Continuing our EOY: 2NE1 in 2012 retrospective series is the "Baddest Female," CL. This year, 2NE1's leader highlighted her more feminine side, while showcasing her strong ties to the fashion world. And on top of that, CL proved that yes, she can rock a parrot on stage.

2012 was an amazing year for CL! She jet set all over the world, made appearances at numerous events, gave us amazing interviews, showed her softer side, and still gave us a lot of charisma and kick-butt attitude! When it comes to doing it all and still looking good, our leader is a shining example of what you can do with the right attitude and of course, a killer outfit. ;D

CL captured a lot of hearts in 2012 by showing many sides of herself and her many charms. CL simply steals hearts no matter what she does. Blackjacks everywhere are increasingly proud of our leader. Let's take a look back at the "Baddest Female," our fierce leader CL!

The Softer Side of CL

For many, CL is known as the fierce and charismatic leader of 2NE1. However, Blackjacks see that behind the confident, tough girl image is a sweet, thoughtful girl. In fact, there were several instances throughout last year where CL showed her softer side.

Jumping with a Smile

Back in May, Dara posted a picture of CL and wrote, "Little CL has an enjoyable day ^__^". In the photo, CL was jumping on a yellow smiley-face trampoline in celebration of Children's Day, a national holiday in South Korea. She looks adorable, right?

CL's Motherly Instincts

Before departing for 2NE1's U.S. concerts in August, CL visited the Holt Children's Center to take care of and feed orphaned babies. It was reported that although she had only planned to spend about an hour there, she could not pull herself away from a charming child named Dojun. She stayed for three hours to feed the children and played with them. In fact, she loved playing with Dojoon so much, she just recently went back again.

Showing Fans Love

Another wonderfully touching thing CL did was to send a cake to her Korean fan site leechaerin.com for hosting a gathering with the message, "As always, thank you". This melted all our hearts. ^^

When asked what Blackjacks meant to CL, she responded, "Hmm, they are my family and friends, it's like that."

And in one more nod to her fans, CL refers to a project that her international fan base organized in the touching video below. In a message book, fans wrote why CL was beautiful to them. We can see this had a tremendous impact on her.

Shining in Solo CFs & the Media

When it comes to English, we know our leader CL is very comfortable speaking and rapping in English! CL is known to write her own raps and completely kills it when showing them off! In 2012, we got to see more of CL's awesome rap skills. Could we ever forget the line, "Yeah / In the club / It's getting ugly / I don't care?" There's no doubt that CL's lyrical ability gets better and better every year!

CL's Intro Rap from 2NE1's "I Love You" Comeback Stage

CL looked stunning during her solo stage performance at SBS alongside Sung Si Kyung, who is known as the "Ballad Prince." Not only did CL look stunning, but she had the chance to show off her own beautiful vocals. While some people commented that the song didn't really suit CL's more raspy voice, indeed the song was a completely different style than 2NE1's music, others gave CL credit for trying her best and looking beautiful doing it.

In March, Adidas released a rap clip of CL for their "All Originals Makes Moves" campaign. One of the things that made us even prouder of the new endorsement is the fact that CL wrote her own lyrics:

Cass Light also featured CL and actor Lee Dong Wook in their promotions. In the CF, the two are performing a "Light Dance" battle. While CL is showing off her usual confident, sexy moves, Lee fails to mimic her. Check out the cute comical dance battle below:

In December, CL graced the cover of Ketchup Magazine. The photo was taken in Hong Kong. Based on her fierce expression, you can imagine how Blackjacks went into a frenzy of adoration. The magazine also interviewed CL and she gave some insight about her love of performing and fashion.

_{"Since day one, I've decided to become a singer and a performer. To me, music is the most important. Fashion is just like music's best friend; I love matching the fashion that I love with music."}

Showing Off More Skin

In 2NE1, Bom is typically the one Blackjacks associate with shorter, more leg-revealing outfits. However, last year, CL blessed fans by showing off those glorious thighs of hers more often, whether it is behind the scene or during performances.

The Unicorn Dress

One of CL's more "revealing" outfits, which promoted polarized reactions, was Jeremy Scott's infamous "Unicorn Dress." She wore the dress at both the MTV Japan Awards and in her promotional shots for "I Love You." Whether or not you love the dress, CL wears it with confidence and poise.

Hanging with Fashion's Leading Names

Spoiler 

Since CL is so daring and forward-thinking with her fashion, she has caught the eye of some of the world's biggest fashion luminaries, including the French noblemen and fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, also known as JC/DC. He has worked with Lady Gaga and Madonna as well as M.I.A. and teaches at Hongik University in Seoul. He counts CL as one of his friends. She has, of course, worn his designs, including a wonderful dress she wore at a Nikon Event.

CL and Japanese fashionistas go hand in hand, and her "VOGUE" photo with Ambush's YOON and model Kiko Mizuhara says it all.

CL attended the "Ambush x G-Dragon Collaboration" Launching Party at My Boon

And when CL was in Hong Kong to celebrate Jeremy's special Christmas light fixture at the Hong Kong World Trade Centre, from the minute she got off the plane, her fashion and style set tongues wagging and photos clicking.

CL hanging out with all these cool people in Hong Kong, including Mademoiselle Yulia, Jeremy Scott, and Baby Mary.

Finally, CL incorporated more mature, classic pieces into her wardrobe last year. She began to really embrace Chanel and even attended Chanel's "Little Black Jacket" event in Seoul recently.

CL Joins an SNS à Instagram

Blackjacks are painfully aware of CL's well-publicized ineptness with technology. Even simple things like USBs and smartphone apps are not easy for the leader to master. So when CL finally started to embrace the social networking world by recently making an Instagram account, chaelin_cl, fans were dumbstruck. Thankfully, she seems to have taken a liking to Instagram and periodic updates her account with never-before-seen photos with her and her other label mates.

Our "Baddest Female" has really started to show more of her colors this past year. With her funky style, her fierce attitude, and a smile that can melt any fangirls/boys' hearts, we all got a taste of just how well rounded and mature (as well as motherly and adorable) CL can really be.

If you thought her year in 2012 was bright, can you image what 2013 will bring? CL will surely knock the socks off of anyone with her charisma.

What side do you hope CL shows more of in 2013? No matter what that happens to be, you can be sure that CL will excite and surprise us in the coming year!

Article by staff@ygladies.com  | Written for KpopStarz January 2013