The members of K-pop girl group 2NE1 reunited at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Screenshot from YouTube livestream
MANILA (UPDATE) — South Korean girl group 2NE1 on Sunday staged a reunion performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the United States, nearly 6 years after disbanding.
The quartet surprised music fans when Minzy, Bom and Dara (who is more known to Filipinos as Sandara Park) suddenly appeared at Coachella to join their leader CL in performing the band's 2011 hit "I Am The Best."
Prior to this, CL was the only 2NE1 member who was expected to perform at Coachella, one of the most popular music and arts festival held annually in California.
CL was part of the "Head in the Clouds Forever" lineup of 88rising, a music company that focuses on Asian and Asian-American artists.
The performance served as a finale for both CL's set and "Head in the Clouds Forever."
The lineup also included Hong Kong-born singer-rapper Jackson Wang, Korean singer BIBI, Japanese-American singer Utada Hikaru, and Indonesian artists NIKI and Rich Brian, among others.
The members of K-pop girl group 2NE1 reunited at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Screenshot from YouTube livestream
The group's performance set the internet ablaze, with "2NE1" topping Twitter Philippines' list of trending topics as of Sunday noon.
Shortly after the performance, 88rising posted on Twitter a photo of the quartet, with the caption, "We the best." It has received over 100,000 likes and retweets as of writing.
Korean hip-hop act Epik High, who were 2NE1's label-mates at YG Entertainment, also performed at Coachella, which was streamed on YouTube.
Fans have long been calling for a reunion of 2NE1, whose members have remained close friends even after disbanding in November 2016.
The group debuted under YG in 2009, breaking the stereotypical "cute" and "sexy" image of most female K-pop artists at the time with its hard-hitting hip-hop styling.
FROM THE ARCHIVES