1996: Formation Lee Sung-jin and
Chun Myung-hoon originally debuted in 1996 as duet under the name HamoHamo and released one album with moderate success from the singles, "Papillion" and "Pangpang". Moon Sung-hoon and Noh Yoo-min originally backup dancers for HamoHamo. They were discovered by music producer Kim Tae-hyung (
ko). Due to the success of the five-member idol group
H.O.T, Kim Tae-hyung decided that they should become a four-member dance group. Kim Hwan-sung, who had previously been part of a quartet called Kkaebi Kkaebi and then a project group with
Shoo of
S.E.S. and
Son Ho-young and
Danny Ahn of
g.o.d, was later added to the line-up.
1997–1999: Debut, breakthrough and line-up changes NRG debuted on October 28, 1997, on the cable
music program Music Tank (
ko) with the single "I Can Do It" (할 수 있어). Two weeks after their debut, the group held an
MC spot for ten weeks on the show. Their first album
New Radiancy Group sold over 200,000 copies in South Korea. At the 1998
SBS Popular Song Awards, NRG won the New Face Award (Best Male New Artist). According to H.O.T members
Moon Hee-joon and
Tony An, they had initially considered NRG their professional rival rather than
Sechs Kies as NRG introduced acrobatic stunts into their choreography, which was considered groundbreaking at that time. NRG's second album
Race was released that same year, and featured more high energy dance songs like "Messenger", selling over 300,000 copies in South Korea. With the second album, NRG was also able to find success outside of Korea, selling albums in both China and Japan. NRG became the first South Korean musical group to actively market themselves in China, where they have sold over 100,000 copies. At a press conference on August 26, 1999, Sungjin and Myunghoon announced that they would be leaving the group, with Sungjin stating that their departures had nothing to do with "discord within the group", but that it was a voluntary decision by both. Sungjin pursued a career in acting and hosting, while Myunghoon took a less visible role in the group by choreographing their dance routines and writing and composing rather than performing. The group released their third album,
NRG 003, on November 4, 1999, which struggled promotionally as a result of Sungjin and Myunghoon's absence. Later that month, the group also released their holiday album, a
Kiss In Christmas.
2000–2001: Kim Hwan-sung’s death, Sorrow, and temporary hiatus On May 11, 2000, it was announced that NRG had accepted Yuxing Company's invitation to become "Fitness Dance Ambassadors" as part of their global expansion efforts. The following week, the group was spotted in Beijing shooting a commercial as part of the buildup to their first China tour, announced by member Hwansung at a press conference later that day. Following the group's early promotions for the tour, Hwansung was admitted to the hospital on June 6, but his condition quickly deteriorated to the point where he was placed on life support on June 10, and fell into a coma the following day. On June 13, the group reportedly met to discuss the cancellation of the upcoming tour, but at the request of Hwansung's parents, the tour would continue as scheduled. On June 4, their fourth album
Sorrow (悲) was released, with the title track written for them by former
H.O.T. member
Kangta. On August 17 and 19, NRG held their first concert in Korea, which also served as a tribute to Hwansung. Following promotions for
Sorrow, the group would become inactive during 2002 for what was reported to be a combination of Hwansung's death and poor sales of the group's fourth album, with Daum noting that the group became overshadowed by Sungjin's popularity as a television personality during their hiatus.
2001–2005: Return with Hit Song, first number-one song, and New Radiancy 6 Group 1 year and six months after the release of
Sorrow, NRG returned with their fifth album
Hit Song in February 2003. The album accumulated over 300,000 pre-orders in China, and had sold 130,000 copies domestically by May. The song "Forgiveness" also gained popularity, and the group promoted both it and "Hit Song" at once. On April 30, 2004, NRG released their sixth album
New Radiancy 6 Group. The title track, "Hurray for a Virile Son of Korea," was written and composed by Myunghoon for the
2004 Athens Olympics and placed 4th in the pop charts as the event neared. The following month, the group held a special performance for the Olympic athletes at the Taereung Athletics Village on May 19, in response to the title track's popularity among the athletes. As a result of Chosen by Coca-Cola, Sungjin and Sunghoon were selected as torch bearers for the
Olympic torch relay. On October 16, Music Factory announced that NRG would be releasing their seventh album as a trio, noting that the album contained several duet and solo tracks in order to allow the group and members to continue promoting during the upcoming military period. In response to fans questioning Sunghoon's exclusion from the album, Music Factory announced on October 26 that Sunghoon had withdrawn from the group to pursue "an internet related business". The album,
One of Five: Apart and Together, released on November 22, 2005, with the group brancing into more individual activities in 2006 as part of the album's concept. Their last known public appearance as a group was the February 18, 2006 episode of
Show! Music Core. In April of 2006, Myunghoon's TV appearances were suspended as a result of a legal battle with Music Factory regarding his contract, with Myunghoon settling and returning to the company on July 31. On July 20, it was belatedly reported that Sungjin had begun his
mandatory military service as an industrial technician at a defense company the week prior. He would later withdraw from the group permanently as he was being investigated over a gambling scandal. Member Yoomin later stated in 2009 that he believed the group had "effectively disbanded" during their enlistment, and announced plans to "maintain the NRG brand" by reuniting with Myunghoon and returning to live broadcasts, though no group reunion would occur. NRG's debut single "You Can Do It" was remade by the cast of
Handsome Boys of the 20th Century and the new version charted on the
Gaon Digital Chart.
2016–2018, 2022: Reunions '' in 2017. On October 22, 2016, NRG held a fan meeting and announced that NRG would be getting back together with all the members except for Sunghoon, although they stayed in contact with him throughout the years. On October 19, the first teaser images were revealed. One week later, it was revealed the track and the new album,
20th Century (20세기), were released under
Genie Music.
20th Century charted in the
Gaon Album Chart, peaking at #39. In March 2018, Sunghoon joined the other NRG members on the talk show
Video Star. It was the first time in thirteen years all four members were on television together and, for the first time in over fifteen years, publicly spoke about how Hwansung's death had affected them. Sungjin, Myunghoon, and Yoomin also appeared on the
MBC documentary series
Human Documentary: Good People (
ko) and met up with Hwansung's parents. On July 9, 2021, member Lee Sungjin stated that he did not believe NRG would reunite again, following his interview regarding past "negative experiences" with the group members, as well as internal disputes over ownership of the copyright of the group's name. On February 13, 2022, Myunghoon announced he would be releasing a single titled "Never Going Back," which featured NRG members Yoomin and Sunghoon, as well as singer Lisa. Despite being released under his name, he billed the single as "his last song with NRG." The announcement also included a tribute to Hwansung, while Sungjin was notably not included or acknowledged. ==Members==