Lee Chae-rin (born February 26, 1991), better known by her stage name CL, is a South Korean rapper, singer and songwriter. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she spent much of her early life in Japan and France. CL trained at JYP Entertainment before joining YG Entertainment at the age of fifteen. She debuted and rose to fame as a member of the girl group 2NE1 in 2009, which went on to become one of the best-selling girl groups of all-time. Apart from her group, CL made her solo debut with the single "The Baddest Female" in May 2013, and released the track "MTBD" in February 2014. She has been recognized for her dynamic and charismatic stage persona throughout her career, and has been further referred to as the "Queen of K-pop" by several media outlets for her influential work in the industry.
Following 2NE1's hiatus at the turn of 2015, CL pursued a solo career with the release of the singles "Hello Bitches" (2015) and "Lifted" (2016). The latter single led CL to become the first female Korean solo artist to place onto the Billboard Hot 100, and the third Korean act to do so overall. In November 2016, YG announced the disbandment of 2NE1 after nearly two years of hiatus, and CL subsequently remained under the label until December 2019. Shortly after leaving YG, she released her solo EP project In the Name of Love (2019), consisting of previously unreleased tracks written during the three years since her previous single "Lifted". In October 2020, CL released the pre-release singles "Hwa" and "5 Star" for her upcoming album titled Alpha.