Park Bom

Early life and education

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 Bom 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.

As a high school student, she became interested in music through Mariah Carey, whom she describes as one of her biggest musical influences. Although she 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.

She 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. In 2006, she featured on two of Big Bang's earliest singles, "We Belong Together" and "Forever With You". She also collaborated with Lexy (on "Baby Boy") and Red Roc (on "Along My Way"), and appeared in a series of promotional music videos for Samsung Anycall entitled "Anystar", alongside Lee Hyori, G-Dragon, and Gummy.

2009–2014: Debut with 2NE1 and Solo activities

Park Bom was placed as the main vocalist of 2NE1, alongside CL, Sandara Park 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. Bom released her first solo single "You and I", which took the number one spot on the Gaon Chart for the month of November. 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.

In late 2010, Bom 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, Bom 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, Bom 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 Bom, 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, Bom 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".

In 2014, Bom 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.

2015–2016: Hiatus, 2NE1 disbandment and departure from YG Entertainment

After news of the scandal broke, Bom 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. YG also revealed that former members CL & Sandara signed a solo contract, hinting at the departure of Park Bom from the company. She did, however, take part in 2NE1's final song "Goodbye", released on January 21, 2017.

2017: Feud with YG Entertainment and Other Issues

On April 30, Bom 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 1 May, YG Entertainment denied that statement and declared that Bom didn't sign any new contract with YG or any sub-label since they broke her contract back in November 2016. Park Bom followed up on social media replying to fans that she did sign a contract and she is coming back.

Scandal

In 2010, Park was under investigation for drug smuggling (80 amphetamine containing tablets) through international mail. 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.

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.

Segye Ilbo broke the story on the first of July 2014 and created a scandal for the singer, which led to her departure from the reality TV show Roommate. She suspended domestic activities as of August 15, 2014.. However, she fulfilled her international contractual obligations for remaining dates of the ALL OR NOTHING tour and YG FAMILY POWER tour. Park continued to be inactive from 2014 until 2016 because of the scandal.