CL

Lee Chae-rin, better known by her stage name CL, is a South Korean singer-songwriter and rapper. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she spent much of her early life in Japan and France. CL trained at JYP Entertainment before joining YG Entertainment, and was a member of the girl group 2NE1 until it disbanded in 2016.

Her first feature on a song recording was Big Bang's "Intro (Hot Issue)" in 2007. Later that year, Lee performed for the first time on stage at Seoul Broadcasting System's Gayo Daejeon alongside her label mates. Her first credited appearance in a song was in 2008, with Uhm Jung-hwa's "DJ," in which she rapped. Lee took on the stage name 'CL' and was placed as the leader and main rapper of 2NE1. In August 2009, she collaborated with label-mates G-Dragon and Teddy Park of 1TYM for the single "The Leaders", featured on G-Dragon's first solo album, Heartbreaker. In October 2014, it was announced that CL was planning to debut as a solo artist the following year in the United States.