NMIXX, change up!
Since the debut and success of ITZY‘s debut with DALLA DALLA, JYP Entertainment had been eager to release their new girl group with a new and innovative concept. On January 26, 2022, NMIXX debuted with 7 members, namely, Jinni, Jiwoo, Kyujin, Sullyoon, Bae, Haewon and Lily. Their debut with their controversial song, O.O caused ‘mixed’ reactions by audiences due to the novel concept of MIXXPOP which implied changing up of genres and song styles within the same song. So O.O was criticized for being incoherent and essentially two songs within one. But the song was enjoyed widely by NMIXX’s fans NSWERS and a lot of the general K-pop audience.
Sticking out from the crowd even if it brings scrutiny. And with our genre MIXXPOP, we lull them into thinking the song will go one way, and then we surprise them with a genre switch that nobody would expect. I think it keeps the listener on their toes and is a great strength of NMIXX. – Lily of NMIXX
Similar criticism was given to the song Dice by NMIXX, but was more widely adored by fans. The group was set back significantly when NMIXX’s Jinni terminated her contract with JYP Entertainment and hence, NMIXX would continue as a 6-member group. However infamous O.O or Dice might have been, the sheer vocal and dance talent that comprised NMIXX was not overlooked. NMIXX was deemed the best vocalists of their generation by critics and fans alike. Gladys Yeo of NME described Nmixx as “vocal powerhouses”, describing their vocal skills as “unparalleled” within their generation of K-Pop.
Later in 2023, NMIXX would release their first extended play, Expérgo with the title track, Love Me Like This. This song was widely well-received and won NMIXX their first music-show win. Hence, NMIXX embarked their first showcase tour: Nice To Mixx You across the United States and Asia. With their streak going in 2023, they released their famous and excellent singles, Party O’Clock and Roller Coaster which gained them wide acclaim, still utilizing MIXXPOP, but in a much more tasteful manner.
In 2024, NMIXX released Soñar (Breaker) and Dash with their second extended play, Fe3O4: Break. Dash wins NMIXX 4 wins, and debuts high on all major Korean music charts. Moreover, their b-side, Run For Roses also gained significant attention by the general audience. In the same year, NMIXX debuts their third extended play, Fe3O4: Stick Out, with See That? which continues their streak, with renown in Korea and the rest of the world as well. However, 2025 would come to be known as NMIXX’s year.
On March 17, 2025, NMIXX would release one of their magnum opuses, KNOW ABOUT ME. NMIXX distanced themselves from the boisterous and disjoint sound of MIXXPOP but utilized the genre-bending genre in a manner that would accentuate their talents in music. High Horse, a vocal-heavy single, and Papillon, a b-side, was an example to this—experimental but also lyrically and sonically evolved and mature, in juxtaposition to their peer girl-groups.
On August 21st, NMIXX would collaborate with Brazilian dragqueen Pabllo Vittar, a Portuguese and English track, MEXE. This would mirror NMIXX’s previous release of Soñar (Spanish Version), which made NMIXX pioneers in the K-pop industry to release songs in languages other than East Asian languages and English.
However, NMIXX’s streak in their growing success is only just beginning. On October 13th, NMIXX released their first studio album, Blue Valentine, with the title track of the same name. Blue Valentine quickly became one of NMIXX’s most successful releases in under 2 weeks, wherein it became the first JYP Entertainment girl group in history to receive a Real All-Time Kill since TWICE in 2018. It received 5 music-show wins in under 2 weeks, and receiving more than 500,000 streams on Spotify each day, making it a domestic and international success. People purport the success of the song to be because of the nature of the music in the song. It is a sort of love letter to K-pop girl group music. In a K-pop full of girl-crush music, NMIXX released a song with meaningful lyrics, delivered via angelic vocals and rap and infectious but melodious soundscape.
I’m falling over and over and over, ah, ah-ah. You’re getting colder and colder and colder, blue valentine.
Soon after the release, NMIXX announced their first world tour, Episode 1: Zero Frontier, kicking off in Incheon. The ticket sales for their 2-day show in Incheon, of capacity 15,000 sold out in merely 2 minutes, laying credence to their new extreme popularity, and it is safe to say, in the modern, hypercommercialized and manufactured K-pop industry, it is safe to say NMIXX will become its new classics.
Stream Blue Valentine by NMIXX, on YouTube and Spotify