The Prophet Blog

2NE1 are set to release their first full-length Japanese album Collection at the end of the month. Other than a bunch of translated versions of their old songs, there’s only two new tracks on the disc. The first is their new single “Scream” (review here), and the second is an English-language cover of Madonna‘s iconic “Like a Virgin”.

Yes, 2NE1 have covered “Like a Virgin”. Why, I don’t know. Despite Bom’s big boobies and Min’s booty shaking, sex is just not something that I equate with 2NE1, and I never thought they’d tackle a song like this. When I envision K-Poppers covering “Like a Virgin”, I picture the members of Girls’ Generation dressed in snow-colored bra & panties, giggling playfully as they sing and pillow fight with each other.

But despite 2NE1 being more badass than boneriffic, their take on Madge’s raunchy classic is actually pretty good.

The girls have tried to keep the retro 80s’ production of the original, but with their tweaking it ends up sounding more like a mix between a cheap early 90s’ house song and a symphonic disco anthem from the 70s. As expected, CL sounds completely flawless and doesn’t give off a hint of Engrish whatsoever, but the other members aren’t far behind and all nail it too. Dara’s Asian persuasion is the most obvious, but she sounds cute, like a little girl playing with her first karaoke set who doesn’t have a clue what the lyrics she’s singing actually mean.

2NE1′s “Like a Virgin” may sound a tad ridiculous at first, but give it a few spins, and you’ll be hooked to the trashiness of it all.

Okay, I’m playing this down way too much. This song literally defines me as a person and I’ve just listened to it about 50 times in a row!

Now gimme that English album, girls. With news that PCD, The Saturdays, and Girlicious are all coming back, we need you now more than ever!

Like a virgin (hay!) touched for the very first time…