N.E.R.D
is an American rock, funk and hip hop band. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin Records as a duo, The Neptunes. After producing songs for several artists throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, the production duo formed the band with Shay Haley as a side project of The Neptune in 2001. N.E.R.D's debut album, In Search Of...
, sold 603,000 copies in the United States and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was also awarded the second annual Shortlist Music Prize. The band's second album, Fly or Die
, sold 412,000 copies in the United States and was certified Gold by the RIAA.
In 2005, N.E.R.D ended their contract with Virgin and disbanded. Three years later, the band reunited under Star Trak Entertainment, a subsidiary of Interscope Records established by Williams and Hugo. The band's third album, Seeing Sounds
, sold 80,000 copies in its first week.
|
N.E.R.D. TICKETS
|
History
Formation and early career
Pharrell Williams and
Chad Hugo met at the ages of 12 at a summer camp for musicians, which they both disliked.
[1] [2] They spent their free time making
beats and performing in groups with fellow childhood friend
Timbaland. Williams and Hugo met
Shay Haley in high school and began performing together. The trio often met in Hugo's garage, where he
beatboxed through a
speaker system while Haley danced.
[3] After watching the duo perform at a high school
talent show,
Teddy Riley, a musician and producer, signed Williams and Hugo in 1992.
After producing songs for several artists throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, the production duo formed N.E.R.D (an acronym for
N
o one
E
ver
R
eally
D
ies) in 2001 as a side project.
[4] [5]
2001–2002: In Search Of...
The band's debut album,
In Search Of...
, was released in Europe in September 2001. The album was produced by
The Neptunes; they used similar digital production techniques as they did for other artists. However, the band decided that they wanted to sound different from their production.
[6] This led them to rerecording the album using live instruments with
rock band
Spymob for a worldwide release in 2002.
[7] The album debuted at number 61 on the
Billboard
200 and peaked at number 56.
[8] [9] It failed to replicate the success of The Neptunes' previous productions. The album won the second annual
Shortlist Music Prize, an accolade awarded to albums released in the United States that have not achieved mainstream success and have sales of 500,000 copies or less at the time of nomination.
The album sold 603,000 copies in the United States and was certified
Gold by the
RIAA.
[10]
The album's lead single, "
Lapdance", peaked at number 36 of the
Hot Rap Tracks chart and number 85 on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
[11] The second single, "
Rock Star", peaked at number 36 on the
Billboard
Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart.
[12] A 6.1 surround mix of this album was released by DTS Entertainment on a
DVD-Audio disc in 2005. The original version of the album is a collectors' item.
2003–2004: Fly or Die
thumb
The band recorded its second album,
Fly or Die
, in 2003. They learned to play the songs live, as Chad Hugo told
MTV News on December 9, 2003: "We're the ones playing the instruments live this time. I just started playing guitar last year so I'm learning as we go. Pharrell's playing drums. [Last time] we didn't have time to learn certain instruments so we got Spymob to help us out."
[13]
Fly or Die
was released in March 2004. The album debuted at number six on the
Billboard
200, selling 119,000 copies in its first week.
[14] The album sold 412,000 copies in the United States and was certified
Gold by the
RIAA.
[15] The first single, "
She Wants to Move", has gone top 5 in the United Kingdom, top 20 in Norway, Ireland, and Denmark, and top 40 in Australia and the Netherlands. The music videos for "She Wants to Move" and its follow up single, "
Maybe", have received strong support from the digital cable network
VH1 Soul in America.
2005–present: Hiatus and Seeing Sounds
In 2005, N.E.R.D ended their contract with
Virgin Records over a label dispute and the band disbanded.
[16] While touring, the band became "hooked" on the energy from their fans, which led them to begin recording their third
studio album, spending their own money while still unsigned. Williams and Hugo later established
Star Trak Entertainment, a subsidiary of
Interscope Records.
In March 2008, the band performed at
South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. While there they filmed a
PSA for
Rock the Vote saying why they thought voting was important and the issues they cared about that election year.
[17]
From April to June 2008, the band toured with
Kanye West as an opening act along with
Rihanna and
Lupe Fiasco as part of the
Glow in the Dark Tour. On June 13, they gave an energetic performance at the
Isle of Wight festival on the small island of the same name off the coast of England. They almost missed their scheduled show because they didn't know where the island was.
[18] On June 25, they performed in front of 40,000 people at the Isle of MTV 2008 at the Floriana granaries,
Malta with free admission.
