1996: BEFORE DEBUT

Back in 1996, Lee Sungjin and Chun Myunghoon promoted as a moderately successful duo named Hamo Hamo, releasing great singles like "Papillion" and "Pang Pang". With them were Noh Yoomin and Moon Sunghoon, who served as their backup dancers and had briefly appeared in the M/V of "Papillion" (see 0:59 in the M/V below). The only member not around yet was Kim Hwansung, who at the time was part of a group called "Kkaebi Kkaebi" promoting the catchy song "Message". Now one might wonder: How did these people who seemed to be on such separate paths come together as five? Well...it all started when the CEO of Music Factory was compelled to end the Hamo Hamo duo's activities and instead reform as a four member group (Myunghoon, Sungjin, Sunghoon, and Yoomin) due to the unprecendented nature of H.O.T's success. But what about Hwansung? Well...his addition to the group was all thanks to Myunghoon's reccommendation! After Kkaebi Kkaebi disbanded due to little success, Myunghoon, who had been keeping an eye on Hwansung for a while, reached out to Hwansung and personally recruited him into NRG. And with that...as well as lots of vigorous practice and training, NRG was complete and set to debut!

1997: DEBUT ERA "NEW RADIANCY GROUP"

On October 28th, 1997, NRG came in with a BANG and debuted on the program Music Tank with the high-ENERGY dance song "I Can Do It", the main track of their 1st album "New Radiancy Group". Almost instantly, the earworm of a song as well as its album became a hit and NRG skyrocketed to success, with "I Can Do It" dominating the charts and the album easily selling 400,000 copies. Rather than Sechskies at the time, NRG was the group that H.O.T themselves acknowledged as a rival and a threat due to their growing popularity + amazing visuals, upbeat, energetic music, and dance skills. Even Moon Heejun, the multi-talented member of H.O.T and the mastermind behind their choreography, was shocked when he watched all 5 members of NRG casually do somesaults on the stage, something never seen before in an idol group, and still very rare to see today. And of course Noh Yoomin built up a name as a "heartthrob" and "flower boy" of the scene (H.O.T members were shocked again upon setting eyes on him! LOL). NRG was clearly living up to its name: New and radiant. Their popularity became such that they were even nominated for first place on a music show against S.E.S..but disappointingly, bad luck struck them. The IMF crisis of Korea got worse and many programs shut down as a result, including the one they were nominated on. From this day on, their motivation only grew, and Hwansung would always state on broadcast that his greatest wish was for NRG to get number 1 on a music show. Nevertheless, they continued building on the momentum of their success, promoting follow-up songs like the ballad song "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Smile". At the end of the year, they performed "I Can Do It" at the MBC Drama Awards, adding in new lyrics that incorporated the actors' names in it.

1998: 2ND ALBUM ERA "RACE"

For most of 1998, NRG continued to go strong. From early to mid 1998, they promoted remixes of their existing songs, such as a much more fast-paced and high energy version of "I Can Do It" that featured a new epic dance break, and a dance version of their ballad "Breakfast at Tiffany's" that even included a rap. This was quite well-recieved and they were able to perform at the Dream Concert, a big joint concert where all the popular idols perform at. Then in August, they released their much anticipated album: Race, which they sold over 300,000 copies of! This album included the dance remix of "Breakfast at Tiffany's", but there were far more new things added to the table. "Making Love" was the first single up to bat, which they promoted for 2 months (August - October), before moving on to their powerful rap-oriented dance song "Messenger", which especially showed everyone what made NRG stand out. Their entertaining, sick dance routines and songs. Really, they weren't joking around in these times! Their performances were truly a spectacle to watch. And of course the music video of "Messenger" had some "Age of Peace" (failed H.O.T 3D movie and lost media)-esque visuals. Definitely one of the greatest must-watches of all their M/Vs. Anywho, this was truly their rising year. Not only were they insanely popular in Korea, but they had managed to bring their music into China, who were amazed by their performances, and reach the top there as well! Not even H.O.T had done that yet, which meant this was a monumental achievement, not only for them, but for South Korea and the Hallyu Wave as well. Ultimately, due to their extrodinary work as a group, they recieved awards from several award shows at the end of the year, such as the Popular Singer Award, New Artist Award, and Male Rookie of the Year. They also released a Christmas album, the leading track being "Our World", which they performed a handful of times for the holiday.

