NU'EST (; short for New Establish Style Tempo) was a South Korean boy band formed and managed by
Pledis Entertainment
Pledis Entertainment () is a South Korean entertainment company founded by Han Sung-Soo in 2007. The label is home to Bumzu, Hwang Min-hyun, and groups Seventeen and TWS. Its name originates from the Pleiades, a star cluster in the constellat ...
. The group consisted of five members:
JR,
Aron,
Baekho,
Minhyun, and
Ren.
They debuted on March 15, 2012, with the single titled "Face". The group disbanded on March 15, 2022, after Aron, JR, and Ren left Pledis Entertainment upon the completion of their 10-year contract.
History
Pre-debut
Prior to their debut, NU'EST made appearances in their labelmates' music releases. They were backup dancers for
After School Blue's "Wonder Boy", and featured in their label's Christmas release "Love Letter". They also released their own music video for "Love Letter" as Pledis Boys.
JR appeared in
Orange Caramel's "Bangkok City" music video, and was also featured in
Uee
Kim Yu-jin (; born April 9, 1988), better known by her stage name Uee (; sometimes romanized as U-), is a South Korean singer and actress. She is best known for being a former member of South Korean girl group After School from 2009 to 2017, ...
's solo song "Sok Sok Sok".
Baekho appeared in After School's "Play Ur Love" music video, and
Minhyun starred in Orange Caramel's "Shanghai Romance" music video.
JR, Minhyun,
Aron, and
Ren were also featured with After School's
Lizzy in a commercial for
New Balance. JR and Baekho appeared on the KBS television program ''
Hello Counselor
''Hello Counselor'' () was a South Korean social commentary talk show that debuted on November 22, 2010. It was hosted by Shin Dong-yup, Lee Young-ja, and Cultwo ( Jung Chan-woo, Kim Tae-gyun). Choi Tae-joon joined the show as host from Au ...
'' and were revealed by After School's
Kahi as two members of the group. This drew attention from viewers and they became a topic of interest online.
Pledis Boys, now dubbed "After School Boys", later performed with After School at the ''
SBS Gayo Daejeon''. Minhyun and Ren also gained attention modeling for designer Park Yoon-so's F/W 2012–13 Seoul Fashion Week show, titled 'Big Park'.
2012–2014: Debut with ''Face,'' ''Action,'' ''Hello'', ''Sleep Talking'', ''Re:BIRTH'' and Japanese debut
NU'EST made their debut with their first single, "Face", on March 15, 2012. Their debut stage was on
''M! Countdown'' on the same day.
The group began airing their own reality show, ''Making of a Star: NU'EST Landing Operation'', during the promotional period.
They returned with their first EP, ''
Action
Action may refer to:
* Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person
* Action principles the heart of fundamental physics
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video gam ...
'', on July 11, and became ambassadors for
Korea's Scout Association. During their promotional period and the rest of the year, NU'EST began to expand to the global market, holding events in Japan, Australia, other parts of Asia, and the United States, including performances at
KCON. In December, NU'EST began endorsements with
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
.
Baekho and Ren made acting appearances in the drama ''
Jeon Woo-chi'' alongside label mate Uee in January 2013. The group returned with their second EP, ''Hello'', on February 13. They held their first exclusive concert, ''Show Time NU’EST Time,'' on the same day to commemorate the release.
During the promotional period, they were cast for ''SBS MTV Diary'' along with their then-label mate
Hello Venus. In March, NU'EST celebrated their first anniversary through a concert in Japan, ''NU′EST Debut 1st Anniversary Live Show Time''.
On April 8, Aron became a DJ for
Arirang
''Arirang'' ( ) is a Korean folk song. There are about 3,600 variations of 60 different versions of the song, all of which include a refrain similar to "arirang, arirang, arariyo" (""). It is estimated that the song is more than 600 years old ...
's ''Music Access''.
On August 22, 2013, NU'EST released their third EP, ''
Sleep Talking,'' with the lead single of the same name.
To celebrate
''Music Core'''s 400th episode in March 2014, Ren performed
Girl's Day's "Something" alongside
BtoB
B2B, B to B, or B-to-B may refer to: Sports
* B2B, a controversial and short lived class in the 1979 Sidecar World Championship
* Bay to Breakers, an annual footrace in San Francisco, California on the third Sunday of May
* Budapest-Bamako, now t ...
's
Minhyuk,
A-Jax's Seungjin, and
VIXX
VIXX ( pronounced "vicks"; acronym for "voice, visual, value in excelsis") is a South Korean boy band formed by Jellyfish Entertainment through the 2012 reality show ''MyDOL''. Originally a sextet, the group is currently composed of four members: ...
's
Hongbin.
On July 9, 2014, NU'EST released their first full album, ''
Re:Birth'', with the lead single "Good Bye Bye". They made their Japanese debut on November 5, with the single "Shalala Ring".
