NU'EST W was the second sub-unit of South Korean boy band NU'EST. The group consisted of NU'EST members: JR, Aron, Baekho, and Ren, promoting in the absence of Minhyun, who at the time was promoting with Wanna One. The group disbanded following the return of Minhyun on December 31, 2018.
History Predebut: Produce 101 Season 2 For the first half of 2017, NU'EST members JR, Baekho, Ren, and Minhyun, participated in Produce 101 Season 2. Minhyun placed 9th, thus resulting in his debut in the winning group, Wanna One. Due to his absence, NU'EST promoted as a four-member special unit, NU'EST W, until Minhyun returned. The "W" stands for "wait", meaning that the group will wait for Minhyun to return. It also contains a second meaning of them having waited a long time to greet fans again following periods of inactivity.
2017: Debut NU'EST W released their debut EP W, Here with the lead single "Where You At" on 10 October 2017. The EP was well received, and they earned their first music show win with "Where You At" on 19 October 2017 on M! Countdown. The following day, NU'EST W won first place on Music Bank. Since its release, sales of W, Here have surpassed 200,000 copies, making NU'EST W the fourth K-pop group to reach 200,000 copies sold in one week, and the only unit group to do so. In October 2017, NU'EST W became models for the outdoor clothing company BLACKYAK's campaign, "Art of the Youth".
On 23 December 2017, NU'EST W contributed to the soundtrack of A Korean Odyssey with "Let Me Out", which is their first Korean drama song since their debut.
2018: Who, You, Wake, N, and disbandment In anticipation of the release of the album Who, You, Pledis Entertainment launched a one-day ad campaign for NU'EST W in New York City's Times Square to both promote the upcoming album and thank fans. On 25 June 2018, NU'EST W released their second EP, Who, You, and began promoting the lead single titled "Dejavu". Following its release, "Dejavu" topped three major Korean music charts. They first performed "Dejavu" at their album showcase on 25 June 2018.
On August 26, 2018, NU'EST W released an OST entitled "AND I" for the historical romance drama Mr. Sunshine. The "AND I" OST achieved #1 on Mnet, Naver Music & Soribada charts. On October 1, 2018, NU'EST W and NC Soft's character brand, Spoonz , released a collaboration song called "I Don't Care." NU'EST W together with their labelmate Seventeen became brand ambassadors of a fried chicken restaurant franchise Nene Chicken.
On November 8, Gaon Chart announced that EP Who, You received the official platinum certification. Receiving a platinum certification means that the album reached 250,000 sales.
On November 26, NU'EST W released their final EP as a unit group Wake, N with the title song "Help Me". "Help Me" topped domestic music charts including Naver and Soribada. They earned their first win for "Help Me" on Music Bank on December 7. The group disbanded following Minhyun's return from Wanna One.
Discography Extended plays + List of extended plays, with selected details, chart positions, sales, and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales CertificationsKORGaon Weekly Album ChartUSBillboard World AlbumsW, HereReleased: October 10, 2017 Label: Pledis Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download 1 5KOR: 308,108+Cumulative Sales for W, Here: Who, YouReleased: June 25, 2018 Label: Pledis Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download 1 9KOR: 250,810+Cumulative Sales for Who, You: KMCA: PlatinumWake, NReleased: November 26, 2018 Label: Pledis Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download 1 —KOR: 212,345+Cumulative Sales for Who, You: "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.
Singles + List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Album KORPeak chart positions for singles in South Korea: KORHot.Kpop Hot 100:
USWorld "If You" 2017 2 49 23KOR: 417,127+Cumulative sales for "If You":
"Where You At" 1 2 —KOR: 321,931+ W, Here"Dejavu" 2018 5 2 — rowspan="2" Who, You"Help Me" 9 3 — Wake, N "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.
Other charted songs Title Year Peak chart position Sales Album KOR HotKpop Hot 100: The Kpop Hot 100 was discontinued on July 16, 2014. The chart was later re-established following the term date of May 29 – June 4, 2017.
"My Beautiful" 2017 19 7KOR: 89,856+W, Here "Paradise" 38 12KOR: 39,115+ "Good Love" 40 13KOR: 38,300+ "With" 33 11KOR: 41,395+ "지금까지 행복했어요" 25 9KOR: 74,042+ "Polaris" 2018 67 6 Who, You "Signal" 85 8 "YlenoL" 92 9 "Gravity&Moon" 93 10 "Shadow" 94 11
Soundtrack appearances Title Year Peak chart positions AlbumKOR "Let Me Out" 2017 95 A Korean Odyssey OST Part.1 "And I" 2018 64 Mr. Sunshine OST Part.10
Concerts and tours Fanmeeting 2017 NU'EST W FANMEETING 'L.O.Λ.E & DREAM' Date City Country Venue Attendance August 26, 2017 Seoul South Korea Korea University Gymnasium 10,000 August 27, 2017
Concert Tour Special Mini Concert 2017 Date Country Venue Attendance October 10, 2017 Taiwan Taiwan Sports Center 3,000 November 18, 2017 Hong Kong Star Hall 3,000
Double You Date City Country Venue Attendance March 16, 2018 Seoul South Korea SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium 16,000 March 17, 2018 March 18, 2018 April 28, 2018 Bangkok Thailand Thunder Dome May 12, 2018 Jakarta Indonesia The Kasablanka Hall May 26, 2018 Taipei Taiwan New Taipei City Exhibition Hall September 23, 2018 Hong Kong Star Hall October 27, 2018 Bangkok Thailand Thunder Dome December 15, 2018 Seoul South Korea Jamsil Indoor Stadium 14,000 December 16, 2018
Awards and nominations
Notes
References