album on the Billboard 200, beating the records previously held by Big Bang's EP Alive and Girls' Generation-TTS's EP Twinkle, respectively. 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, as well as being listed by FUSE as one of the "25 Best Albums Of 2014 So Far", alongside artist like Coldplay, Michael Jackson, Pharrell Williams and Mariah Carey.According to Gaon's mid-year charts, the tracks from Crush have been downloaded over 5.2 million times.
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."
Fuse also named the album one of the best 40 pop albums of 2014, stating 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."
Controversy
Listeners accused the sixth track, "MTBD 멘붕" 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.Japanese edition
The Japanese edition of Crush was released on March 17, 2014. The Limited Edition 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 contains the DVD and Japanese version of the album while the Standard Edition contains only the Japanese version of the album, without the DVD. The Fan Club Special Edition 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. All editions have alternate covers.Track listing
Korean edition
Japanese edition
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Crush.2NE1
- Bom – vocals
- CL – vocals
- Dara – vocals
- Minzy – vocals
- Kim Hae-young – art direction, artwork and design
- Lee Hae-rin – artwork and design
- Jang Ye-ji – artwork and design
- Kim Young-joon – photography
- Jason Robert – mixing
- Lee Kyung-joon – producer, recording
- Shing Sung-kwan – recording
- Lee Ji-hoon – recording
- Tom Coyne – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City
- Yang Hyun-suk – executive producer
- Teddy Park – producer
- Kim Nam-gook – management
- Kim Se-ho – management
- Park Heon-pyo – management
- Son Ji-hoon – management
- Kim Ji-yeon – assistant and promotion design
- Park Hyun-ah – assistant and promotion design
- Jung Ye-eun – assistant and promotion design
- Choi Hae-ryung – assistant and promotion design
- Kim Byung-goo – production strategy
- Kim Sun-young – production strategy
- Kim Jae-yeon – production strategy
- Kim Ju-ran – production strategy
- Shin Sung-jin – project director
Charts
Weekly charts
Monthly charts
Year-end charts
Sales and certifications
Japanese edition
Awards and nominations
Release history
Korean version
Japanese version
| Date | Version | Catalog No. | Format | Label |
| Type A | AVCY-58236~7/B | 2CD+DVD+Photobook | Avex | |
| Type B | AVCY-58238/B | CD+DVD | Avex | |
| Type C | AVCY-58239 | CD only | Avex | |
| Type D | AVC1-58240/B | CD+DVD | Avex | |
| Music Card Type A | AQZ1-76335 | Digital download | Avex | |
| Music Card Type B | AQZ1-76336 | Digital download | Avex |