NMIXX Tops Melon Chart for First Time with 'Blue Valentine' — JYP Girl Group Proves Genre-Bending Sound Resonates
JYP Entertainment's NMIXX has scored their first number-one hit on Korea's Melon Top 100 chart with "Blue Valentine," three years after their polarizing debut.
Chart Breakthrough After Years of Experimentation
The six-member group's title track from their debut full album climbed to the top spot on October 20 at 11 PM KST, just one week after release. This marks a turning point for NMIXX, who previously struggled to convert critical acclaim into commercial success.
"Blue Valentine" entered Melon's chart at number 51 on October 13 before steadily rising through the ranks. The song hit number two on October 19, then claimed the top position 23 hours later, dethroning the long-standing number-one OST "Golden" from Netflix's K-pop Demon Hunters.
The achievement makes NMIXX the first JYP girl group to top Melon since TWICE's "More & More" in June 2020. Their previous peak was "Love Me Like This" at number four.
What Changed This Time
Since debuting in 2022, NMIXX built their identity around "MIXX Pop" - a genre that combines multiple musical styles within single tracks. Their debut "O.O" featured jarring shifts between trap, baile funk, and pop-rock that split opinions sharply. Critics praised the group's vocal talent but found the complex arrangements hard to enjoy casually.
Member Lily acknowledged the tough early reception, saying it was "sometimes sad and hard to read about," though she added that "mixed opinions are better than no opinions."
Blue Valentine represents NMIXX's evolution. The title track maintains their signature sound - melancholic synths, guitar riffs, and tempo-shifting boom-bap rhythms - while allowing the emotional story to flow more naturally. The song explores reigniting warmth in a relationship gone cold, with dynamic BPM changes that feel intentional rather than disjointed.
"Our first full-length album carries many faces of love - joy, excitement, pain, and complexity all coexist," member Jiwoo explained. "I hope listeners take away that love doesn't have to be perfect."
Strong Album Performance
The twelve-track album dominated multiple platforms beyond Melon. It topped Hanteo's weekly album chart and reached number one on Bugs' daily chart. Internationally, it hit the top spot on Apple Music's album chart in Korea and iTunes charts in Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, and Singapore.
The album earned a spot in Melon's Hall of Fame by surpassing 1.1 million streams on its first day - making NMIXX and IVE the only girl groups to achieve this in 2025.
Tracks range from the energetic pre-release "SPINNIN' ON IT" to softer cuts like "ADORE U," demonstrating the vocal abilities of members Haewon, Lily, Sullyoon, Bae, Jiwoo, and Kyujin. The album includes reimagined versions of their debut song with "O.O Part 1 (Baila)" and "O.O Part 2 (Superhero)."
What's Next
NMIXX will launch their first world tour "EPISODE 1: ZERO FRONTIER" with two concerts at Incheon's Inspire Arena on November 29-30, 2025. The shows mark their first solo concerts since debuting nearly four years ago.
The group's trajectory proves that maintaining artistic vision while refining execution can eventually break through. After years of being called talented but too experimental for mainstream success, NMIXX found the balance that works.
Their chart-topping moment validates what fans believed all along - and suggests their peak era is just beginning.