1999: LINEUP CHANGE + 3RD ALBUM ERA "NRG 003"

At the beginning of 1999, NRG ended their 2nd album promotions, leaving everyone anticipating their comeback. It seemed NRG were still making appearances, especially in China. Well into mid 1998, NRG performed their 2nd album songs "Messenger" and "Making Love" on Happy Camp in China as five. Unfortunately, no one would expect what would happen next. News broke out that Sungjin and Myunghoon did not renew their contracts and were departing from the group! It was truly shocking at the time. Why would two extremely important members, the main dancer and the main vocalist, drop out all of a sudden? Rumors spread around to find a reason...like Myunghoon and Sungjin ripping apart the expensive stage clothes that they were given because they disliked them! Discord between the members! Luckily, NRG held a press conference about the departure on August 28th, with Myunghoon and Sungjin stating that they were leaving on their own accord. Thus, these rumors were curbed. After leaving, Sungjin became an MC for "Mnet Hotline School", and Myunghoon became a Music Factory composer. At the time, NRG members were not being paid properly for their endeavors in China, despite being incredibly famous there, which was common for the time. Myunghoon even stated himself that he began composing because he wasn't making enough money through NRG activities. This is probably the most likely reason they left the group.

This was a huge blow to NRG, because now they were left with three members, and while all of them were talented in their own ways, Myunghoon and Sungjin were a huge factor to the group's popularity. As a result, when the three-member NRG finally came out with their third album in November, fittingly called NRG 003, its performance staled in comparison to the stellar success of the previous two albums, only selling 46,000 copies despite the album's promising sound, which was a more diverse, rock-oriented, and intimidating sound, rather than the eurobeat and high energy tunes they'd had before. The title track "Face" was extremely intense, powered by electric guitar riffs, Sunghoon's strong rapping, Yoomin's charisma, and the now main vocalist Hwansung's steady and improved singing. Other notable tracks were "Dark Angel" and "Salvation", composed by Myunghoon himself. However, even if the album didn't perform as well as the other albums, it's not as if they were failing. They still had a solid fanbase and appearances on shows, both music and variety. It's just they weren't at the top tier status they were at before, at least not in South Korea. In China on the other hand, they were still very popular despite the member losses, and as a result, very active there. Either way, along with this album, they released another holiday album called "Kiss in Christmas", the main track being "Parting" which they performed a few times. As a side note, all five members of NRG maintained contact with each other and remained close. Notably, Hwansung would constantly call Sungjin on the phone, and the three-member NRG even made appearances on Mnet Hotline School, where Sungjin interviewed them.

2000: END OF 3RD ALBUM ACTIVITIES + TRAGEDY

In early 2000, NRG began to also promote their second main track "You! Me!". This was a slower, soft, and wistful song with a catchy chorus to boot. Around March or April 2000, NRG began wrapping up their third album activities and make preparations for their fourth album, although exactly what they were preparing on this album before is unknown. In this period of time, they held a fan meeting that Sungjin and Myunghoon also attended, reuniting NRG, which made fans estatic. It seems like NRG intended to reform back as 5. In fact, a Chinese magazine reported that NRG was going to hold a concert in China on July 16th and displayed all five members posing on the magazine cover, which further backs this.

TW: DEATH, 6/15 (click to open)

Unfortunately, whatever great plans they had for the future were cruelly disrupted. On May 20th, 2000, Hwansung was already seemingly showing signs of sickness at a fansign (unsure), where was the only member wearing a mask. Either way, on June 6th, 2000, this seemed to have not gotten better as Hwansung complained of headaches, chills, and abdominal pains. As a result, he decided to go to the hospital. No one could've ever guessed that what seemed like a really bad fever would escalate into something far worse. Three days later, Hwansung seemed fine for a while, and in the hospital his condition was even improving and he left a voice message for his fans ensuring them he was okay. But that night, Hwansung's condition suddenly deteoriated to the point he struggled to breathe, and he fell into a coma. Because of his critical state, he had to be transported to the ICU. But eventually, Hwansung became braindead even when the doctor attempted to do an emergency surgery for artifical lungs, so the doctors put Hwansung off of life support with the consent of his family. On the day Hwansung died, Sungjin reported the news on "Mnet Hotline School" as he broke down in tears.

