Noah (band)

In 1997, Andika Naliputra Wirahardja as keyboardist, formed a school band in Bandung, Indonesia. It was called Topi, with Mohammad Kautsar Hikmat as guitarist, Nazril Irham as vocalist, Abel as bass player, and Ari as drummer. They mainly played British alternative rock until Ari withdrew from the group, and Topi broke up.

Andika Naliputra Wirahardja regrouped former members of Topi in 2000. The drummer was replaced by Ilsyah Ryan Reza, a college student from Palu. Loekman Hakim, a friend of Indra's elder brother, joined as their lead guitarist. Andika Naliputra Wirahardja suggested Peterpan as the name for the band referring to Peter Pan, the character created by J. M. Barrie, an author (other names they considered were Spiderman and X-Men). The band was formally founded on September 1, 2000. Peterpan played on Bandung streets and gigged in cafés, with the goal of becoming a house band in one of the city's cafés.[2] They often covered alternative rock and rock songs, (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Coldplay, U2, Creed, etc.) at O'Hara and Sapu Lidi cafés.

At Sapu Lidi cafés, the band was spotted by Noey, a producer who planned to release a compilation album. Peterpan recorded three demo songs: "Sahabat", "Mimpi yang Sempurna", and "Taman Langit". "Mimpi yang Sempurna" was chosen for the album, titled Kisah 2002 Malam. The album was commercially successful, selling a respectable 150,000 copies, and "Mimpi yang Sempurna" was given heavy rotation on Indonesian radio.

The top major label, Musica Studios, offered Peterpan a contract, and released their debut studio album, Taman Langit, on June 2003. By releasing mega hits such as "Sahabat", "Mimpi Yang Sempurna", "Aku dan Bintang", "Semua Tentang Kita", "Topeng", and "Yang Terdalam", their debut studio album instantly become hugely popular around the country and made them as superstars. The album has sold over 850.000 copies. Amidst for their success in 2003-2004, which climaxed on July 18, 2004, Peterpan planned to perform in six cities in Indonesia in only 24 hours.[5] The concerts were titled "Konser Breaking Record", listed in Museum Rekor Indonesia (MURI, Indonesian Museum of Record), and included concerts on two Indonesian major islands: Sumatra and Java. The concerts started on July 18 in Medan in North Sumatra Province, Padang, Pekanbaru, Lampung, Semarang in Central Java Province, and finally ended at Surabaya in East Java Province.

In 2004, by releasing a number of hits such as "Ada Apa Denganmu", "Mungkin Nanti", "Kukatakan Dengan Indah", "Bintang di Surga", "Di Atas Normal", and "Khayalan Tingkat Tinggi", Their second studio album Bintang Di Surga was released in August 2004 and quickly became the biggest phenomenon in 2000s not only in indonesia but also in the neighborhood countries such as Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia, where in the later country that album was awarded 6x platinum.[6] Selling over 350,000 copies in two weeks. By the end of 2005, it had sold a remarkable 2.7 million and to date had sold over 3.2 million copies in indonesia. This album become the third Best-selling albums of all-time in Indonesia and Rolling Stone Indonesia magazine ranked the album #116 on "The 150 Greatest Indonesian Albums of All Time" list. A song from this album, "Kukatakan Dengan Indah", got a place at #140 on Rolling Stone Indonesia's "150 Greatest Indonesian Songs of All Time" list.[7]

The greater commercial success of Bintang Di Surga had led peterpan to received recognition and won many awards in early 2005, where Peterpan won an award as Indonesia's favorite artist at MTV Asia Aid in Bangkok. At the Indonesian Music Award (AMI) 2005, Peterpan ranked top in the nominations by obtaining 11 nominations. Four of them were printed through the song "Ada Apa Denganmu". Of the 11 nominations, Peterpan won 7 awards, including "best music group", "best album", "best graphic design album" and "best production work", due to the album Bintang Di Surga. At the SCTV Music Awards 2005, Peterpan was honored in the "Top Pop Group Albums" and "Most Popular Songs".

