Minzy; a K-pop star, who is now a local VIVA talent, just released a tagalog version of her song “Lovely”.

On Friday, November 20, Gong Min Ji, popularly known as Minzy, debuted a tagalog version of her song Lovely, under VIVA Records, as they confirmed on their Twitter account last Friday, November 13, that Minzy is the newest addition to their talented artists.

Listen to Lovely’s tagalog version here:

In her online press conference on Thursday, November 19, Minzy said she consulted her fellow 2NE1 member Sandara Park, who previously lived in Manila and had a successful career in the Philippines nearly two decades ago.

“Because of Sandara, maganda ang impression ko sa Philippines,” said Minzy who spoke through an interpreter. “Sobrang friendly and hospitable ang mga tao.”

Sandara gave Minzy a lot of tips in starting a career in the Philippines. The former local star shared her memorable experiences with Minzy and how she coped with living in Manila successfully.

For those who are not familiar with Minzy, here are some facts about the new VIVA artist that will surely make you love and support her:

Minzy was a member of the iconic K-pop girl group “2NE1”

2ne1 was a South Korean girl group composed of members Park Bommie (Bom), the lead singer, Lee Chaerin (CL), the leader and lead rapper, Sandara Park (Dara) the visual, fresh vocal and rapper, and Minzy, the lead dancer, and maknae (youngest). The group was formed under YG Entertainment and debuted on 2009 with their hit single “Fire”, which became popularly known across the globe including Philippines. 2ne1 is considered as one of the legendary K-pop groups now with their achievements, fierce live performances, pioneering “girl crush concept” in K-pop, and how they helped the K-pop industry to be introduced to the world. 

2ne1’s last performance was during Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) 2015, a major South Korean music awards ceremony, where they surprised their fans with an astonishing performance without prior notice.

Watch the performance here

Minzy is hailed as the “K-pop Dance Machine”

With her on-point choreography, and 2ne1’s lead dancer, Minzy is tagged as the “K-pop Dance Machine.” Minzy can create choreography on the spot, which made her a more popular dancer. It’s not really surprising since Minzy came from a family of dancers — she is the grandniece of South Korea’s legendary dancer, Madam Gong Ok Jin, while his uncle, Gong Myeong Gyu, is a contemporary dancer.

Minzy trained for five years

Minzy had been training since at the age of 10. Yes, she dedicated five years of training before debuting under 2NE1. Gong Min Ji was discovered by YG Entertainment. A video of her at a dance competition in Gwangju got uploaded onto the Internet, and got many views and compliments for her dancing skills. Yang Hyun Suk, YG’s CEO during that time, himself contacted and recruited her to join the agency. Minzy moved back from Gwangju to Seoul to start her training in 2005.

Minzy is a multi-talented artist

If you think that Minzy is all just about dancing, let me cut you there. Because 2ne1’s maknae is also a singer, a rapper, and a songwriter.

Minzy left 2NE1 before the group had disbanded

On April 5, 2016, Minzy officially announced that she left 2NE1 and did not renew her contract with YG Entertainment to pursue her own style of music, leaving fans sad but excited as the ex-member had started to focus on her talent.

"As my contract expired, I had to make a decision to show my new sides, how much I have grown," Minzy said during the press conference for her new solo album. "I wanted to do music that gives energy to people and empathizes with people, so I had to write my own songs,” added Minzy.

“As of 2016 May we have signed solo artist contracts with CL and Sandara Park and Park Bom has not resigned with YG.” Yang Hyun Suk said in a statement.

2NE1 released their final song “Goodbye” on January 20, 2017, their first and last song without Minzy.

Minzy said she is excited to work with talented local artists like Sarah G. and Ella Cruz whom she knows a fan of 2ne1.

 “Sobrang maraming talented artists sa Philippines, so kahit sino man, I am willing to work with,” she said. 

Minzy undoubtedly posed an astounding career as a multi-platinum South Korean artist and a global K-pop sensation with 2NE1 and as a soloist. We can’t wait to see her grow more as an artist!