The fourth era of Okay-pop has marked a brand new renaissance for lady teams. Female-led acts have been dominating the charts, social media platforms and, extra importantly, the hearts and minds of followers over the previous 12 months or so. Of the numerous which have made headlines, JYP Entertainment’s youngest group NMIXX are among the many finest.
NMIXX hit the bottom working in February 2022 with the dynamic ‘O.O’, a head-spinning mix of baile funk, pop and rock. Since then, the six-member group have supplied up what can solely be described as a whimsical, jam-packed theme park journey – for those who’re questioning how that every one appears, take a look at the music video for ‘Dice’. To some, NMIXX could also be an acquired style, nevertheless it positive will get addicting the extra you pay attention.
Though the group may need a penchant for the experimental, that doesn’t imply they will’t do pure pop goodness with the very best of them. Just lately, NMIXX raced up South Korea’s Circle Chart with ‘Love Me Like This’, from their third mini-album ‘expérgo’, and clinched their first-ever music present win on Show Champion. To put the cherry on prime, they then kicked off their first showcase tour, taking them to numerous cities throughout the US and Asia.
Titled ‘Nice to MIXX You’, the eight-stop US leg of the showcase tour kicked off in Seattle in early May, earlier than concluding in Brooklyn’s King Theater. Four hours earlier than their final present on May 16, and recent off of their US TV debut on Good Day New York, NME caught up with NMIXX backstage to speak in regards to the tour and what’s to come back.
Congratulations on every part! You’re ending your final day of your showcase tour with a bang. Earlier you made your US tv debut on Good Day New York. How does it really feel?
Kyujin: “I’m super excited since I got to go to multiple cities as well during this long duration. I’m also so happy that I can meet NSWERs in different cities and show them our performance.”
Lily: “I’m glad that we got to go to a lot of different cities and meet different NSWERs from different places, you know? And also, in New York especially, it was our first time going on an American broadcasting system. We were very nervous, but I think it turned out pretty well so I’m really proud of us and yeah, I think we did prepare a lot for it and I’m glad that it went well so I’m very proud of us.”
Any culture-shocking moments? I noticed you, Lily, about your confusion on tipping tradition.
Lily: “Yeah! That definitely was something that I’m still not used to here. I don’t think I’ll ever be used to it no matter how many times I come. I just– I don’t know exactly when to tip and when not to tip, those types of things.” [Laughs]
Haewon: “I’m surprised by the small talk you can have with people that you’ve never met!”
Any favorite stops?
Lily: “A big impact on me was Seattle, which was our first stop. Before our first showcase, I was very nervous because I didn’t know how people would react if NSWERs were going to come or not or how the crowd would react to our songs and stuff. But then the Seattle crowd was just so amazing and there were so many NSWERs and so many MIXXsticks in the air and they prepared all these costumes and these signs and they knew all the lyrics and the dances. It made me feel so happy to be in that room.”
Your music has continually advanced with each comeback, from ‘AD MARE’ to ‘expérgo’ now. How would you describe your development?
Haewon: “Since ‘AD MARE’ was our first start, we wanted to give a powerful first impression. And as time progresses with our mix-pop genre, a lot of people can love it more. That’s kind of the route that we’re going right now.”
Speaking of, congratulations you guys received your first win on a music present with ‘Love Me Like This’. What was going by way of your minds when your identify was referred to as?
Jiwoo: “At first, I wanted to say my thankfulness to NSWERs and I thought NMIXX needs to work harder moving forward.”
Bae: “I was really nervous that we got our first place but I was really happy too. Because it’s all because of the fans that we got the first place so I want to think of how I can repay this to them.”
Care to share the way you guys celebrated?
Haewon: “The company’s staff congratulated us with a cake within the green room.”
Lily: “Yeah, it was a super cute cake. There were animals on it that represented each of us. So it was a really thoughtful cake. We’re very thankful.”
Whenever you consider your wins and every part that has occurred. What or who would you say impressed you to make you who you’re in the present day?
Jiwoo: “When I saw ITZY’s MAMA performance [of ‘Mafia in the Morning’], I thought the stage was super cool and I looked up to that.”
Lily: “Well for me, I have a really big role model in my life and it’s Taylor Swift. I really love her. I’ve loved her even before I was even in JYP, or even before I went to Korea. And she was a big inspiration for what I wanted to do in the future. Like, I wanted to perform and sing in front of people and, you know, show people my emotions through music, maybe help a lot of people come together through music. So, that was a big inspiration for me growing up.”
If the ‘Eras’ tour goes to Seoul, will you go?
Lily: ”I imply I need to! But I don’t know, hopefully! I’ll beg, I’ll do something if I can! But I don’t know if my schedule will enable it. But if I don’t have something scheduled that day, I actually need to!”
Because you’re the youngest group in JYP Entertainment for the time being, is there any strain that you just really feel?
Sullyoon: “Like more than pressure, it motivates me to work harder.”
Haewon: “I receive a lot of motivation from looking at all our senior artists. They talk about health a lot.”
Considering NMIXX are a mixture of completely different genres, personalities and skills, for those who had an opportunity to combine your expertise with one other member, who would it not be and what ability?
Lily: “I want to try mixing Kyujin’s clean dance line with my vocals. I think that’d be cool. I want to see what would happen.”
Jiwoo: “And! Since I worked a lot with Kyujin since I was young, I wanted to show a new performance that shows a different side and charm with ourselves, like collaborating.”
Haewon: “I want to add Bae and Jiwoo’s loud voices to my vocals.”
What do you suppose is the key to NMIXX?
Lily: “I think the secret to why NMIXX is the best team ever is because we all have that base. We all have the basics: all of us had a long training period, we can all dance, we can all sing and we all have charms. Then, most importantly, on top of that we have our own different traits. For example, Bae has her vocal tone and then Sullyoon has her soft, beautiful vocal tone. And we each have our different charms on top of the basic skills. I also think our chemistry is very good as a team when we come together. So that’s why I’m sure a lot of people can relate to us as well when they see our videos.”
NMIXX’s third mini-album ‘expérgo’ is out now.