K-pop girl group 2NE1 concluded their three-day concert in Seoul on October 6, attracting both celebrities and fans. Their "Welcome Back" concert at the Olympic Hall drew an estimated 12,000 attendees. This highly anticipated event marked 2NE1's first concert in over ten years, following their "All or Nothing" world tour in 2014. It also celebrated their 15th anniversary since debuting in 2009.
During the three-day show, 2NE1 members Sandara Park, CL, Minzy, and Park Bom drew a crowd that included not only fans but also Korean celebrities. Among those who attended were BLACKPINK's Jennie, Stray Kids, NewJeans, Big Bang's G-Dragon and Daesung, Se7en, Jung Yong-hwa, WINNER's Mino, Hoony, Jinu and Seungyoon, Yoon Do-hyun, Gummy, Ross Butler, BOYNEXTDOOR, Bang Yedam, Rowoon, Lee Jin-hyuk, ex-Momoland members JooE and Daisy, Lee Soohyuk, 2AM's Seulong, "All of Us Are Dead" actor Lomon, Sandeul, Lee Joon, comedians Jo Se-ho and Kim Sook, AB6IX's Dae-hwi, Kang Daniel, Jun Hyun-moo, SHINee's Key, Aespa's Winter, Noh Hong-chul, iKON's Donghyuk, Fromis 9's Jiwon, couple Thunder (Dara's brother and former MBLAQ member) and former Gugudan member Mimi.
Artists who sent congratulatory messages through a video on the first day of the concert included IU, NewJeans, IVE, Stray Kids, Aespa, TWICE, (G)I-DLE, Kiss of Life, BOYNEXTDOOR, Zico, BabyMonster, Treasure, G-Dragon, and Pharrell Williams.
The 2NE1 reunion concert came about after Sandara Park, CL, Minzy, and Park Bom met with YG Entertainment founder Yang Hyun-suk in June. "The first girl group YG announced. The first successful YG girl group was 2NE1. The members of 2NE1 informed me that they'd like to hold a concert commemorating their 15th anniversary. So we caught up and happily discussed, making it all happen within this year," said Yang Hyun-suk in a video last July.
At the concert, 2NE1 performed a setlist that included classic hits like "Gotta Be You," "Do You Love Me," "Falling in Love," "Can't Nobody," "Clap Your Hands," "Fire," "Crush," "Ugly," "I Don't Care," "Go Away," "Lonely," "It Hurts," "In The Club," "Happy," "If I Were You," "Missing You," "I Love You,” “Let’s Go Party,” “Stay Together.” and “I Am the Best.” CL also performed her solo hits "The Baddest Female" and "MTBD."
During the concert on October 6, Sandara Park expressed her emotions, saying, "We started practicing in July and it was hard back then. I thought, 'When can I wait until October?' and it's already the last day. I'm already an F, so my heart feels heavy and sad. We had our first 2NE1 concert here, so it's meaningful to be gathered here again for our 15th anniversary."
Park Bom also shared her feelings, saying, "I was so thankful to the members while preparing for this concert, and I think it was a really meaningful time. I missed you so much, so I feel excited to see you like this. I was so happy to meet you like this. More than anything, it was a really happy time to greet you all as 2NE1."
Minzy expressed her gratitude to the fans, saying, "I want to thank you again for allowing us to have a concert after 10 years. This is a scene from my dream. I had a dream where the four of us would meet each other again, and seeing it become a reality really does feel like dreams come true. Thank you for always staying by our side."
Regarding the possibility of an encore concert, Sandara Park suggested, "Shouldn't we have an encore concert? Where should we have the encore concert? Anyway, I think we should go to a bigger place than here. I want to go to a bigger place and be with more people."
CL added, "We don't get to see each other often, but we've tried to keep up the habit of meeting and having a meal once a year around Minzy's birthday at the beginning of the year. We met again this year and started a pledge saying, 'It's our 15th anniversary, so what should we do to celebrate?' and here we are, standing in front of you all today."
She continued, "If you think about it, just four months ago we were a group that had temporarily disappeared and stopped, and although there were many processes, it feels like a dream that we can finally be here with you all."
CL also expressed her gratitude to the fans, saying, "I think this is a place of great healing for the four of us. I wanted to tell you that it's all thanks to you all and that I'm really grateful. If there's something you want to do, I want to encourage you to try it even if it's a little scary or daunting. I hope you take home twice as many good memories and a good feeling as you gave us good energy today."
After Seoul, 2NE1 will embark on their Asia tour, including a concert in Manila on November 16 at SM Mall of Asia Arena.
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