Nell Smith, a young singer whose talents led to a remarkable collaboration with the Flaming Lips, has unexpectedly died. She was 17.
Smith’s death was confirmed on her official Instagram account by her family members Jude, Rachel, Jed, and Ike.
“It pains us so much to say that our feisty, talented, unique, beautiful daughter was cruelly taken from us on Saturday night,” the statement read.
“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 world and an unfillable chasm in our hearts.”
“Hold your kids extra tight tonight and for now please leave us to work through thing,” the family said. “We will shout when we need you.”
Simon Raymonde, bassist-keyboardist for the Cocteau Twins who runs Bella Union, the record label that took Smith under its wing, also shared his grief on social media.
“Nell was just 17 and was preparing for the release of her first solo record in early 2025 on Bella Union,” he said.
“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,” he concluded.
Neither Raymonde nor the family gave a cause of death. However, fan footage of the Flaming Lips Oct. 6 show in Portland, Oregon, shows frontman Wayne Coyne sharing the tragic fate of the band’s protégé with the audience.
“We got some very sad messages today,” Coyne said, his voice breaking up as he mentioned the talented Smith. “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,” Coyne added before asking the crowd to help out as the band played its last number of the set, a song called “Suddenly Everything Has Changed.”
Though the car accident has not been officially confirmed as the cause of death, it adds an eerie dimension.
In 2020, Smith released a music video for her cover of Nick Cave’s “Girl in Amber” on her YouTube channel. The clip opens with a scene in which Smith is run over by a car as she sings the first line of the song: “Some go and some stay behind…”
The track was part of a collaboration with the Flaming Lips, with whom she had struck up a friendship after her parents had taken her to one of the band’s concerts when she was only 12.
This led to a remote collaboration during the pandemic that resulted in Smith’s first record, 2021’s “Where the Viaduct Looms,” an album full of Nick Cave covers.
After the album was released, Smith focused on her own music. In addition to Smith working part-time shifts in fast food joints and to help her fund her debut album of original material, her father launched a successful Kickstarter campaign.
According to the campaign, Smith hoped the release of the record and the subsequent tour would help fund her dream of attending music school in the UK, where she was born.