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2NE1′s CL finishes second on ‘TIME 100′ online poll, Putin tops list

April 14, 2015

CL of 2NE1 (Yonhap)

SEOUL, April 14 (Yonhap) — CL, a member of popular South Korean girl group 2NE1, ranked No. 2 on TIME magazine’s online voting for its 100 most influential people of 2015 list, according to the magazine’s website Tuesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “edged out rapper-singer CL to claim the number one spot with 6.95 percent of the votes in the final tally,” the magazine said on Monday in an article on the result of the poll that closed on Friday.

It, however, did not mention how many votes the singer secured.

The magazine said the singer, 24, whose real name is Lee Chae-lin, is teaming with music manager Scooter Braun for her American debut.

Debuting in 2009, 2NE1 hit No. 61 on the Billboard 200 chart last year, for their second full-length album “Crush,” making it the highest-ranked K-pop album ever on the list.

In the TIME online poll, Global pop stars Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Taylor Swift took the next three spots with 2.6 percent, 1.9 percent and 1.8 percent of the votes, respectively.

Pope Francis ranked 10th with 1.5 percent and U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife were placed the 11th and 12th with 1.4 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.

“The TIME 100″ is the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, spanning politics, entertainment, business, technology, science, religion and other fields. Chosen by the editors of TIME, this year’s official list will be unveiled on Thursday.

It is unclear whether CL will actually make the list.

CL is the third Korean singer to be nominated, with Rain and Psy previously making it.

Rain’s name was put on the final list twice in 2006 and 2011, becoming the first time Asian singer to do so, but Psy was out in the final screening in 2013.