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.[1] The group disbanded following the return of Minhyun on December 31, 2018.

NU'EST W
NU'EST W at MAMA 2017 in Japan From left to right: Aron, Baekho, JR, and Ren
NU'EST W at MAMA 2017 in Japan
From left to right: Aron, Baekho, JR, and Ren
Background information
OriginSeoul, South Korea
Genres
Years active2017 (2017)–2018
LabelsPledis
Spinoff of
Past members

History

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Predebut: Produce 101 Season 2

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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.[2][3] The "W" stands for "wait", meaning that the group will wait for Minhyun to return.[3][A] It also contains a second meaning of them having waited a long time to greet fans again following periods of inactivity.

2017: Debut

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NU'EST W released their debut EP W, Here with the lead single "Where You At" on 10 October 2017.[4] The EP was well received, and they earned their first music show win with "Where You At" on 19 October 2017 on M! Countdown.[5] 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.[6] In October 2017, NU'EST W became models for the outdoor clothing company BLACKYAK's campaign, "Art of the Youth".[7]

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.[8]

2018: Who, You, Wake, N, and disbandment

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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.[9] On 25 June 2018, NU'EST W released their second EP, Who, You, and began promoting the lead single titled "Dejavu".[10][11] Following its release, "Dejavu" topped three major Korean music charts.[12] They first performed "Dejavu" at their album showcase on 25 June 2018.[13][14]

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.[15] On October 1, 2018, NU'EST W and NC Soft's character brand, Spoonz , released a collaboration song called "I Don't Care."[16] NU'EST W together with their labelmate Seventeen became brand ambassadors of a fried chicken restaurant franchise Nene Chicken.[17]

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.[18]

On November 26, NU'EST W released their final EP as a unit group Wake, N with the title song "Help Me".[19][20] "Help Me" topped domestic music charts including Naver and Soribada. They earned their first win for "Help Me" on Music Bank on December 7.[21] The group disbanded following Minhyun's return from Wanna One.

Discography

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Extended plays

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List of extended plays, with selected details, chart positions, sales, and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications
KOR
[22]
US
World

[23]
W, Here
  • Released: October 10, 2017
  • Label: Pledis Entertainment
  • Formats: CD, digital download
1 5
Who, You
  • Released: June 25, 2018
  • Label: Pledis Entertainment
  • Formats: CD, digital download
1 9
Wake, N
  • Released: November 26, 2018
  • Label: Pledis Entertainment
  • Formats: CD, digital download
1
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Singles

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List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Album
KOR
[28]
KOR
Hot.

[29]
US
World

[30]
"If You" (있다면) 2017 2 49 23 Non-album single
"Where You At" 1 2 W, Here
"Dejavu" 2018 5 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

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Title Year Peak chart position Sales Album
KOR
[33]
Hot
[34]
"My Beautiful" 2017 19 7 W, Here
"Paradise"
(Ren solo)
38 12
"Good Love"
(Aron solo)
40 13
"With"
(JR solo)
33 11
"지금까지 행복했어요" lit. Thankful for You
(Baekho solo)
25 9
"Polaris" 2018 67 6 Who, You
"Signal" 85 8
"YlenoL" 92 9
"Gravity&Moon" (중력달) 93 10
"Shadow" 94 11

Soundtrack appearances

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Title Year Peak chart positions Album
KOR
[36]
"Let Me Out" 2017 95 A Korean Odyssey OST Part.1
"And I" 2018 64 Mr. Sunshine OST Part.10

Concerts and tours

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Fanmeeting

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2017 NU'EST W FANMEETING 'L.O.Λ.E & DREAM'

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Date City Country Venue Attendance
August 26, 2017 Seoul South Korea Korea University Gymnasium 10,000[37]
August 27, 2017

Concert Tour

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Special Mini Concert 2017

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Date Country Venue Attendance
October 10, 2017 Taiwan Taiwan Sports Center 3,000[38]
November 18, 2017 Hong Kong Star Hall 3,000[39]

Double You

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Date City Country Venue Attendance
March 16, 2018 Seoul South Korea SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium 16,000[40]
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[41]
December 16, 2018

