BLACKPINK's Jennie attends the final day of 2NE1's reunion concert in Seoul

The group was introduced in March 2009 after appearing on the promotional single "Lollipop" alongside labelmate Big Bang. 2NE1 rose to prominence with the release of their debut extended play 2NE1 (2009), which featured the singles "Fire" and "I Don't Care". The latter was named the MAMA Award for Song of the Year, making 2NE1 the first idol group to receive a daesang (grand prize) in the same year of debut. They followed up their debut EP with their first studio album, To Anyone (2010), and their second EP; the latter produced four chart-topping singles including Bom's "Don't Cry", "Lonely", "I Am the Best", and "Ugly". Considered the first international tour by a K-pop girl group, their New Evolution Global Tour visited eleven cities in seven countries in Asia and North America in 2012, and their show at the Prudential Center in New Jersey was named the second best concert of the year by The New York Times.

2NE1 released their final studio album, Crush, in 2014. It was the first album by a Korean artist to break into the top 100 of the US Billboard 200, debuting at number 61, and remained the highest charting Korean album for over two years. By the end of 2014, 2NE1 amassed a total of nine number-one songs on the Gaon Digital Chart, becoming the group with the most number-one singles in South Korea at the time. After the group went on a hiatus, Minzy announced her departure from 2NE1 in April 2016, while YG Entertainment announced that the other three members would be disbanding that November. Their final single, "Goodbye", was recorded as a trio and was released in January 2017.