Release Date: May 28, 2013
Track Listing
- The Baddest Female
Review
In May 2013, YG Entertainment announced that 2NE1’s CL would get a solo single. With 2NE1 being inactive after their 2012 promotion of their Collection album, many fans were salivating for any new material from the group, be it solo or as a unit.
The Baddest Female was initially named Bad Girls but was changed after Lee Hyori released a song using the same name. And to be honest, the title change is a much better representation of CL’s attitude.
The song is a mix of Hip-Hop, Dubstep and Electro. Released on May 28 as a digital-only single, it achieved an all-kill on Korean Music sites.
While that is nice, the song overall isn’t exactly as epic as its all-kill status makes it out to be. It does have the familiar 2NE1 swagger that fans are familiar with, but its execution makes it an acquired taste for most mainstream listeners.
The healthy dose of Dubstep and harder Hip-Hop beats will probably turn off those who wish for more of the standard K-Pop Electro that has been milked to death in recent years of the Hallyu wave’s popularity.
But give it a shot, and the song isn’t bad. Sure it’s not going to have any sing-a-long hooks but it’s not any worse than any other standard YG fare from 2013, and it was enough to keep 2NE1 fans happy until their return a month later.
The video, on the other hand, is rather revealing. Park Bom is arguable the sex pot of 2NE1, but CL makes a good case for herself here, showing a variety of looks that are atypical of what is usually seen when she’s in the group setting. The twin-tail loli look was incredibly hot (in my mind) for some reason. Just saying.
There is a noticeably large ode to American R&B/Hip-Hop culture throughout this video, which probably shouldn’t be surprising. Pay attention; you can see things normally found in the American Urban music video template. You know, all that played-out stuff that detractors of the genre always complain about.
Besides CL licking on a lollipop and being all jailbait-like, I also found the little bit of Destiny’s Child’s Soldier in the latter half interesting. The “thugs” in this section didn’t look as fruity as the normal males you see as backup dancers or eye candy. Butching them up at least made that scene credible. The sad thing is that the women still looked more like gangsters than the dudes throwing their hands up and representing.