Awards and nominations

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Notes

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  1. ^ Excerpt: ‘W’는 ‘기다리다’라는 뜻을 가진 영문 ‘Wait’에서 따온 것이다. 멤버 민현을 기다리고, 뉴이스트를 기다려준 팬들을 위한 뉴이스트 W 유닛 활동으로 JR, 아론, 백호, 렌 총 4명 멤버가 어떤 새로운 모습을 선보일지에 대한 귀추 또한 주목된다.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "뉴이스트, 워너원 민현 제외 새 유닛 '뉴이스트 W' 론칭 [공식]".
  2. ^ Seon, Mi-kyeong (19 June 2017). 뉴이스트 측 "4인 휴식→컴백 준비, 황민현 활동 지원" (in Korean). Osen. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Lee, So-dam (18 July 2017). [공식입장] 4인조 뉴이스트, 유닛 '뉴이스트 W'로 전격출격 (in Korean). Osen. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  4. ^ "뉴이스트 W, 타이틀곡은 'WHERE YOU AT'..자작곡+솔로곡까지" (in Korean). Osen. 26 September 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  5. ^ "'Old rookie' NU'EST W finally conquers Mnet ranking". Kpop Herald. 20 October 2017.
  6. ^ ""2045일 만의 1위" 뉴이스트W, 연습생 도전→1위가수". 헤럴드POP. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  7. ^ "'뉴이스트 W'와 함께한 아트 오브 더 유스(Art of the Youth) 캠페인". 서울경제. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  8. ^ "뉴이스트W, '화유기' OST 포문..JR은 랩메이킹 참여". OSEN. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  9. ^ "[HD영상] 뉴이스트 W "뉴욕 타임스퀘어 역조공, 팬도 우리도 감동" :: THE STAR". thestar.chosun.com. Archived from the original on 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  10. ^ ""팬들 행복이 목표"..뉴이스트W, 역대급 컴백 자신하는 이유". Osen. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  11. ^ "'컴백' 뉴이스트W의 엣지 있는 라틴팝 '데자부'". 스타뉴스. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  12. ^ "뉴이스트 W, 타이틀곡 'Dejavu' 3개 차트 1위+전곡 차트 상위권 진입 '대세 입증'" (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  13. ^ "[영상] 뉴이스트W '데자부(Dejavu)'로 컴백…첫 무대 공개". 뉴스1 (in Korean). 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  14. ^ ""업그레이드된 섹시미"…'주간아' 뉴이스트W, 신곡 무대 최초공개" (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  15. ^ ""콘크리트, 돌파"…뉴이스트W, '미스터 션샤인' OST로 음원 1위 석권" (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  16. ^ Stone Music Entertainment (2018-10-01), 뉴이스트 W (NU'EST W) - I Don't Care (with 스푼즈 (Spoonz)) MV, retrieved 2018-11-18
  17. ^ 네네치킨 (2018-11-14), 네네치킨 TVCF(30s) 세븐틴, 뉴이스트 W 편 대공개!, retrieved 2018-11-18
  18. ^ "아이유·임창정, 10월 가온차트 2관왕…아이콘, 다운로드 첫 플래티넘 [공식입장]" (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  19. ^ "[펀펀한 현장]'유닛 마지막 컴백' 뉴이스트 W, '유종의 미 거둘까'". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  20. ^ "뉴이스트 W '웨이크, 앤', 감정 깨우고 위로 전할 마지막 앨범(종합)". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  21. ^ "뉴이스트W, '뮤직뱅크' 1위 소감 "러브랑 손 꼭 붙잡고" [똑똑SNS]". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-04-26.
  22. ^ Gaon Weekly Album Chart
  23. ^ Billboard World Albums
  24. ^ Cumulative Sales for W, Here:
  25. ^ Cumulative Sales for Who, You:
  26. ^ "Gaon Certification - Album". Gaon Chart. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  27. ^ Cumulative Sales for Who, You:
  28. ^ Peak chart positions for singles in South Korea:
  29. ^ Kpop Hot 100:
  30. ^ "World Digital Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  31. ^ Cumulative sales for "If You":
  32. ^ a b c d "Circle Chart" 2017년 41주차 Download Chart [Week 41 of 2017 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-10-19. "Circle Chart" 2017년 42주차 Download Chart [Week 42 of 2017 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-10-26."Circle Chart" 2017년 43주차 Download Chart [Week 43 of 2017 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-11-03.
    "Circle Chart" 2017년 10주차 Download Chart [Month 10 of 2017 Download Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-11-03.
  33. ^ "Songs from Who, You" (in Korean). Gaon Chart. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  34. ^ Kpop 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.
  35. ^ a b "2017년 10주차 Download Chart [Month 10 of 2017 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean)". Gaon Chart. Retrieved 2018-01-01.
  36. ^ "NU'EST Digital Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-06-24.
  37. ^ "뉴이스트 W, 팬미팅 3분만에 매진…25만명 동시접속" (in Korean). Mnews. August 10, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  38. ^ "뉴이스트W, 대만 팬미팅 2분 만에 3천 석 매진" (in Korean). Dispatch. September 15, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  39. ^ "대세돌 '뉴이스트w' 한국을 넘어 세계로!" (in Korean). KookminNews. November 15, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  40. ^ ""황민현 빈자리는 러브가"…뉴이스트W, 감동의 첫 콘서트" (in Korean). JTBC. March 16, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  41. ^ ""꿈이 현실로" ..뉴이스트W, 단독 콘서트로 화려한 피날레" (in Korean). The Korea Times. December 16, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2019.