Frank Kogan

What strikes me most in those interviews is the — to me — strange use of the phrase "sexy concept," as if what 2NE1 were doing before wasn't already very sexy. I mean, just what is all the strutting supposed to be, not to mention Minzy rolling on the floor and twitching her cute butt? And I wouldn't call Bom's bare-legged look "frumpy." But then, "sexy concept" probably means something far more specific and focused in Korea. (I was going to say "specific and nonaggressive," except it would be hard to claim that HyunA's sexiness, for instance, is at all passive.) I suppose there's a difference between sexy concept and merely looking/dressing/being sexy.

As I said last April, my guess is that 2NE1's got a better shot than T-ara at getting a male audience in the U.S., even though in Korea it's 2NE1 who are having trouble crossing to males (supposedly; I wonder if anyone has published the numbers that would back up such observations).