In 2015, a 24-year-old South Korean rapper named CL landed second on the Time 100 poll, just behind Vladimir Putin, before releasing a full solo album. This deep dive on the 2NE1 front woman explores how her nomadic international upbringing and unapologetic attitude dismantled the rulebook for what a female K-pop idol was allowed to be, years before the Western K-pop explosion.

We trace her childhood across Paris, Tokyo and Seoul, including studying alone in Paris at 13, and how she walked up to YG Entertainment with a demo tape. We follow 2NE1’s disruptive debut, her strategic US expansion with Lifted sampling the Wu-Tang Clan, her Winter Olympics performance, and her decision to leave YG for full independence, unlocking deeply personal work like the tribute to her late mother.

• How a global, autonomous mindset made her a Trojan horse inside K-pop
• Writing and composing tracks including her solo releases
• Becoming the first female South Korean soloist on the Billboard Hot 100
• The CL mascara effect and her role on the LVMH fashion prize committee
• Serving as a blueprint for independence for the next generation of idols