The Flaming Lips are facing two harrowing incidents involving teenagers undeniably close to the band.
News broke on Monday, October 7 that up-and-coming singer Nell Smith — who collaborated with The Flaming Lips on a 2021 album full of Nick Cave covers — died two days earlier on Saturday, October 5. At The Flaming Lips show the following day, lead singer Wayne Coyne shared the heartbreaking news with the crowd — telling the audience that Smith “was killed in a car accident last night.”
Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips performs at Stern Grove festival on August 20, 2023 in San Francisco, California. The musician is frantically searching for his 16-year-old daughter who disappeared on October 5, 2024 — the same day the band’s 17-year-old collaborator died in a car accident.
Miikka Skaffari/Getty Images
Smith’s family shared the devastating news via Smith’s instagram account on Monday.
“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,” her loved ones wrote in a heartwrenching statement, along with a slideshow of Smith through the years.
“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,” the family added. “She has left an indelible mark on the word and an unfillable chasm in our hearts.”
In a devastating irony, Smith’s family concluded their post by sharing with parents that they should “hold your kids extra tight tonight.”
The news of Smith’s untimely death comes just one day after The Flaming Lips shared via social media that band member Steven Drozd’s 16-year-old daughter, Charlotte “Bowie” Drozd, has been reported missing.
Charlotte was last seen in Seattle on Saturday — the same day Smith died. At 11:30 a.m.,the rocker’s daughter — who has been described as a 16-year-old white female with brown hair and brown eyes who stands approximately 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs around 130 pounds — boarded a monorail near the iconic Seattle Space Needle. Per her missing poster shared by the band’s account, Charlotte may have been “headed to Seattle’s downtown.” She has not been seen since.
The Seattle Police Department continues to search for Charlotte amid her disappearance.
Anyone with information on Charlotte’s whereabouts should contact the police department at 205-625-5011 or reach out to Becky Drozd at 405-831-6795.