2015–2016: Japanese promotions, ''Q Is'' and ''Canvas''

NU'EST released the digital single "I'm Bad" on February 27, 2015, with a limited edition physical release on March 15 to celebrate their third anniversary. Baekho did not participate in the lead single as he was recovering from vocal cord polyps surgery, but he did contribute to the B-side track, "A Scene Without You." On April 2, Minhyun collaborated with Korean indie artist Fromm on the single "The Aftermath". On April 19, Aron ended his position as a DJ at Arirang's ''Music Access''. The group held their first solo showcase in North America in Dallas, put together by My Music Taste, on third May.
NU'EST released their second Japanese single, "Nanananamida", on May 20. On August 14, Aron took up a position as a DJ on
SBS PopAsia
SBS PopAsia is an Australian digital radio station that broadcasts music, most notably from East Asia and Southeast Asia, on digital radio, online and on mobile devices. The station originated as a two-hour segment on SBS youth radio programme ...
with his own show ''Aron's Hangout''. NU'EST released their first Japanese studio album, ''
Bridge the World'', on November 18, after pre-releasing the tracks "Bridge the World", "Cherry", "Access to You", and "Ame Nochi Eien". "Cherry" was used as the theme song to the film ''
Their Distance'', which the members starred in as their Japanese film debut.
Their fourth EP, ''
Q is,'' was released on February 17, 2016, with the lead single "Overcome". They began promotions for the album the following day.
NU'EST released their fifth extended play ''
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely durable Plain weave, plain-woven Cloth, fabric used for making sails, tents, Tent#Marquees and larger tents, marquees, backpacks, Shelter (building), shelters, as a Support (art), support for oil painting and for other ite ...
'' and the accompanying single "Love Paint (Every Afternoon)" on August 29, 2016. After four years of promotions, the group received their first music show nomination on
''The Show''. On October 6, 2016, the music video for "Daybreak", a duet between Minhyun and JR from ''Canvas'', was released.
2017–2018: ''Produce 101 Season 2'' and NU'EST W
After the commercial decline of their previous releases and considerations of disbandment,
JR, Baekho, Minhyun, and Ren participated in the reality television series ''
Produce 101 Season 2'' during the first half of 2017.
During their appearance on the show, previously released albums, including ''Q Is'' and ''Canvas,'' rose on South Korean album charts, reflecting a sudden surge in popularity of the group.
After the final episode of ''Produce 101 Season 2'' aired, NU'EST's previous releases shot back up on music charts and topped the Gaon Chart. Only Minhyun ranked within the top 11, earning a position in the temporary boy group
Wanna One, and he promoted exclusively with them for 1.5 years.
The remaining members announced they would be promoting as
NU'EST W until Minhyun's return. Due to the group's sudden surge in popularity, they (as NU'EST W) returned to music shows to promote their single "Hello" (first released in 2013), and ranked number 11 on
Inkigayo
''Inkigayo'' (; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform on stage. ...
.
Following the conclusion of ''Produce 101 Season 2,'' JR and Ren also became models for the cosmetics company Labiotte. Subsequently, Baekho and Aron also joined their groupmates in promoting the brand. Ren joined the JTBC variety show ''Learning the Hard Way'', of which he is a fixed member. Aron featured on
Raina's single "Loop".
While Minhyun's Wanna One contract officially ended on December 31, 2018, he did not officially return to NU'EST until a month later.
This was due to Pledis and Swing Entertainment coming to an agreement that allowed Minhyun to attend scheduled year-end shows and award ceremonies throughout January 2019 as a member of Wanna One.
Minhyun's final Wanna One activity before returning to NU'EST was a final concert (titled ''Therefore'') that was held across four days, ending on January 27, 2019.
2019–2020: ''Happily Ever After,'' ''The Table,'' ''The Nocturne,'' ''Drive''
After reuniting for the first time in almost two years, NU'EST announced their contract renewal with Pledis Entertainment. On March 15, 2019, they released a special digital single "A Song For You" to celebrate their seventh anniversary since debut.
On April 3, Minhyun released a digital solo single "Universe" as the pre-release single from the upcoming NU'EST album. The single is accompanied by the music video shot in Budapest and Milan. The group held their first solo concert in six-years titled "Segno" on April 12–14 to an audience of 36,000. Their sixth EP ''
Happily Ever After'' was released on April 29 with the lead single "Bet Bet". It is their first release in three years and the last in the three-part series of "Knights searching for the Queen" narrative which began with their fourth EP in 2016. The EP secured triple crowns on Gaon Chart for the week of April 28 – May 4 by topping the album chart, digital download chart, and BGM chart after its release. In May 2019, NU'EST released an official audio recording of the song "Blessing", which had been recorded as a candidate for their debut song in 2012.
On October 21, the group released their seventh EP ''
The Table'' with the lead single "Love Me". The single went on to win in all five major music broadcast shows, which also marked the group's first win since debut on ''
Show! Music Core
''Show! Music Core'' (), or simply ''Music Core'' is a South Korean music television program broadcast by MBC. It airs live every Saturday at 15:30 (KST). The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. I ...
'' and ''
Inkigayo
''Inkigayo'' (; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform on stage. ...
''.
