Nell () is a South Korean alternative rock band formed in 1999 and debuted in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist, keyboardist and guitarist Kim Jong-wan, lead guitarist Lee Jae-kyung, bass guitarist Lee Jung-hoon and previously drummer Jung Jae-won until his departure from the group in June 2023. The group was named after the film, Nell, that starred Jodie Foster. The band is known for their gloomy and psychedelic sound, and has achieved fame with hits such as "Stay" from , "Thank You" from , "Good Night" and "Losing Heart" from and "Time Walking On Memory" from . Their third studio album Healing Process was chosen as one of five best recordings of the year by South Korean critics. Nell's fourth studio album Separation Anxiety was a hit in South Korea, ranking number one in various real-time album charts.
Musical career
Early years and turning point Nell was formed in 1999 by four students who had failed to pass the college entrance exam. The group performed at clubs around the Sinchon-dong area and released two indie rock albums, and , in 2001, causing a revival of emotional rock in the country.
While performing at live clubs in Hongdae, they were picked up by Seo Taiji, and soon became the first band to promote under the record label Goesoo Indigene, a subsidiary of Seo Taiji Company in 2002. In 2006, the band decided to finish their contract with Goesoo Indigene. They signed with Woollim Entertainment.
The band is heavily influenced by numerous British bands such as Radiohead, Placebo, Travis, and Muse. They also performed a number of covers of Muse, Coldplay, Sting, and Bob Dylan during their gigs.
Nell has participated in both the 2006 and 2007 Pentaport Rock Festival of South Korea, where Placebo and Muse also performed each year.
2012–2013: Comeback after hiatus, Gravity mini-album series and Japanese debut After a long hiatus due to compulsory military service, they released their fifth studio album titled on April 10, 2012, with the title track "The Day Before". Its music video starred Lee Min-ki and Song Jae-rim, but none of the Nell members appeared. Slip Away was a hit in South Korea, placed top rank on various real-time music charts, such as Mnet, Bugs, and Olleh Music. Kim Jong-wan featured in G-Dragon's song "Today" in his 2012 album One of a Kind.
On November 22, 2012, Nell's official homepage included a new picture signaling Nell's comeback. The picture showed a large moon that had a kind of explosion going on. Nell's new album, Holding onto Gravity was released on December 3. On December 2, 2012, Woollim's YouTube official channel released the music video for "White Night" starring Im Soo-jung.
In January 2013 Nell made their Japanese debut with the Japanese edition of Slip Away, released by Home Game Records, a Watanabe Music Publishing label dedicated to Korean rock. In May 2013, the official Woollim YouTube channel uploaded a teaser for the upcoming mini-album which was scheduled for release in June. Nell's official homepage was updated on June 3 confirming the release date for the second part of their three-part mini-album series of Gravity, . The music video for the mini-album's title track, "Ocean of Light", was released on June 9.
2014: participation in U.S. concert and Billboard recognition
On March 11, 2014, the band performed at the second K-Pop Night Out at SXSW in Austin, Texas along with Hyuna and Jay Park and others. On December 11, their album was selected as number two on "Billboard's 10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2014" by Billboard K-Town with the write-up, "The strongest rock album of the year, Newton's Apple highlights Nell's vocalist/chief composer Kim Jong-wan's clever and honest songwriting skills, best heard on the single 'Four Times Around the Sun' and 'Grey Zone' ... All the lyrics are wrapped in warm, lush arrangements and instrumentals that enchant the listener simply by themselves."
2016: Space Bohemian On March 22, 2016, it was announced that Nell ended their contract with Woollim Entertainment and set up an independent record label named Space Bohemian. On August 18, 2016, they released their first album with their new label, C, with the title song "Dream Catcher".
