K-pop group NMIXX break fresh ground, tease new music

LONDON — Performing with a live band gave South Korean girl group NMIXX new means to connect with audiences as they brought their “mix pop” sound to the British Summer Time (BST) Hyde Park Festival in London on Sunday.

The main stage performance marked a first for the six-piece, which is made up of members Haewon, Lily, Sullyoon, BAE, Jiwoo and Kyujin.

“When I heard that we were performing in this historical park, like, even just visiting here would have been fun but performing here is so crazy,” Australia-born vocalist Lily said in a post-show backstage interview.

“We honestly don’t have a lot of experience with festivals but this time we were lucky enough to perform with a band,” the 21-year-old singer, said.

“When you’re doing it with a backtrack, you can’t manipulate it as you go. But with a band you can work together and have good synergy and you can kind of slow it down if you want to or make it faster. I think that was an interesting thing that we were kind of all getting used to while preparing for the festival.”

NMIXX made their debut in early 2022 and have since released two extended play records, three single albums and toured across Asia and the United States.

The group’s track “Love Me Like This” recently surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify, with songs “O.O” and “DASH” closing in on 200 million streams on the digital music service.

The members have also attended European catwalk shows for a Spanish luxury brand, as an increasing number of fashion houses hire Asian stars for their highest-profile global promotional gigs.

Fans will not have to wait long for new music, said the group, who gave audiences at BST a taster of their as-yet-unreleased song “Moving On”.

“We’re working hard to bring out music that’s new and different,” Kyujin said.

“I think you’re going to get a hip mix that we haven’t shown you yet. It’s a little bit more free,” added Sullyoon.

—Reporting by Hanna Rantala and Natasha Mulenga