In September 2005, Peterpan released a soundtrack for the Rexinema movie, Alexandria. The album was titled OST. Alexandria, and the formal release was covered simultaneously by Indonesia's six top national TV stations. The soundtrack album included five new memorable songs for the film are "Tak Bisakah", "Langit Tak Mendengar", "jauh Mimpiku", "menunggu pagi", "membebaniku" and renditions of five of their songs from Taman Langit and Bintang di Surga. The song "Tak Bisakah" was able to reap the controversy because it was copied by Indian musicians for the film Woh Lamhe Woh Lamhe with the title song "Kya Mujhe Pyaar". This album succeeded sold over 1.2 million copies and recognized as the best selling soundtrack album all of time in indonesian (#15 on the list as best-selling albums in that country). At the 2006 Anugerah Planet Muzik which is an annual award given to the most popular artists from Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia. Peterpan won two award as the "Best Duo/Group" for song "Tak Bisakah" and "Most Popular Group Artist". Peterpan also won their second award as Indonesia's favorite artist at MTV Asia Aid.

Peterpan then collaborated with veteran Indonesian pop singer, Chrisye, on "Menunggumu", which was then used as the theme song for the Indonesian soap opera, Liontin.

In November 2006, Andika Naliputra Wirahardja and Hendra Suhendra split with the rest of the band, with both sides citing musical differences. According to Nazril Irham, there were problems since the making of their first album. Hendra Suhendra had also just lost his child. Andika Naliputra Wirahardja and Hendra Suhendra joined a new band named The Titans, and signed with international label EMI Music Indonesia, releasing a self-titled album and a single, "Rasa Ini" (This Feeling).

In 2007, the remaining members of Peterpan released their third studio album, Hari Yang Cerah. This album produced another populer hits likes "Menghapus Jejakmu", "Dibalik Awan", "Hari Yang Cerah Untuk Jiwa Yang Sepi", "Sally Sendiri", and "Cobalah Mengerti". In 2018, the single "Menghapus jejakmu" became the subject of public discussion after there was an element of similarity in the new song released by Korean Boyband iKon "Love Scenario". Although they have similarities, the meanings of the two songs are different.

In September 2007, they took part in the Asia "Song Festival" in South Korea as representatives from Indonesia.

The agreement under which Andika Naliputra Wirahardja and Hendra Suhendra left the band allowed the remaining members to continue using the name Peterpan through the end of 2008.[8] In early 2008, the band announced that they would be changing their name, stating that their 2008 compilation album, Sebuah Nama Sebuah Cerita, would be their last under the name Peterpan. The album mostly consists of popular hits from the band's history, with four new hits songs: "Walau Habis Terang", "Kisah Cintaku" (a cover of Chrisye's song), "Dilema Besar", and "Tak Ada Yang Abadi". In same year, David Kurnia Albert joined Peterpan as keyboard player.

The band decided to rename itself Noah starting August 1, 2012. The former name Peterpan Band also denoted longevity and everlasting youth as well. To emphasize the change of name promotional materials and some releases were called Noah Known as Peterpan Band.

Ariel, Uki, Reza, Lukman, and David released a new album called Suara Lainnya. It launched in a private concert dubbed as "Konser Tanpa Nama", or the "Concert Without a Name", as they haven't settled on a new name yet. Suara Lainnya is the band's first instrumental album, and it contains 11 tracks. All but one of them were taken from the group's previous albums and recomposed in a different style with some ethnic and classic touches. The group collaborated with other musicians, including a traditional Sundanese music group, Karinding Attack, who added some ethnic flare. The Indonesian violin maestro, Idris Sardi, added a classical touch in "Taman Langit" as did the violinist, Hendry Lamiri, in several other tracks. The instrumental concert is said to be the first of its kind in Indonesia.[9]

On September 15-September 16, 2012, Noah had a concert in Melbourne, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and finally ended in Jakarta. Here, they have broken their second MURI Record: Concert in 2 Continents, 5 Countries in 24 hours, after their first MURI Record: Concert 6 cities in 24 Hours in 2004. At the same day, they also released their new album called Seperti Seharusnya. The album had sold more than 200,000 copies in just 3 days. As of December 2012, the following album had sold more than 1,300,000 copies. By February 19, 2013, Noah received a Multi-Platinum Awards from Musica Studios & Swara Sangkar Emas. Noah included successful musician selling album in KFC, like Ungu, Cinta Laura, Indah Dewi Pertiwi, Agnes Monica, Afgan, Smash, and Rossa. By now, the sales of Seperti Seharusnya had reached 1,9 million copies and #6 as the best-selling albums in indonesia.

