# Nell (band)

Nell (Korean: 넬) is a South Korean alternative rock band formed 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 Let It Rain [ko], "Thank You" from Walk Through Me [ko], "Good Night" and "Losing Heart" from Healing Process [ko] and "Time Walking On Memory" from Separation Anxiety [ko]. 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, Reflection of [ko] and Speechless [ko], 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 Slip Away 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, Escaping 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 Newton's Apple 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 |
| Title | Album details | KOR | Sales |
| Reflection of (Indie album) | Released: January 19, 2001 Label: Goesoo Indigene Formats: CD | — | — |
| Speechless (Indie album) | Released: September 26, 2001 Label: Goesoo Indigene, NHN Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download | — | — |
| Let It Rain | Released: June 12, 2003 Label: Goesoo Indigene, Spotlight Formats: CD, digital download | — | — |
| Walk Through Me | Released: November 18, 2004 Label: Goesoo Indigene, Spotlight Formats: CD, digital download | — | — |
| Healing Process | Released: September 21, 2006 Label: Woollim Entertainment, CJ E&M Formats: CD, digital download | 51 | — |
| Separation Anxiety | Released: March 21, 2008 Label: Woollim Entertainment, CJ E&M Formats: CD, digital download | 59 | — |
| Slip Away | Released: April 10, 2012 Label: Woollim Entertainment, LOEN Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download | 1 | KOR: 26,143 |
| Newton's Apple | Released: February 27, 2014 Label: Woollim Entertainment, LOEN Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download | 6 | KOR: 13,882 |
| C | Released: August 19, 2016 Label: Space Bohemian, LOEN Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download | 7 | KOR: 12,984 |
| Let's Part (행복했으면 좋겠어) | Released: November 14, 2018 Label: Space Bohemian, LOEN Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download | 16 | KOR: 4,636 |
| Colors in Black | Released: October 10, 2019 Label: Space Bohemian, Kakao M Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 13 | KOR: 8,775 |
| Moments in Between | Released: September 2, 2021 Label: Space Bohemian, Kakao M Formats: CD, digital download, streaming | 38 | 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 Trace (Live album) | Released: November 28, 2008 Label: Woollim Entertainment, CJ E&M Formats: CD, digital download |
| Escaping Gravity | Released: June 10, 2013 Label: Woollim Entertainment, LOEN Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download |

### Single albums

| Title | Album details |
| Holding onto Gravity | Released: December 3, 2012 Label: Woollim Entertainment, LOEN Entertainment Formats: CD, digital download |

### Singles

| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales (DL) | Album |
| Title | Year | KOR | Sales (DL) | Album |
| "Stay" | 2003 | — | — | Let It Rain |
| "Thank You" | 2004 | — | — | Walk Through Me |
| "Good Night" | 2006 | — | — | Healing Process |
| "Losing Heart" (마음을 잃다) | 2006 | — | — | Healing Process |
| "It's Okay" | 2007 | — | — | Let's Take a Walk |
| "Time Spent Walking Through Memories" (기억을 걷는 시간) | 2008 | — | — | Separation Anxiety |
| "Recede" (멀어지다) | 2008 | — | — | Separation Anxiety |
| "Part 2" | 2008 | — | — | The Trace |
| "The Day Before" (그리고 남겨진 것들) | 2012 | 3 | KOR: 870,599 | Slip Away |
| "White Night" (백야) | 2012 | 5 | KOR: 490,734 | Holding Onto Gravity |
| "Words You Shouldn't Believe" (믿어선 안될 말) Live ver. | 2013 | 66 | KOR: 47,334 | Non-album single |
| "Ocean Of Light" | 2013 | 7 | KOR: 291,411 | Escaping Gravity |
| "Four Times Around The Sun" (지구가 태양을 네번) | 2014 | 11 | KOR: 406,761 | Newton's Apple |
| "Green Nocturne" (청춘연가) | 2014 | 9 | KOR: 110,174 | Non-album singles |
| "Star Shell" | 2015 | 77 | KOR: 53,422 | Non-album singles |
| "Lost In Perspective" (3인칭의 필요성) | 2015 | 25 | KOR: 125,384 | Non-album singles |
| "Dream Catcher" | 2016 | 93 | KOR: 43,076 | C |
| "Vain Hope" (희망고문) | 2016 | — | KOR: 16,726 | C |
| "Loop" (그리워하려고 해) | 2016 | 37 | KOR: 67,857 | Non-album singles |
| "Life Is Ninano" (사는게 니나노) | 2016 | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Broken" (부서진) | 2017 | 99 | KOR: 19,637 | Non-album singles |
| "Today" (오늘은) | 2017 | — | KOR: 21,054 | Non-album singles |
| "See U in Five" (오분 뒤에 봐) | 2019 | 147 | — | Colors in Black |
| "Duet" (듀엣) | 2020 | — | — | Moments in Between |
| "Don't Hurry Up" | 2021 | — | — | Moments in Between |
| "Wanderer" | 2023 | — | — | Wanderer |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. |||||