[19] [20]
On August 9, 2008, the band played at the Way Out West music festival held in the city park of Gothenburg, Sweden. In September 2008, N.E.R.D performed to a sold-out crowd at the
House of Blues in
Chicago, and brought special guest
Bad Brains onstage.
N.E.R.D released their third studio album,
Seeing Sounds
in June 2008. The first single off the album, titled "
Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom)", was first mentioned on their
Billionaire Boys Club blog in January 2008. The second single off the album, titled "
Spaz", was used in a
TV commercial for the
Microsoft Zune.
Musical style
The band's sound generally contains elements of
rock,
funk and
hip hop, while also encompassing
R&B and
pop.
[21] [22] Though the band rarely
samples from other songs,
[23] the European release of their debut album,
In Search Of...
, relied heavily on sampling.
They have been praised for their heavy use of
electronic,
bass and
funk beats,
[24] [25] [26] while others have suggested that
The Neptunes are unable to blend
R&B and
rock.
[27]
N.E.R.D's lyrics have been criticized. Ian Cohen of
Pitchfork Media called the band's writing ability "far down the list of what N.E.R.D is actually good at",
[28] where Williams is often criticized for being excessively sexual.
[29] [30] With the release of
Fly or Die
, the album was advertised in
Kerrang!
magazine, which made Alexis Petridis of
The Guardian
feel that N.E.R.D's lyrics tried to "
empathize with the alienated teenagers who make up
Kerrang!
's readership".
Band members
- Pharrell Williams - lead vocals, piano/keyboards, rhythm guitar, percussion
- Chad Hugo - lead guitar, piano/keyboards, saxophone, bass guitar
- Shay Haley - drums, percussion, backing vocals
Discography
Albums
Year
| Album details
| Peak chart positions
| Sales and certifications
|
U.S. [31]
| UK [32]
| GER [33]
| FRA [34] [35]
| AUS
| NZ
| SWI
| SWE
[36]
| IRE [37] [38]
| ITA
|
2002
| In Search Of...
- Released: March 12, 2002
- Label: Virgin
- Format: CD, LP, DVD-A
| 56
| 28
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 17
| 27
| —
|
- RIAA certification: Gold
- U.S. sales: 603,000
|
2004
| Fly or Die
- Released: March 23, 2004
- Label: Virgin
- Format: CD, LP
| 6
| 4
| 20
| 31
| 11
| 22
| 27
| 9
| —
| 10
|
- RIAA certification: Gold
- U.S. sales: 412,000
|
2008
| Seeing Sounds
- Released: June 10, 2008
- Label: Star Trak, Interscope
- Format: CD, LP, DI
| 7
| 20
| —
| 45
| 14
| —
| 13
| —
| 60
| —
|
- RIAA certification: —
- U.S. sales: 80,000+ [39]
|
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
|
Singles
Year
| Title
| Peak chart positions
| Album
|
U.S. [40]
| U.S. R&B [41] [42]
| U.S. D/CP
| U.S. Mod Rock
| UK
| AUS [43]
| SWE [44]
| NLD [45]
|
2001
| "Lapdance" (featuring Lee Harvey and Vita)
| —
| 85
| —
| —
| 201
| —
| 47
| 56
| In Search Of...
|
2002
| "Rock Star"
| —
| —
| —
| 36
| 15
| 32
| —
| 74
|
"Provider"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 201
| —
| 43
| 95
|
2004
| "She Wants to Move"
| —
| 69
| 6
| —
| 5
| 21
| 58
| 8
| Fly or Die
|
"Maybe"
| —
| —
| 19
| —
| 25
| 48
| —
| 37
|
2008
| "Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom)"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| 41
| —
| —
| —
| Seeing Sounds
|
"Spaz"
| 106
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
2009
| "Sooner or Later" [46]
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
|
- 1 indicates that "Lapdance" was re-released in the UK only as a double A-side with "Provider".
Notes
- Like the song? These guys wrote it
- Vintage N.E.R.D. Profile
- Hip-hop's glittering touchstone
- N.E.R.D. - Biography
- The cool part about being a N.E.R.D.
