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Alpha (CL album)

2021 debut studio album by CL

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJan 21, 2026
Entity authorityQ108031565 ↗
Source-derived summary

Alpha is the debut studio album by South Korean rapper and singer CL. It was released on October 20, 2021, through her self-managed label Very Cherry and Sony. Alpha marks CL's first full-length album as a solo artist since her career debut in 2009. The album was preceded by the release of several singles, including "Spicy" and "Lover Like Me".

Background and production

Well known as a member and leader of K-pop group 2NE1, CL left her longtime label YG Entertainment after 12 years in December 2019. Shortly after departing from the label, she released her first project extended play In the Name of Love as an independent artist. A shift from her traditional urban image, the record explored a variety of musical styles from alternative R&B, tropical dance, rap, and ballads. In September 2020, CL released the music video for the intro to her upcoming full-length album Alpha, titled "Post Up". Subsequently, it was announced that album would be preceded with the release of the songs "Hwa" and "5 Star".

At the same time, CL had originally intended for her full-length debut record to be released on November 30, 2020; however, it was later announced that the album's release would be postponed to the first half of 2021 in order to make further improvements. On August 13, it was announced that CL would release her album Alpha in October 2021.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Alpha (CL album)” is 2021 debut studio album by CL. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Alpha, album and debut, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2021, 2009, 2019, 2020—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Alpha, album and debut is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “2021 debut studio album by CL” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q108031565. The first chronological checks are 2021, 2009, 2019 and 2020.

Critical limits

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Alpha (CL album)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.