CL, The One and Only Baddest Female, 'No Comparison Even With Nicki Minaj'

Billboard (specifically Jeff Benjamin, Billboard's resident K-Pop expert) has compared CL of 2NE1 to the master of alter-egos, outlandish costumery, and over-the-top visuals, Miss Nicki Minaj.

After watching CL's solo debut video for "The Baddest Female" it is pretty easy to see where he is coming from.

The 2NE1 leader changes outfits no less than 13 times during the course of the song ranging from the hip-hop track suits and chains to sweet and bubbly garb to a sensual body-rocking leotard with every step in between.

"The Baddest Female" is all over the place - a swirling mix of slow rap, electronica riffs, and dubstep - with a spoken word shout-out to the bad girls of the world.

The famed K-Pop singer also shows the many facets of her personality - there is hardcore CL, powerful CL, sexy CL, and the CL you definitely would not want to come up against in a fight. She is fierce. She is versatile. She is... Nicki Minaj?

The Nicki Minaj comparison is the latest in a long line that have been called out since the video's release on May 28. CL has been compared to everyone from Beyonce to Lil' Kim to Lady Gaga, and even her fellow K-Pop diva Lee Hyori.

It is only natural to take something new and try to draw connections to something already known in order to understand and describe it better - but why can't CL be her own enigma?

I understand Jeff Benjamin's intention - he is writing for an audience that, in general, is new to the K-Pop genre, still testing the waters and getting a handle of who these idols are. He also has to address things so that the America masses will understand and saying she is like Nicki Minaj levels the playing field so to speak.

Just as other reviewers have made comparisons to similar hip-pop divas, CL seems to be pigeonholed into this lumped category. Perhaps she should change the title of the song to "One of the Baddest Females" instead.

I'm not saying that CL is completely original - but she is certainly doing something very different from the other female singers in South Korea, and that, in a way, does make her original.

"The Baddest Female" is a far cry from the cutesy choreographed bubblegum pop shown by Girls' Generation or the overtly sensual Hyuna of 4Minute - and her "bad girl" image is very different from K-Pop mean girls T-ARA.

In a genre that, at least to the outside world, tends to blend together - standing out as an individual is increasingly important. And CL (and the rest of 2NE1 for that matter) really does have something unique to bring to the table. As CL said in her interview with Billboard, "I want to break that typical Asian female stereotype."

Take another look at "The Baddest Female" and you will start to see a little less Nicki, Beyonce, and Gaga and a heck of a lot more CL.