FUSE TV - 9 Reasons to Love 2NE1's 'Crush' Album

K-pop girl group 2NE1 are one of the driving forces in K-pop's international expansion. The quartet was the first Korean female group to stage a world tour, will.i.am snagged them for his #willpower LP, they have 6.4 million Facebook likes and 2.1 million YouTube subscribers. Hey, they even co-starred on an episode of The Bachelor.

So—as Fuse News' Liz Walaszczyk asked when she was with the girls in South Korea—why only one album after nearly five years together? Leader CL explained, "An album is like a footprint. It's legacy." With Crush, their second full-length album, 2NE1 continue to be K-pop's fiercest females by reminding listeners what made them so unique in the first place. But it's not all familiar: The girls have plenty of new tricks up their sleeves.

Whether you're a big-time 2NE1 fan or they caught your eye on The Bachelor, check out the top nine reasons you should download their new album Crush.

1. Returning to Their Roots
Most listeners' introduction to 2NE1 comes via the ferocious "I Am the Best," arguably their signature tune. With nearly 86 million YouTube views, it's one of the most-viewed K-pop videos ever. From the first notes of album opener "Crush," it's clear that the girls are back: This song has the same Middle Eastern influences heard in "IATB," but over a zippy electro-pop production enhanced by dope rapping and powerful belting. While the quartet played around with reggae pop and acoustic ballads in past singles like "Falling in Love" and "Missing You," this feels like the statement 2NE1 needed to truly make a comeback.

2. Reggae/Trap Hybrid Lead Single "Come Back Home"
Crush's lead single "Come Back Home" mashes two seemingly disparate genres and makes them into one smokin' single. Starting with a bouncy beat similar to Rihanna's "Man Down," the girls croon about losing a lover, asking their baby to "come back home" until the single's production flips into a heavy trap beat. The ambitious song should stand up well next to past 2NE1 singles.