It was extremely shocking and tragic for everyone, especially Hwansung's family and the NRG members, to see him pass away so suddenly and so young. Many people attended his funeral, including fans as well as celebrities like H.O.T and Shinhwa (Out of respect, the funeral footage will not be shown). This was the darkest period for the members of NRG, and they considered disbanding the group because they didn't know how they could go on without their maknae. But Hwansung's family convinced the members to keep going, saying that Hwansung would've wanted it too. So mustering all their strength, the remaining four members of NRG, Yoomin, Myunghoon, Sunghoon, and Sungjin, held a concert in China in July, which included a VCR of Hwansung that played "Parting" in the background (it starts at 33:24 in the concert video below if you want to see it). Before the VCR started, his family was shown in the audience. In honor of Hwansung, Myunghoon also composed and wrote a very sad ballad called "Antonio", named after Hwansung's baptism name, and the song came with a M/V compiling many footages of Hwansung together and at the beginning, an audio of him talking about the ocean and how people who live close to it don't realize how special it is (like how we take our loved ones for granted), encouraging everyone to tell their friends and family they love them. For this concert, NRG released a live album called "2000 Live Concert in China (For Hwansung)".

2001: 4TH ALBUM ERA "SORROW"

In June 2001, NRG, now having Myunghoon and Sungjin officially back in the group, made a comeback with their fourth album, "Sorrow". The music in the album reflected their sadness and the members were significantly more involved in the creation of the music itself, with songs like "Letter" (written by Yoomin) and "Sunshine". But there were also songs with more oomph, like "ENeRGy", written by Sunghoon. The song title was said to be named after Hwansung's username on the game StarCraft. There was also the hip-hop song "Life Is...", the powerful song "Do You Know", and an upbeat, happy song called "Cheonjaeilwoo", named after NRG's fandom name. All three songs were composed and written by Myunghoon. The title track is the same name as the album and was composed by Kangta of H.O.T, whom Hwansung had been close friends with during his lifetime. Another song dedicated to Hwansung was "Goodbye my Friend", a mournful ballad that truly encapsulated the members' feelings and grief. It also included an M/V that had videos of Hwansung and his voice message that he sent his fans before his death. Moving on, "Sorrow" actually did quite well and reached #1 on the Music Charts. NRG even got to perform at the Dream Concert for the second time in 3 years (since 1998), where they performed "Sorrow" and "Goodbye my Friend", although their "Goodbye my Friend" performance didn't seem to be broadcasted. Even with Hwansung gone, NRG would not let their name be forgotten. They would go on for him. In August 2001, for the first time ever, NRG held a concert in South Korea, where they performed their classic hit songs as well as songs on their 4th album, and continued to honor Hwansung. The concert was compiled into an live album called "Concert with Antonio". Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be footage of the concert released online. Around September, they started promoting their second single, "Life Is..." for the rest of the year.

2003: 5TH ALBUM ERA "HIT SONG"

NRG seemed to have no activity in 2002, but in February 2003, they released their 5th album called "Hit Song", with the funky, danceable title track being the same name and composed by Myunghoon, sampled from Boney M's "Happy Song". The members had put a lot of effort into this album in order for it to succeed, and quickly, it became a hit and NRG gained a lot of popularity. Pre-orders in China accumulated up to 300,000 copies, and domestically, by May, NRG sold 130,000 copies. They did so well that they even won #1 on a music show, making them all emotional since this had taken 6 years, and it was also the late Hwansung's greatest wish. As a result, they dedicated the award to him. NRG continued to be extremely successful and dominant throughout the year as they promoted more follow-up songs like the ballad songs "Forgiveness" and "One Day", and "Friend", and a very energetic anthem-like song "What Should I Do". They also performed at the 2003 Dream Concert. In other words, NRG was experiencing a rebirth; their second prime. Their performances were more explosive than ever before, and all the members had solidified their skills in both live singing and dancing. By the end of 2003, they had cemented their place in the industry, winning several awards on SBS like the "Best Mutizen Song" and "Artist of the Year". They were also deemed the top 10 artists of 2003. To add onto it, they held yet another concert where they had a lot of special stages/things. For example, they covered SoBangCha's "Please Tell Her" (FUN FACT: NRG's company, Music Factory, was run by the former members of Sobangcha, an 80s boy group.), had another VCR honoring Hwansung, sang "Antonio", Myunghoon dancing to JYP's "She Was So Pretty", and Yoomin being in the role of Peter Pan for some sort of musical play thing. They also performed with some other female singers like Lee Jane, and sang their classics as well as their 5th album songs.