- N.E.R.D.'s Not Your Stereotypical Group
- In Search of... Pharrell Williams
- 'O Brother' Still Finds Itself On Top
- Usher Breaks Records With 'Confessions' Debut
- RIAA - Gold & Platinum
- Neptunes' N*E*R*D Pushed To November
- Artist Chart History - N.E.R.D. - Singles
- N.E.R.D. Step Up Their Game On Fly Or Die, Reminisce About Teen Years
- Usher Breaks Records With 'Confessions' Debut
- Pharrell Finds Time For N.E.R.D., Jay-Z
- Q&A With Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D.
- YouTube - NERD - Rock the Vote @ SXSW
- NERD Just Make It For Isle of Wight
- Isle of MTV - Malta Special 2008
- YouTube - Broadcast Yourself
- Music Review - In Search Of... (2002) - N.E.R.D.
- CD: N*E*R*D, Fly or Die
- Lethem; Bresnick, 2002, p. 122.
- Music Review - Seeing Sounds (2008) - N.E.R.D.
- N.E.R.D. gets its giddy up
- N*E*R*D - Seeing Sounds
- N*E*R*D, Seeing Sounds
- N.E.R.D.: Seeing Sounds
- Seeing Sounds - N.E.R.D. - Review
- N*E*R*D* - Fly Or Die - Album Reviews
- Artist Chart History - N.E.R.D. - Albums
- Chart Stats - NERD
- Chartverfolgung - N.E.R.D
- N.E.R.D. - Fly Or Die
- N.E.R.D. - Seeing Sounds
- N.E.R.D. - In The Search Of - New Version
- N.e.r.d - In Search Of - Music Charts
- N.e.r.d - Seeing Sounds - Music Charts
- Lil Wayne Crushes The Competition To Debut At No. 1
- Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles - Spaz - N*E*R*D
- Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - Lapdance - N*E*R*D
- Artist Chart History - N.E.R.D. - Singles
- Discography N.E.R.D - N.E.R.D. in Australian Charts
- Discography N.E.R.D. - N.E.R.D. in Swedish Charts
- Discografie N.E.R.D. - N.E.R.D. in Dutch Charts
- On Set of N.E.R.D.'s 'Sooner or Later' Video
References
- Like the song? These guys wrote it
- Vintage N.E.R.D. Profile
- Hip-hop's glittering touchstone
- N.E.R.D. - Biography
- The cool part about being a N.E.R.D.
- N.E.R.D.'s Not Your Stereotypical Group
- In Search of... Pharrell Williams
- 'O Brother' Still Finds Itself On Top
- Usher Breaks Records With 'Confessions' Debut
- RIAA - Gold & Platinum
- Neptunes' N*E*R*D Pushed To November
- Artist Chart History - N.E.R.D. - Singles
- N.E.R.D. Step Up Their Game On Fly Or Die, Reminisce About Teen Years
- Usher Breaks Records With 'Confessions' Debut
- Pharrell Finds Time For N.E.R.D., Jay-Z
- Q&A With Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D.
- YouTube - NERD - Rock the Vote @ SXSW
- NERD Just Make It For Isle of Wight
- Isle of MTV - Malta Special 2008
- YouTube - Broadcast Yourself
- Music Review - In Search Of... (2002) - N.E.R.D.
- CD: N*E*R*D, Fly or Die
- Lethem; Bresnick, 2002, p. 122.
- Music Review - Seeing Sounds (2008) - N.E.R.D.
- N.E.R.D. gets its giddy up
- N*E*R*D - Seeing Sounds
- N*E*R*D, Seeing Sounds
- N.E.R.D.: Seeing Sounds
- Seeing Sounds - N.E.R.D. - Review
- N*E*R*D* - Fly Or Die - Album Reviews
- Artist Chart History - N.E.R.D. - Albums
- Chart Stats - NERD
- Chartverfolgung - N.E.R.D
- N.E.R.D. - Fly Or Die
- N.E.R.D. - Seeing Sounds
- N.E.R.D. - In The Search Of - New Version
- N.e.r.d - In Search Of - Music Charts
- N.e.r.d - Seeing Sounds - Music Charts
- Lil Wayne Crushes The Competition To Debut At No. 1
- Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles - Spaz - N*E*R*D
- Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - Lapdance - N*E*R*D
- Artist Chart History - N.E.R.D. - Singles
- Discography N.E.R.D - N.E.R.D. in Australian Charts
- Discography N.E.R.D. - N.E.R.D. in Swedish Charts
- Discografie N.E.R.D. - N.E.R.D. in Dutch Charts
- On Set of N.E.R.D.'s 'Sooner or Later' Video