Korean Pop Star CL Starts off North American Tour
South Korea has created an international industry featuring a number of rising artists in the popular musical genre called K-pop, short for Korean pop. This Friday, Korean pop rapper and singer CL will take the stage in Los Angeles, delivering her fifth concert since the commencement of her North American tour.
Photo courtesy of CL
Cultural icon · Dubbed the Nicki Minaj of the Korean music industry, CL’s fans call her “The Baddest Female” in terms of her music and fashion sense.
Dubbed the Nicki Minaj of the K-pop industry, CL has gained an international database consisting of thousands of devoted fans, and her American debut marks a significant step in her career as an artist. She launched her music industry as a rapper in a Korean female band called 2NE1 in 2009, but it was only recently in November 2015 that she debuted as a solo artist in Korea with her first successful single.
Her North American tour is called Hello Bi+ches, a namesake inspired after her solo single and is taking place across nine major cities in the United States and Canada. Her Los Angeles concert will be at the Microsoft Theater on Friday, Nov. 4 at 8:30 p.m.
So far, CL has received promising responses from American fans and Western audiences, after her performance on The Late Late Show with James Corden in late September to promote her first American single, titled “Lifted.”
Audiences nationwide praised her strong stage presence, and CL’s versatility as an artist is exhibited within her hip-hop style and rap performance. CL performed in her first-ever solo concert in New York on Oct. 29 but received astounding reviews due to her experience as a seasoned performer in her former girl group.
Besides her performance style, CL stands out in appearance. She sheds the stereotypes pushed on Korean artists, especially female singers, by Asian cultural standards. Her silver hair and dark makeup take inspiration from Western beauty standards, signifying her personal desire to make a bold statement as an Asian figure in the North American music industry.
Her international fan base calls CL “The Baddest Female,” illustrating her brazenly bold music style and fashion tastes. Besides working as an artist and delivering music, CL serves as a cultural icon in South Korea, and her on-stage fashion tastes exemplify her femininity while containing hints of her more subtle, tomboyish personality.
CL will embody her multicultural appeals by performing a variety of songs in both English and Korean. Her concert is expected to feature not only songs from CL’s recent releases, but also tracks from her time with the Korean pop group 2NE1.
At her debut performance in New York, CL greeted the stage by saying “I’m CL from 2NE1,” her signature line from the lyrics of 2NE1’s debut single “Fire.” Although she plans to deliver her popular show-stoppers, she will also perform multiple ballads that were part of the group’s discography.