NMIXX’s Blue Valentine Album Proves ‘O.O’ Was The Perfect Debut

As adoring NSWERs from their debut era, we’re so proud of every step that’s led NMIXX to blossom so much on their first full album, Blue Valentine. The album brings their Mixxpop concept to life with so much ambition and perfectly emulates what they’ve brought to K-Pop and the global music scene. Blue Valentine brings us some of the most naturally flowing Mixxpop yet, integrating everything from pop-punk and R&B to reggaeton and hyperpop. It touches so much sonic ground, but NMIXX had been priming us to expect that from the beginning of their career with ‘O.O.’ 

‘O.O’ made a lot of waves when it first came out in February 2022, for varying reasons. Some people praised the dynamic sound, which combined elements of bold baile funk with bright pop-rock, while others thought it was too mismatched and jarring. As ‘O.O’ lovers, we’ve had a theory that the big switch-up was intentional to drill the idea of Mixxpop into people’s heads right out of the gate, and we feel very vindicated now that Blue Valentine has proven us right.

The girls gave us two new versions of ‘O.O’ at the tail-end of the album: ‘O.O Part 1 (Baila)’ and ‘O.O Part 2 (Superhero).’ The credits divide the credits of the original song, proving that it was made up of two different tracks all along with a few writers contributing to both. Check out the separated credits below!

• ‘O.O Part 1 (Baila)’ songwriters: Awrii (The Hub), Ayushy (The Hub), Brian U (The Hub), Chanti (The Hub), Charlotte Wilson, Dr.JO, ENAN, Jan Baars, Rajan Muse
• ‘O.O Part 2 (Superhero)’ songwriters: Brian U (The Hub), Charlotte Wilson, Dr.JO, Ejae (yes, from KPop Demon Hunters!), MarkAlong

Of course, if you’re a hardcore NSWER, you’ve most likely known the separation existed, because NMIXX performed both versions at their NMIXX CHANGE UP : MIXX UNIVERSITY fan meeting in October 2023. This was also probably intentional to reflect how the ones who care and take the time to understand the music will be the ones to learn its real secrets. After all, a lot of debut-era NSWERs became fans after picking up on the backlash and wanting to “get” the song!

The only thing we’d change about NMIXX’s debut era is how much hate the girls got. Musically, we’d change absolutely nothing! Whether you liked ‘O.O’ or not, you knew NMIXX brought a lot of different sounds to the table, and they got to show you two very different sides of what they can do. And as a result, the change-ups since then have felt very smooth, prompting many of the people who hated on ‘O.O’ to celebrate NMIXX’s growth and maturation as they refine their sound.

Hearing Lily’s battle cry of “Do you see it now?” and their chant of “Gonna rock the world” after listening to the new tracks on Blue Valentine felt like such triumphant moments. The two lines, especially Lily’s, call out the people who bashed the big changes on songs like ‘O.O’ and ‘DICE’ right after proving just how beautiful Mixxpop and their concept can be, and point out the growth that artists can show off if you put your initial judgments aside and give them a chance. NMIXX pushed through the negativity and have continued to become one of the most fascinating groups on the global music scene. We couldn’t be prouder of Lily, Haewon, Sullyoon, Bae, Jiwoo, and Kyujin!

What do you think of the new versions of ‘O.O?’ Which one is your fave? Did hearing ‘Baila’ and ‘Superhero’ separately change your view of the original song? Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! You can also buzz on over to our Reddit community to chat with us.

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