Park Bom (born March 24, 1984), better known by the mononym Bom, is a South Korean singer. She is best known as a member of the South Korean girl group 2NE1 until the group announced their disbandment on November 25, 2016. Park began her musical career in 2006, featuring on singles released by label-mates Big Bang, Lexy and Masta Wu. In 2009, she made her debut as a member of 2NE1 as the main vocalist. Park has also released two solo singles, "You and I" and "Don't Cry". Both singles reached number one on the Gaon Digital Chart, the national music chart of South Korea. She was also awarded Best Digital Single at the 2010 Mnet Asian Music Awards.

Park Bom was born in Seoul, South Korea, on March 24, 1984. Her elder sister, Park Go-eun, is a cellist. When she was in the sixth grade, Park left Korea on her own to study in the United States. She graduated from Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine, and enrolled at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, majoring in psychology.[citation needed] As a high school student, she became interested in music through Mariah Carey, whom she describes as one of her biggest musical influences. Although Park wanted to pursue a career in music, her parents would not allow her to. However, with encouragement from her aunt, she transferred to Berklee College of Music without their knowledge.

2006–2009: Early career

Park returned to Korea to pursue a music career there and repeatedly auditioned to join YG Entertainment, where she was accepted into the company after three years of auditioning.[citation needed] In 2006, she featured on two of Big Bang's earliest singles, "We Belong Together" and "Forever With U". Park also collaborated with Lexy on "Baby Boy" from her third extended play Rush, and Red Roc on the single "Along My Way". She has also appeared in a series of promotional music videos for Samsung Anycall of the same name, alongside Lee Hyori, G-Dragon, and Gummy.

2009–2017: 2NE1

Park was placed as the main vocalist of 2NE1, alongside CL, Dara and Minzy. The group then collaborated with label-mates Big Bang for the song "Lollipop" before officially debuting on SBS's The Music Trend on May 17, 2009 where they performed "Fire". The group achieved significant success with the number-one single "I Don't Care" from their first extended play, 2NE1, which won them the Song of the Year award at the 2009 Mnet Asian Music Awards, making them the first rookie group to win a daesang in the same year of debut. In August 2009, after finishing promotions for their debut single "I Don't Care", the members of 2NE1 took a break to focus on individual activities. She released her first solo single "You and I", which took the number one spot on the Gaon Chart for the month of November.[citation needed] It eventually won Best Digital Single at the 2010 Mnet Asian Music Awards. By the end of 2011, it was reported that the single was downloaded 4,483,364 times, becoming one of the best-selling singles in Korean music history.

2NE1 at the YouTube Awards.

In late 2010, Park featured on GD & TOP's single "Oh Yeah", appearing on both the Korean and Japanese versions of the song as well as the Japanese music video. "Oh Yeah" peaked at number two on the Gaon Chart upon release. On April 21, 2011, she released a second solo digital single, "Don't Cry". The song was a success and achieved a perfect all-kill on Instiz, placing number one on seven local music charts. The same year, Park featured on the song "Having an Affair", performed by G-Dragon and comedian Park Myeong-su in a duo project called GG for the Infinite Challenge Music Festival. G-Dragon praised her, saying that ‘‘In every song that her voice goes, it’s a hit. Her voice is very good”. "Having an Affair" was another hit and was the second most downloaded song of 2011. In 2013, Park formed a sub-unit group with label-mate Lee Hi, known as BOM&HI. The duo released a rendition of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" on December 17. The same year, she also featured on the Japanese version of G-Dragon's single "Black".

Park Bom at the Samsung Passion Talk on September 2013

In 2014, Park joined the cast of SBS's Roommate, a reality show which features eleven celebrities living together in a share house. She shortly withdrew from the show as the result of a drug scandal that had surfaced. After news of the scandal broke, Park went into a hiatus from the entertainment industry. Her next appearance was in December 2015, performing with 2NE1 at the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards. On November 25, 2016, YG Entertainment announced the disbandment of the group. They also revealed that former members CL and Dara signed a solo contract, hinting at her departure from the company. Park, however, took part in 2NE1's final song "Goodbye", released on January 21, 2017. On April 30, she announced through social media that she is now under YG's sub-label, The Black Label and is preparing to release a solo album. On May 1, YG Entertainment denied that statement and declared that Park didn't sign any new contract with YG or any sub-label since they broke her contract back in November 2016. She followed up on social media replying to fans that she did sign a contract and she is coming back.

2018–present: Upcoming debut mini-album

On July 20, 2018, Park reportedly signed an exclusive contract with the newly established entertainment company D-Nation Entertainment. It was planned that she would be releasing her debut mini-album consisting of five to six tracks in November, as well as promotional activities overseas. However, it was reported on October 2, 2018 that the mini-album would instead be released around January 2019 and that Park will be opening a YouTube channel. The following day, it was reported that she would be making her first small screen appearance in four years through YG Future Strategy Office, which stars former labelmate Seungri. Park was featured in the series' third episode, "Music Business", which premiered on October 5, 2018 on Netflix.

Controversies

In 2014, it was released to the public that Park had been under investigation for drug smuggling (80 amphetamine containing tablets) through international mail in the past. A package, sent by family members residing in the U.S. to Park residing in South Korea, was stopped at Incheon International Airport customs. Park was put under investigation but was never charged.[23] In a statement issued by YG Entertainment's Yang Hyun-suk, he spoke against the allegations of preferential treatment. He explained that the drug was illegal in South Korea but legal in the United States. She was unable to travel to the U.S. during that time due to her busy schedule as a 2NE1 member. Park contacted her U.S. physician to refill her medication. He further explained that Park sought out medical care from South Korean physicians and had undergone therapy but proved to be not as effective as her treatment in the U.S. In 2010, at the time of investigation, she had provided the prosecutor her medical records from her U.S. hospital confirming her diagnoses as well as ongoing treatment plan. As a result of the investigation, Park left Roommate the reality show she was starring in.[25]- Wikipedia