--- title: What to Know About CL, the K-Pop Star from the Olympics description: Who is CL, the K-pop star who performed at the Olympics closing ceremony? Here's what to know about the rapper CL. canonical: https://time.com/5174992/cl-rapper-k-pop-olympics-closing-ceremony/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-26T03:31:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:49.285Z og:title: 5 Things to Know About the Rapper CL og:description: She performed at the Olympics closing ceremony og:url: https://time.com/5174992/cl-rapper-k-pop-olympics-closing-ceremony/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt628204be37dee4c8/698928d38fd2ee41e435ad16/cl-closing-ceremony.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4248 og:image:height: 2390 og:image:alt: 2018 Winter Olympic Games - Closing Ceremony og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Things to Know About the Rapper CL twitter:description: She performed at the Olympics closing ceremony twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt628204be37dee4c8/698928d38fd2ee41e435ad16/cl-closing-ceremony.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 5 Things to Know About CL, the Rapper Who Slayed the Olympics Closing Ceremony > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=0f3be23a-6645-4283-a1ca-8b94a063e5df&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: K-Pop's Next Act [Watch (HLS stream): K-Pop's Next Act](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2ukAz9Fl.m3u8) (6:04)  _Published 2016-10-31. Riding off the success of Korean pop, artists CL, Dean and Eric Nam have their eyes set on the U.S. music industry_  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Feb 26, 2018 3:31 AM UTC  South Korean K-Pop singer CL performs during the Closing Ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. South Korean K-Pop singer CL performs during the Closing Ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Dan Istitene—Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Feb 26, 2018 3:31 AM UTC Rapper CL is already a bonafide star in her native South Korea and around the world, but many American viewers learned about her music for the first time when [she performed at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics closing ceremony](http://time.com/5174898/olympics-closing-ceremonies-k-pop-performers/) on Sunday, wowing the crowd with hits like “The Baddest Female.” Here’s what to know about CL, one of the biggest [K-pop stars](http://time.com/5124176/best-k-pop-artists/) in the business. ## She was part of the girl group 2NE1 The group broke out in 2009, [according to _Billboard_](https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/7588838/2ne1-disbands-yg-entertainment), and remained dominant until it officially disbanded in 2016\. The band’s last album, _Crush_, was the top-ranking K-pop album on the Billboard 200 chart for two years. The group broke up so its members could pursue their solo careers, YG Entertainment said at the time. ## Her real name is Lee Chae-rin Though she goes by the stage name CL, the rapper was born Lee Chae-rin. The singer, who was born in Seoul, recently celebrated her 27th birthday. ## She’s a muse to designer Jeremy Scott and an actress While CL may not be a household name in the U.S. yet, she has caught the eye of American fashion designer Jeremy Scott, who even designed 2NE1’s costumes for their 2012 global tour, [according to ](https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/news/a15248/cl-2ne1-jeremy-scott-muse/)_Elle._ He has described CL as his “muse,” and CL told _Elle_ in 2013 that Scott was her “best friend” and like her “big brother.” CL is also on the cast list for a 2018 Peter Berg movie called _Mile 22,_ [according to IMDB](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4560436/fullcredits?ref%5F=tt%5Fcl%5Fsm#cast). Mark Wahlberg, Lauren Cohan, John Malkovich and Ronda Rousey are also involved in the project, according to IMDB. ## The closing ceremony was also a homecoming for CL Prior to Sunday, CL had not performed in South Korea for several years. “It’s so special to me,” [she told _Billboard_](https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/8219131/cl-kpop-pyeongchang-2018-winter-olympics-closing-ceremony) of the closing ceremony gig. “I haven’t done a \[performance\] in Korea in a while so it was very meaningful. Just coming back home is real great.” ## She’s coming for the U.S. next She may already be a star in Korea, but CL has her sights set on American listeners. “I feel like I put so much energy and time into \[reaching a U.S. audience\] that I, I’m going to, I have to do it,” [she told CNN](https://www.cnn.com/style/article/cl-music-documentary-breaking-america/index.html). “I think it’s also about how you do it and what the message is and who I represent and who I am. So I want to do it right, and that’s why it’s taking so long.” ## Transcript For the people who don't know who CL is, what is your career, who are you, and what are you doing here? [ MUSIC ] America's introduction to K- Pop was via Psy, Gangnam Style. [ MUSIC ] That was 2012 and since then K- Pop has grown in much more substantial and significant ways. [ MUSIC ] [ UNKNOWN ] Hiphop stars are touring America more than ever where seen the fandalists are a much more substantial in growing. What is it gonna take for an Asian start breakthrough in musically. That's I think the interesting question. [ NOISE ] A dear friend of mine about to make her They fired main hero giving up for. [ MUSIC ] My name is [ UNKNOWN ] and I come from [ UNKNOWN ]. I'm a performer artist, musician. I'm in a band called 2NE1. [ MUSIC ] She's like the Nicki Minaj of that world which is the coolest artist to work with, I think. Right now I'm working on my solo album in America You know sitting on it's own, maybe just the creation process. The first thing that we're actually going to do is pretty simple, is just recite the lyrics to [ UNKNOWN ] The whole thing? I got myself a 40. I got myself a shorty. [ MUSIC ] And she is very [ UNKNOWN ] I didn't see [ UNKNOWN ] doing the right way because she is coming to the right channel so, she is like getting new friends and also developing what is putting around [ UNKNOWN ] record. Do talk shows and then people forget about her she's developing and gaining fans from the ground up. [ MUSIC ] Me coming to US is not that different because To me being creative is expressing myself and i've been doing that for a long time and the only deference would be that i'm singing in English now. [ MUSIC ] There's no Asian artist on a music scene really that is a very small Club that is deciding that is deciding who is in, who's out. Tons of gatekeepers and what not. It's almost easier for an asian star to pick up and leave America and go to Korea where their kind of guaranteed the sort of interest and fame. [ MUSIC ] My names Eric. Eric Nam working based out of Seoul but originally from Atlanta. [ MUSIC ] Growing up in the states you don't have any Asian American or Asian faces doing music here. And so I never thought it was possible and so I always thought to myself I guess I have to go to Korea if I ever want to do music. Photo time. The goal and the dream would be to cross over into the States. That would be the coolest thing, it would be a dream come true. To be able to perform in what I consider to be my first home, in my native language and in front of my friends and family, we're all here. Korea's had its eye on America for a couple of years now, and I think there's been a lot of interesting experiments. [ MUSIC ] [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] [ MUSIC ] [ FOREIGN ] [ MUSIC ] Dean is so interesting too because I think he's really quick to distance himself from the k pop world. He's Coming up strictly on his own terms and releasing the videos when he wants and you know, getting the right people that will ensure people are talking about him. [ MUSIC ] It isn't just money wise, it's about taking it to that next level and trying to represent something larger. Someone like CL, that's what I think really burns her and really ignites the passion I feel like there's not one pop star. Like, no one female pop star that's representing all the girls that's living out here. I want to represent, you know, Asian girls. To be honest, the challenge is that America is a huge country with many different cultures and many talented artists. [ FOREIGN ] Race kinda just has to drop out of the picture. The music just has to be really good. It has to be something that people want to connect with and dance to and sing along with. An Asian star will be a success when you see everyone copying their route. Cuz all it takes This is what ? >> What I need right now for me to make it here is, it's a matter of time [ LAUGH ]. 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