October seems to be a good time for South Korean girl group 2ne1. The superstar girl group recently made news when their music video, "I Am the Best" surpassed the 100 million YouTube views mark, and the song also topped Billboard's World Digital Songs chart - three years after the song's release.
Good news aside, not all is well with 2ne1. On an October 16th post, KPopStarz reported that the group's youngest member, Minzy, changed her Twitter and Instagram profile - omitting her affiliation with the girl group. Koreaboo reported that before the profile update, her Twitter profile read, "God's Lover/Amante De Dios/mingkki/MINZY/2NE1", and after the profile update, she took out '2ne1". Meanwhile, her Instagram account originally was "MINZY21MZ", and the singer changed it to just "_minzy_mz". However, the young singer has since returned "2ne1" to both of her social media profile bios.
Before the news of the profile update broke, Minzy posted on October 13th a cryptic Instagram post that read, "Things change, people change, places change, friends change, careers change, economies change... But God never changes."
While this has sparked some speculation whether 2ne1 will soon be joining the ranks of Korean bands that have recently disbanded or lost a member, it isn't the first time this year that 2ne1 has gone under some scrutiny. Pop Dust reported that in June, 2ne1 member Park Bom was found smuggling illegal prescription drugs into South Korea in 2010, which caused Bom to be kicked out of the reality series, "Roommate".
In addition, Billboard reported that 2ne1 group leader, CL, has teamed up wtih American talent manger, Scooter Braun to prepare her for a full-fledged solo effort in the United States in 2015. Braun is responsible for the careers of Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and PSY's U.S. breakout.
Adding fuel to the rumors of 2ne1 breaking up, the group's label, YG Entertainment is set to launch a new girl group - a first since 2ne1's debut in 2009. News from Soompi said that in an exclusive report by Star News on October 16, an industry insider said, "YG's new girl group is currently recording their debut track record. The group has prepared for their debut a long time, and they are now in the final stages."
Join the Conversation