Members Current Kim Jong-wan (김종완) – vocals, guitar, keyboard, drums Lee Jae-kyung (이재경) – lead guitar Lee Jung-hoon (이정훈) – bass guitar, tambourine, keyboard, chorus Former Jung Jae-won (정재원) – drums
Discography Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales KOR
Reflection ofReleased: January 19, 2001 Label: Goesoo Indigene Formats: CD — rowspan="6" SpeechlessReleased: September 26, 2001 Label: Goesoo Indigene, NHN Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download — Let It RainReleased: June 12, 2003 Label: Goesoo Indigene, Spotlight Formats: CD, digital download — Walk Through MeReleased: November 18, 2004 Label: Goesoo Indigene, Spotlight Formats: CD, digital download — Healing ProcessReleased: September 21, 2006 Label: Woollim Entertainment, CJ E&M Formats: CD, digital download 51 Separation AnxietyReleased: March 21, 2008 Label: Woollim Entertainment, CJ E&M Formats: CD, digital download 59 Slip AwayReleased: April 10, 2012 Label: Woollim Entertainment, LOEN Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download 1KOR: 26,143 Newton's AppleReleased: February 27, 2014 Label: Woollim Entertainment, LOEN Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download 6KOR: 13,882 CReleased: August 19, 2016 Label: Space Bohemian, LOEN Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download 7KOR: 12,984Cumulative Sales of C:
Let's Part()Released: November 14, 2018 Label: Space Bohemian, LOEN Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download 16 KOR: 4,636 Colors in BlackReleased: October 10, 2019 Label: Space Bohemian, Kakao M Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 13KOR: 8,775Cumulative Sales of Colors in Black:
Moments in BetweenReleased: September 2, 2021 Label: Space Bohemian, Kakao M Formats: CD, digital download, streaming38 KOR: 4,921"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Extended plays Title Album details Let's Take a Walk (Re-arranged album)Released: June 25, 2007 Label: Woollim Entertainment, CJ E&M Formats: CD, digital download The TraceReleased: November 28, 2008 Label: Woollim Entertainment, CJ E&M Formats: CD, digital download Escaping GravityReleased: June 10, 2013 Label: Woollim Entertainment, LOEN Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download
Single albums Title Album details Holding onto GravityReleased: December 3, 2012 Label: Woollim Entertainment, LOEN Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download
Singles Title Year Peak chart positions Sales (DL) Album KOR "Time Spent Walking Through Memories": "Stay" 2003 — rowspan="8" Let It Rain "Thank You" 2004 — Walk Through Me "Good Night" 2006 — Healing Process "Losing Heart" (마음을 잃다) — "It's Okay" 2007 — Let's Take a Walk "Time Spent Walking Through Memories" (기억을 걷는 시간) 2008 148 Separation Anxiety "Recede" (멀어지다) — "Part 2" — The Trace "The Day Before" (그리고 남겨진 것들) 2012 3KOR: 870,599Cumulative sale of "The Day Before": Slip Away "White Night" (백야) 5KOR: 490,734Cumulative sale of "White Night": Holding Onto Gravity "Words You Shouldn't Believe" (믿어선 안될 말) Live ver. 2013 66KOR: 47,334 "Ocean Of Light" 7KOR: 291,411 Escaping Gravity "Four Times Around The Sun" (지구가 태양을 네번) 2014 11KOR: 406,761Cumulative sale of "Four Times Around The Sun": Newton's Apple "Green Nocturne" (청춘연가) 9KOR: 110,174 rowspan="3" "Star Shell" 2015 77KOR: 