Nell Smith, Flaming Lips Collaborator, Dies at 17

Nell Smith, the young Canadian singer-songwriter who captured the hearts of many with her collaboration with The Flaming Lips, has died at just 17 years old.

Her death on Oct. 5 was confirmed by her family in a statement on Instagram, saying, “It pains us so much to say that our feisty, talented, unique, beautiful daughter was cruelly taken from us on Saturday night.”

“We are reeling from the news and don’t know what to do or say,” they continued. “She had so much more to experience and to give this world but we are grateful that she got to experience so very much in her 17 years. She has left an indelible mark on the word and an unfillable chasm in our hearts.”

“Hold your kids extra tight tonight and for now please leave us to work through things. We will shout when we need you. Jude, Rachel, Jed and Ike.”

During a Flaming Lips concert on Oct. 6, frontman Wayne Coyne shared the sad news with fans, explaining that Nell had been in a car accident.

Before playing “Everything Has Changed,” Coyne said: “We have a very sad announcement to make tonight. We have a Canadian friend, her name is Nell. We recorded an amazing album with her three years ago, an album full of songs by Nick Cave. We have some very sad messages today — she was killed in a car accident last night.”

“We are reminded once again of the power of music and how encouraging it can be to be around people that you love.”

Nell was preparing for the release of her debut solo album in 2025, which had already garnered support through a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Bella Union’s Simon Raymonde, the head of her label, shared his grief on Instagram: “We are all shocked and devastated to hear of the sudden and tragic passing of our artist and dear friend Nell Smith … While we all try and come to terms with the awful news, and out of respect to Nell’s grieving family, we are unable to make any further comments at this time.”

Nell’s relationship with The Flaming Lips was nothing short of extraordinary. The connection began in 2018 when Nell, then just 12, attended one of their shows dressed in a parrot costume, catching the attention of Coyne.

The moment sparked an ongoing friendship between Nell, Coyne and her family. Coyne encouraged Nell as she began learning to play guitar, and their collaboration truly took off during the pandemic.

When their plans to record together were derailed by COVID-19, Coyne suggested an ambitious project: Nell would record covers of Nick Cave songs, despite not knowing much about Cave’s work.

The result was Where the Viaduct Looms, a 2021 album featuring Nell’s haunting renditions of Cave’s songs, backed by The Flaming Lips. Coyne remarked at the time, “It is always great to meet excited, young creative people. With Nell, we could see she is on a journey and thought it would be fun to join her for a while and see if we could get things going.”

Nick Cave himself praised Nell’s work, particularly her cover of “Girl in Amber,” writing on The Red Hand Files in 2021, “This version of ‘Girl in Amber’ is just lovely, I was going to say Nell Smith inhabits the song, but that’s wrong, rather she vacates the song, in a way that I could never do.”

“I always found it difficult to step away from this particular song and sing it with its necessary remove, just got so twisted up in the words, I guess.”

“Nell shows a remarkable understanding of the song, a sense of dispassion that is both beautiful and chilling. I just love it. I’m a fan.”

Nell Smith’s journey in music may have been brief, but it was filled with creativity, passion and a bold spirit. Her collaborations with The Flaming Lips and her unique interpretations of Nick Cave’s work made her a force to be reckoned with in the indie music scene.

Smith’s passing comes during another heartbreaking moment for The Flaming Lips family. The band’s instrumentalist, Steven Drozd, is currently dealing with the disappearance of his 16-year-old daughter, Charlotte “Bowie” Drozd.

Both Drozd himself and frontman Coyne took to their social media pages on Monday (Oct. 7) to share a missing person poster of 16-year-old Charlotte “Bowie” Drozd, who has been missing since around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. According to the posts, Bowie was last seen on the monorail in Seattle, Washington, near the Space Needle.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Seattle Police Department at 206-625-5011 or call Bowie’s mother, Becky.

A version of this story first appeared on Billboard.com.