By the commercial success of their album Seperti Seharusnya, Noah won many awards. In the 2013 Indonesian Music Award (AMI), Noah ranked top in the nominations by obtaining 10 nominations. Four of them were printed through the song "Separuh Aku". Of the 10 nominations, Noah won 6 awards, including "Best Pop Duo/Group", "Best Pop/Urban Recording Producer", "Best of the Best Production Work" for the single Separuh Aku and "Best Pop/Urban Album", "Best of the Best Album" for album Seperti Seharusnya. At the Anugerah Planet Muzik which is an annual award given to the most popular artists from Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia. Noah won award "Best Band" twice in the second consecutive years (2013 and 2014) for both songs "Separuh Aku" and "Tak Lagi Sama", and "APM Most Popular Artist" in 2014. Noah also won The Nickelodeon Indonesia Kids' Choice Awards in 2013 as "Favorite Band".

In March 2015, Noah announced that they planned a world tour to start on March 21, 2015. The countries that were planned for stops included Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong, Dubai, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States. The United States leg would start in April 2015, beginning in San Francisco and was to include Los Angeles, New York, and Washington DC.

In September 2017, Noah released two new singles to introduce their next studio album. The singles were titled "Jalani Mimpi" and "My Situation", both released on September 16. "Jalani Mimpi" won award as "Best Alternative Production Work" in 2018 Indonesian Music Award (AMI). The single is believed to pave the way for the next studio album. Noah then gave a confirmation regarding his studio album whose leak was known as Keterkaitan Keterikatan. They also admitted that the cultivation of the nine tracks in this album involved other writers and singers so that the process tended to be delayed when compared to Noah's previous albums.

In mid-August 2019, Mohammad Kautsar Hikmat (guitarist) decided to resign from the band after the release of the album Keterkaitan Keterikatan. This news had started to be heard since a few months earlier with signs of Uki's frequent absence with the band, then Ariel confirmed about Uki's resignation from the band.

After 2 years of working, Their New album Keterkaitan Keterikatan finally released on Agustus 9, 2019. As September 12, 2019, physical album sales had reached over 400.000 copies. This album produced hits single "Wanitaku" which succeeded won the "Duo / Best Pop Group" award at the 2019 Indonesian Music Award. At the Billboard Indonesia Music Awards 2020, the song won the categories "Top Duo / Group / Band of the Year" and "Top Radio Airplay of the Year". Another hits from this album are "Kupeluk Hatimu", "Kau Udara Bagiku", "Jalani Mimpi" and "My Situation".

Like the other top musicians in Indonesia, Noah's concerts have encountered problems. On February 22, 2006, at Harapan Bangsa Lhongraya Stadium, at least 30 spectators fainted, most of them were young women. Not only this, this concert violated the law of Shariah Islam has enacted in Kaffah (completed) in Aceh Province (NAD) because the mixing of males and females in the show field.[10]

The riots at concerts not only affect the spectators, but also members of the musical group performing. This happened during Peterpan concert at Bima Stadium, Cirebon, on April 11, 2006. Rocks were thrown by the spectators who had no tickets at the outside of the stadium. As a result, not only dozens of the spectators rushed to the various hospitals due to throwing stones, but also the vocalist, Ariel, who could not escape from the raining rocks. Ariel was struck in the chest before he was secured to the outside of the stadium. As a result of the incident, concert was stopped when Peterpan performed their fifth song's, "Mungkin Nanti", at 20.30 WIB.[11]

In 2010, Ariel was arrested for violating Indonesian anti-pornography laws, when videos which appeared to be himself having sexual intercourse circulated on the internet,[12] after his laptop was reportedly stolen.[13]

In January 2011, Bandung's District Court sentenced Ariel to three and a half years imprisonment after testimonies by digital forensic experts confirmed that Ariel was the male counterpart in the sex tape scandal, involving Luna Maya and Cut Tari, and that he was responsible for the creation of the videos.[14] In April, an appeal to the High Court was rejected, with judges deciding unanimously to uphold the sentence given by the District Court.[15] On 23 July 2012, after serving two years in prison, Ariel was released early for good behaviour.[16]