Seven months after their last comeback, the group released their eighth EP ''
The Nocturne'' with the lead single titled "I'm in Trouble" on May 11, 2020. The album topped the Album Sales, Retail Album, Download, and BGM charts on Gaon's Weekly Chart. "I'm in Trouble" also debuted at no. 6 on Gaon's Digital Chart, becoming the complete group's first lead single since debut to break into the Top 10, excluding their singles as NU'EST W.
On October 7, NU'EST released their second Japanese-language album, "Drive". The song "Drive" is the group's first Japanese album release in 5 years after "Bridge the World".
2021–2022: ''Romanticize'', solo projects, ''Needle & Bubble'' and disbandment
On April 19, 2021, the group released their second studio album, ''
Romanticize'', with the lead single "Inside Out". Only four members participated in full promotions for the album as Aron went on a brief hiatus in January 2021 due to anxiety issues (but performed with the group in music shows), eventually rejoining the group in June. The album topped Hanteo's weekly album sales chart and earned two crowns on the
Gaon Music Chart
The Circle Chart (), previously known as the Gaon Music Chart or the Gaon Chart (), tabulates the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in South Korea. Founded in 2010, it is produced by the Korea Music Content Association and sponsored ...
.
The lead single also went on to score wins on ''M! Countdown'', ''Music Bank'', ''Show! Music Core'', and ''Inkigayo'', earning the group its second music show grand slam since their single "Love Me" in late 2019.
Following the success of their second album, the group spent the rest of 2021 mostly working on their solo projects. JR made his acting debut in the
SBS television series ''
Let Me Be Your Knight''; Minhyun began filming the
tvN series ''
Alchemy of Souls
''Alchemy of Souls'' () is a South Korean television series starring Lee Jae-wook, Jung So-min, Go Youn-jung, and Hwang Min-hyun. Written by the Hong sisters, it depicts the stories of young mages dealing with heaven and earth. It aired on ...
'' and briefly reunited with Wanna One at the
2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards; Aron hosted ''Circle Room'', a talk show exclusively on Twitter; Baekho made his musical theater debut in the Seoul productions of ''
Midnight Sun
Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...
'' and ''
Altar Boyz'', and Ren performed the title role in the musical ''
Hedwig and the Angry Inch''.
The group held their first live in-person concert in 2 years titled ''The Black'' from November 26 to 28, 2021 at the
Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul. On December 2, the group performed in and won the Best Achievement award at the 2021
Asia Artist Awards. Later that month, they performed at the 2021
KBS Song Festival
The ''KBS Song Festival'' () is an annual South Korean music show that airs on the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) at the end of every year. It first aired in 1965 as an awards show, but KBS discontinued the awards ceremony in 2006. It has con ...
and
SBS Gayo Daejeon, held on December 17 and 25, respectively.
After nearly a year of no new releases, it was announced on February 28, 2022, that the group's exclusive contract with Pledis Entertainment will end on March 14. It was also announced that members Aron, JR, and Ren will leave the agency at the conclusion of their contract, while Baekho and Minhyun opted to renew. With the news of their contract expiring, the group confirmed their disbandment through handwritten letters to their fans, announcing their decision to pursue individual projects. A compilation album, ''
Needle & Bubble'', was released on March 15 to mark the group's 10-year anniversary as they officially disbanded on the same day.
Members
*
JR ()
*
Aron ()
*
Baekho ()
*
Minhyun ()
*
Ren ()
Philanthropy
To mark their seventh debut anniversary, the group donated funds to The Snail of Love in March 2019 to cover
cochlear implant
A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted Neuroprosthetics, neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for imp ...
surgery and language rehabilitation therapy for children. The donation also helped fund music education programs to help people with developmental disabilities connect with the world through music.
Sub-groups
NU'EST-M
From 2013 to 2014, NU'EST-M was formed as a sub-group in collaboration with
Yuehua Entertainment
Yuehua Entertainment (; ) is a privately held Chinese multinational entertainment group and talent agency based in Beijing. The company was founded in June 2009 by former Huayi Brothers employee Du Hua. Yuehua is involved in television production ...
to exclusively target the Chinese market.
All five members participated in NU'EST-M with the addition of Jason, a Chinese trainee from Yuehua Entertainment.
The group recorded Chinese versions of the lead singles "Face" and "Sleep Talking."
NU'EST W
From July 17, 2017, to December 31, 2018, the remaining members of NU'EST promoted as a sub-group,
NU'EST W, while Minhyun exclusively promoted with
Wanna One. NU'EST W released a total of three EPs before ending promotions in 2018.
Discography
Korean albums
* ''
Re:Birth'' (2014)
* ''
Romanticize'' (2021)
Japanese albums
* ''
Bridge the World'' (2015)
* ''Drive'' (2020)
Filmography
Television
Film
* ''
Their Distance'' (2015)
Concerts and tours
Concerts
Tours
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:NUEST
2012 establishments in South Korea
K-pop music groups
Musical groups established in 2012
Musical groups from Seoul
Pledis Entertainment artists
Ariola Japan artists
South Korean boy bands
South Korean dance music groups
South Korean synth-pop groups
Hybe Corporation artists
Musical groups disestablished in 2022
2022 disestablishments in South Korea
Japanese-language singers of South Korea