Apollo 18, a South Korean indie rock trio formed in June 2008 by Daeinn Kim, Hyunseok Choi, and Sangyun Lee. The group gained early recognition by winning the EBS Hello Rookie Contest grand prize in 2009 for South Korea's most promising young act. Their debut EP, The Red Album, was released in 2009, followed by The Blue Album. In 2010, Apollo 18 received the "Rookie of the Year" award at the Korean Music Awards and released their extended edition of The Red Album along with The Violet Album. The group performed at various festivals, including Pentaport Rock Festival, Jisan Valley Rock Festival, and Fuji Rock Festival. In 2011, they released The Black Album EP and participated in SXSW. Notable achievements include being nominated for Best Rock at the 2012 Korean Music Awards for "Sonic Boom" and being featured as MTV Iggy Artist of the Week the same year.