53,422Cumulative sale of "Star Shell": "Lost In Perspective" (3인칭의 필요성) 25KOR: 125,384 "Dream Catcher" 2016 93KOR: 43,076Cumulative sale of "Dream Catcher": C "Vain Hope" (희망고문) —KOR: 16,726 "Loop" (그리워하려고 해) 37KOR: 67,857 rowspan="4" "Life Is Ninano" (사는게 니나노) — "Broken" (부서진) 2017 99KOR: 19,637 "Today" (오늘은) —KOR: 21,054 "See U in Five" (오분 뒤에 봐) 2019 147 rowspan=4 Colors in Black "Duet" (듀엣) 2020 — Moments in Between "Don't Hurry Up" 2021 — "Wanderer" 2023 — Wanderer"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Other charted songs Title Year Peak chart positions Sales (DL) Album KOR "Go" 2012 33KOR: 181,297 Slip Away "The Ending 34KOR: 186,467 "Cliff Parade" 36KOR: 170,330 "Standing In The Rain" 37KOR: 174,678 "In Days Gone Bye" 40KOR: 162,270 "Slip Away" 45KOR: 125,317Cumulative sale of "Slip Away": "Losing Control" 47KOR: 94,232 "Beautiful Stranger" 51KOR: 89,968 "Hopeless Valentine" 52KOR: 87,168 "Holding Onto Gravity" 39KOR: 122,539 Holding Onto Gravity "Blue" 58KOR: 64,985 "Coin Seller" 84KOR: 49,484 "Perfect" 2013 67KOR: 42,800 Escaping Gravity "Haven" 78KOR: 37,902 "Boy – X" 82KOR: 35,445 "Burn" 90KOR: 33,848 "Walk Out" —KOR: 28,983 "Memories Of A Stranger" (타인의 기억) 2014 63KOR: 60,209Cumulative sale of "Memories Of A Stranger": Newton's Apple "The History Of Silence" (침묵의 역사) 81KOR: 31,321 "Fantasy" 84KOR: 29,005 "The Great Escape" (소멸탈출) 87KOR: 27,294 "Night Of Reincarnation" (환생의 밤) 91KOR: 26,490 "Grey Zone" 93KOR: 25,699 "Newton's Apple" —KOR: 25,015 "Sunshine" —KOR: 24,752 "Decompose" —KOR: 24,412 "Dear Genovese" —KOR: 23,837 "Horizon of Time" (시간의 지평선) 2016 —KOR: 16,862 C"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Soundtrack appearances Year Title Album 2013 "Run" Two Weeks OST 2016 "Waiting for You" (기다린다) Beautiful Gong Shim OST "Breath" (숨) The Good Wife OST 2020 "Blue Moon" Tale of the Nine Tailed OST
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result Ref. 2004 2nd Korean Music Awards Artist of the Year (Group) 2005 2005 Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Rock Performance "Thank You" "2005 MKMF part 1" . Mwave. Retrieved 2014-08-28. 2006 4th Korean Music Awards Artist of the Year (Group) Best Modern Rock Album 2006 Mnet Asian Music AwardsBest Rock Performance"Losing My Mind" (마음을 잃다)"2006 MKMF Part 1 : I Love Punk – Haerang + Lee SungWoo/ Break Through-SS501/ The Queen Is Back! – Cocoboys and Dodogirls + Um JungHwa" . MAMA. Retrieved 2014-10-26. 2007 5th Korean Music Awards Best Modern Rock Artist of the Year Picked by Netizens "Let's Take a Walk" 2007 Mnet KM Music FestivalBest Rock Performance "It's Okay" "2007 Mnet KM Music Festival Part1" . MAMA. Retrieved 2014-12-14.2008 10th Mnet KM Music Festival Best Rock Performance "Time To Walk Memories" 23rd Golden Disk Awards Best Rock Award – 2011 5th Best Performance – Best Moment 2012 14th Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Band Performance "The Day Before" 4th MelOn Music Awards Music Style Award – Best Rock 2013 15th Mnet Asian Music AwardsBest Band Performance "Ocean Of Light" 2014 16th Mnet Asian Music Awards "Four Times Around The Sun" 201517th Mnet Asian Music Awards"Green Nocturne"2018MBC Plus X Genie Music AwardsSong of the Year"Today" (with Groovy Room)Band Music AwardGenie Music Popularity AwardNell and Groovy Room
References
External links