Peterpan was a pop rock band from Indonesia that was also one of the country’s best-selling artists in the early 21st century, before changing their name to Noah in 2012.

Formed in Bandung, Indonesia in 2000 by lead vocalist and main songwriter Nazril “Ariel” Irham, rhythm guitarist Uki Kautsar, lead guitarist Lukman Hakim, keyboardist Andika Naliputra, bassist Hendra “Indra” Suhendra and drummer Ilsyah Ryan Reza, Peterpan started gaining a local following as a covers band playing British and American alternative rock.

Peterpan first came to national prominence in 2002 when one of their original songs, “Mimpi yang Sempurna”, became the lead single of Kisah 2002 Malam, a compilation of new bands from the Bandung music scene that was put together by the major label Musica Studios. The following year, Musica released Peterpan’s debut album, Taman Langit, which featured the singles “Sahabat”, “Topeng”, “Aku & Bintang” and “Semua Tentang Kita”.

Peterpan’s popularity skyrocketed on their sophomore album, 2004’s Bintang di Surga, due to the strength of hits such as “Ada Apa Denganmu”, “Mungkin Nanti” and “Kukatakan dengan Indah”. Public interest towards Ariel’s private life inadvertently added to the band’s ubiquitous profile, with sales for Bintang di Langit reportedly reaching 3 million copies.

In 2005, Peterpan released the soundtrack album for the film Alexandria, which featured five new songs, including the lead single “Tak Bisakah”, and five new versions of songs from the band’s previous two studio albums. It was the first album to include songwriting contributions from all six members of the band.

It was also the last such album, as internal disagreements led to Peterpan parting ways with Andika and Indra in October 2006. The remaining four members commenced work on the third full-length Peterpan album, Hari yang Cerah…, which was released in mid-2007. The album featured recorded contributions from keyboardist David Albert and bassist Luki Marendra, who would also perform live with the band upon the album’s release.

A dispute with the band’s former members over the name Peterpan ended with an agreement that they would no longer use it. To mark the end of the Peterpan era, in 2008 they released Sebuah Nama, Sebuah Cerita, a compilation of hits, non-album tracks and four new songs, including the single “Walau Habis Terang”.

During the process of recording their next album, David Albert officially joined as the band’s keyboardist. But progress on the album came to a halt due to Ariel’s incarceration in 2010 due to his alleged involvement in leaked racy videos. While Ariel was still in prison, in 2012 the other band members recorded and released Suara Lainnya, an album of mostly-instrumental rearrangements of Peterpan songs that was credited to Ariel, Uki, Lukman, Reza, David as the artist name.

Finally on August 2, 2012, a week after Ariel’s release from jail, the band formerly known as Peterpan announced their new name: Noah. Besides writing, recording and releasing new music as Noah, the band continues to perform Peterpan-era material, and even re-recorded a number of songs originally released as Peterpan for the albums Second Chance and Sings Legends.