The group was first mentioned by the press in late 2008, when rumours were spreading that YG was creating a female version of Big Bang named Sista. In response to those rumours, YG Entertainment President Yang Hyun Suk stated that the name was not chosen yet. In January 2009, it was announced that the "Female Big Bang" would debut around July 2009 with three members — CL, Minzy, and Bom. Later that month, YG stated that Sandara Park joined the group, with one more member to follow. In the end, YG Entertainment announced that the group would consist of four members and debut sometime in May 2009. The company stated that the group had trained for 4 years, and that their debut album would contain songs produced by Teddy Park. The group's name was initially announced as "21"; however, due to the discovery of a singer with the same name, the group was quickly renamed "2NE1", which stands for “New Evolution of the 21st Century” (“NE” meaning “New Evolution” and “21” standing for the “21st Century”).