2004: 6TH ALBUM ERA "NEW RADIANCY GROUP 6"

In 2004, NRG released their 6th album, called "New Radiancy Group 6". They promoted various songs like "Hurray For a Virile Son of Korea", which was the title track, and the follow-up song "Roly Park". The title track was very successful and soared to #4 on the charts upon release, and once again, thanks to their popularity, NRG performed at the 2004 Dream Concert. They also had a great collab stage with Baby VOX, a popular girl group, where they covered PSY's "Champion". In China, they won an award for the "Best Male Singer".

2005-2006: 7TH ALBUM ERA "ONE OF FIVE"

Unfortunately, in October 2005, Sunghoon suddenly departed from the group due to health issues and no longer wanting to be in the entertainment industry, which again was a huge hit to the group as they fell back to three members: Myunghoon, Sungjin, and Yoomin. Also, Sunghoon's unique rapping style contributed a lot to their sound, so the public felt as if Moon Sunghoon's absence had created a hole in NRG's songs. Either way, the group released their 7th and final album, "One of Five", promoting the title track "Bonus Book" and the follow-up song "Present" (which only Myunghoon and Sungjin performed). "One of Five" was ultimately unable to reach the same level of success as their previous albums (kinda like what happened with their 3rd album when Myunghoon and Sungjin left), although NRG still found success in variety, especially Sungjin, who was in his prime at this time. On January 3rd, 2006, NRG had a medley stage where they performed "Present", "Breakfast at Tiffany's", and "Bonus Book" (for some reason SBS made the "Bonus Book" performance a separate clip. To find it, search on sbs.co.kr: NRG, 엔알지 만의 흥겨운 리듬 ‘별책부록’). While NRG never officially announced disbandment, the group dissipated and the members ultimately went their own ways, and it didn't help that they had to complete their military service as well.

POST-NRG ACTIVITY + REUNION

Sungjin continued to work in variety after NRG's disbandment (although he got into a fraud and gambling scandal in 2009 and went off the radar for a while. He did get married this year though) and Myunghoon also made appearances on variety and embarked on a solo career with songs like "Run" and "Jungle" and was featured in other singers' songs like Kim Jongmin's "Sali Go Dali Go" (M/V featured), and Koyote's "믿어볼까? (Shall I Believe It?)". Meanwhile, Yoomin appeared sporadically on variety shows before he got married, became a barista, and now runs a coffee business named "Noumin Cafe". As for Sunghoon, he became a bag designer and even founded a leather workshop and bag-making academy called Ruada. In 2017, NRG had a reunion. First as three members (Myunghoon, Sungjin, and Yoomin), releasing songs like "The Line is Busy" and "20th Night". They also rerecorded their songs "Breakfast at Tiffany" and "Hit Song". Then as four members on Video Star in 2018. Unfortunately, in 2021, the three members got into a pretty messy issue, with Sungjin accusing Yoomin and Myunghoon of bullying him (it's not confirmed that this is actually true. But here's an article explaining everything (turn on google translate). Either way, now NRG usually appears as two (Myunghoon and Yoomin). In 2022, the two appeared on TV CHOSUN as part of this project that creates a virtual avatar of late celebrities, "reviving" them. In this case, it was for Hwansung and it was very moving. They tearfully talked about Hwansung and their feelings and performed "Making Love", "I Can Do It", "Hit Song' (Avatar Hwansung himself performed with them!), and "Antonio" (Avatar Hwansung sat and vibed!). Hwansung's mother also spoke about her son in the show. A lot of the TV CHOSUN clips are scattered, but you can find more clips by searching "NRG TV CHOSUN 20221219" or something like that.