The group disbanded on March 15, 2022, after Aron, JR, and Ren left Pledis Entertainment upon the completion of their 10-year contract.

They were backup dancers for After School Blue's "Wonder Boy", and featured in their label's Christmas release "Love Letter".

JR and Baekho appeared on the KBS television program Hello Counselor and were revealed by After School's Kahi as two members of the group.

The group began airing their own reality show, Making of a Star: NU'EST Landing Operation, during the promotional period.

[8] During their promotional period and the rest of the year, NU'EST began to expand to the global market, holding events in Japan, Australia, other parts of Asia, and the United States, including performances at KCON.

[10] Baekho and Ren made acting appearances in the drama Jeon Woo-chi alongside label mate Uee in January 2013.

[17] To celebrate Music Core's 400th episode in March 2014, Ren performed Girl's Day's "Something" alongside BtoB's Minhyuk, A-Jax's Seungjin, and VIXX's Hongbin.

Baekho did not participate in the lead single as he was recovering from vocal cord polyps surgery, but he did contribute to the B-side track, "A Scene Without You."

[29] After the commercial decline of their previous releases and considerations of disbandment,[30][31] JR, Baekho, Minhyun, and Ren participated in the reality television series Produce 101 Season 2 during the first half of 2017.

[35] Only Minhyun ranked within the top 11, earning a position in the temporary boy group Wanna One, and he promoted exclusively with them for 1.5 years.

[38] Due to the group's sudden surge in popularity, they (as NU'EST W) returned to music shows to promote their single "Hello" (first released in 2013), and ranked number 11 on Inkigayo.

[43] This was due to Pledis and Swing Entertainment coming to an agreement that allowed Minhyun to attend scheduled year-end shows and award ceremonies throughout January 2019 as a member of Wanna One.

[51] It is their first release in three years and the last in the three-part series of "Knights searching for the Queen" narrative which began with their fourth EP in 2016.

JR made his acting debut in the SBS television series Let Me Be Your Knight; Minhyun began filming the tvN series Alchemy of Souls and briefly reunited with Wanna One at the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards; Aron hosted Circle Room, a talk show exclusively on Twitter; Baekho made his musical theater debut in the Seoul productions of Midnight Sun and Altar Boyz, and Ren performed the title role in the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

[64][65][66][67][68][69][70] The group held their first live in-person concert in 2 years titled The Black from November 26 to 28, 2021 at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul.

[73] After nearly a year of no new releases, it was announced on February 28, 2022, that the group's exclusive contract with Pledis Entertainment will end on March 14.

[74] It was also announced that members Aron, JR, and Ren will leave the agency at the conclusion of their contract, while Baekho and Minhyun opted to renew.

[75] With the news of their contract expiring, the group confirmed their disbandment through handwritten letters to their fans, announcing their decision to pursue individual projects.

[76] A compilation album, Needle & Bubble, was released on March 15 to mark the group's 10-year anniversary as they officially disbanded on the same day.

To mark their seventh debut anniversary, the group donated funds to The Snail of Love in March 2019 to cover cochlear implant surgery and language rehabilitation therapy for children.