### Other charted songs

| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales (DL) | Album |
| Title | Year | KOR | Sales (DL) | Album |
| "Go" | 2012 | 33 | KOR: 181,297 | Slip Away |
| "The Ending | 2012 | 34 | KOR: 186,467 | Slip Away |
| "Cliff Parade" | 2012 | 36 | KOR: 170,330 | Slip Away |
| "Standing In The Rain" | 2012 | 37 | KOR: 174,678 | Slip Away |
| "In Days Gone Bye" | 2012 | 40 | KOR: 162,270 | Slip Away |
| "Slip Away" | 2012 | 45 | KOR: 125,317 | Slip Away |
| "Losing Control" | 2012 | 47 | KOR: 94,232 | Slip Away |
| "Beautiful Stranger" | 2012 | 51 | KOR: 89,968 | Slip Away |
| "Hopeless Valentine" | 2012 | 52 | KOR: 87,168 | Slip Away |
| "Holding Onto Gravity" | 2012 | 39 | KOR: 122,539 | Holding Onto Gravity |
| "Blue" | 2012 | 58 | KOR: 64,985 | Holding Onto Gravity |
| "Coin Seller" | 2012 | 84 | KOR: 49,484 | Holding Onto Gravity |
| "Perfect" | 2013 | 67 | KOR: 42,800 | Escaping Gravity |
| "Haven" | 2013 | 78 | KOR: 37,902 | Escaping Gravity |
| "Boy - X" | 2013 | 82 | KOR: 35,445 | Escaping Gravity |
| "Burn" | 2013 | 90 | KOR: 33,848 | Escaping Gravity |
| "Walk Out" | 2013 | — | KOR: 28,983 | Escaping Gravity |
| "Memories Of A Stranger" (타인의 기억) | 2014 | 63 | KOR: 60,209 | Newton's Apple |
| "The History Of Silence" (침묵의 역사) | 2014 | 81 | KOR: 31,321 | Newton's Apple |
| "Fantasy" | 2014 | 84 | KOR: 29,005 | Newton's Apple |
| "The Great Escape" (소멸탈출) | 2014 | 87 | KOR: 27,294 | Newton's Apple |
| "Night Of Reincarnation" (환생의 밤) | 2014 | 91 | KOR: 26,490 | Newton's Apple |
| "Grey Zone" | 2014 | 93 | KOR: 25,699 | Newton's Apple |
| "Newton's Apple" | 2014 | — | KOR: 25,015 | Newton's Apple |
| "Sunshine" | 2014 | — | KOR: 24,752 | Newton's Apple |
| "Decompose" | 2014 | — | KOR: 24,412 | Newton's Apple |
| "Dear Genovese" | 2014 | — | KOR: 23,837 | Newton's Apple |
| "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 |
| 2016 | "Breath" (숨) | The Good Wife OST |
| 2020 | "Blue Moon" | Tale of the Nine Tailed OST |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2004 | 2nd Korean Music Awards | Artist of the Year (Group) | Walk Through Me | Nominated |
| 2005 | 2005 Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Rock Performance | "Thank You" | Nominated |
| 2006 | 4th Korean Music Awards | Artist of the Year (Group) | Healing Process | Nominated |
| 2006 | 4th Korean Music Awards | Best Modern Rock Album | Healing Process | Nominated |
| 2006 | 2006 Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Rock Performance | "Losing My Mind" (마음을 잃다) | Nominated |
| 2007 | 5th Korean Music Awards | Best Modern Rock Artist of the Year Picked by Netizens | "Let's Take a Walk" | Won |
| 2007 | 2007 Mnet KM Music Festival | Best Rock Performance | "It's Okay" | Nominated |
| 2008 | 10th Mnet KM Music Festival | Best Rock Performance | "Time To Walk Memories" | Won |
| 2008 | 23rd Golden Disk Awards | Best Rock Award | - | Won |
| 2011 | 5th Grand Mint Festival | Best Performance | - | Won |
| 2011 | 5th Grand Mint Festival | Best Moment | - | Won |
| 2012 | 14th Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Band Performance | "The Day Before" | Nominated |
| 2012 | 4th MelOn Music Awards | Music Style Award - Best Rock | "The Day Before" | Won |
| 2013 | 15th Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Band Performance | "Ocean Of Light" | Nominated |
| 2014 | 16th Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Band Performance | "Four Times Around The Sun" | Nominated |
| 2015 | 17th Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Band Performance | "Green Nocturne" | Nominated |
| 2018 | MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards | Song of the Year | "Today" (with Groovy Room) | Nominated |
| 2018 | MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards | Band Music Award | "Today" (with Groovy Room) | Nominated |
| 2018 | MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards | Genie Music Popularity Award | Nell and Groovy Room | Nominated |