This feels like a pretty inconsequential thing, but I’ve noticed it a lot and wanted to talk about it.
For a while now, I’ve noticed people token stanning groups. Usually for the purpose to unite against another fandom or garner votes and streams for their ults. That’s not deplorable, but recently some groups have been used in fanwars because they have become the benchmark for good music or a cool concept, and although initially that seems nice, it actually sucks for the group and the fandom.
NMIXX has released several great projects over the past couple years that have done well. Right now, on paper, they are the perfect group to stan for a fanwar. They chart well enough to be popular but not so egregiously it’s called payola, they come from a Big 4 company but it’s not HYBE, they don’t have any major controversies, all the members are pretty, the members are very talented, and the music is great. It wasn’t always like this though, NMIXX’s debut (O.O) was considered a mish mash of girl crush elements that were popular at the time and they were overlooked for a considerable amount of time. However, we all know as time goes on and a group begins to release chart topping music, many people backtrack and now miraculously “see the vision.” After NMIXX’s successes, their debut is called experimental and misunderstood, it’s not a mish mash, but a blend of multiple genres that display the talent of the members.
Regardless of the commercial success of NMIXX’s recent release Heavy Serenade in SK, with not only the title track charting but the promotional B-side also being right behind it, the sheer number of amazing girl groups in 4th gen is working against them. In the past 6-8 years, so many incredible girl groups have debuted, most of which are creating the biggest hits in K-pop. It’s hard for me to even pick the top three 4th gen girl groups, let alone the sole leader. Groups like I-dle, Itzy, aespa, STAYC, IVE, LE SSERAFIM, NewJeans, and among them is NMIXX. In such a star studded period of debuts, it’s hard to carve a path. Most fanwars that occur happen among the most popular of these groups.
There’s aespa vs. Itzy, aespa vs. LE SSERAFIM, LE SSERAFIM vs. NewJeans. These bleed into 5th gen with NewJeans vs. ILLIT, KiiiKiii vs. IVE, etc.
Recently though, NMIXX have become a benchmark for good music and brought up constantly. In “a terrible time for K-pop” they have saved us from the “brainrot.” This has dragged them into these fanwars as a means to talk down on other groups’ music. Although, like many others, I agree that Heavy Serenade might just be the best K-pop release of 2026; using NMIXX’s good work to call out the other groups is a sneaky way to throw them under the bus.
NMIXX aren’t super popular, but also aren’t unknown. They’re well known in K-pop spaces but aren’t a group that’s internationally recognized. When a group like that is larped, it makes them look bad and most of these points of comparison aren’t even made by NSWERS. What happnes is several fandoms feel like they’re being attacked by this one fandom (even though it’s token stans). All they see are see are hate tweets and then the Crescendo or Heavy Serenade MV, then they start to build resentment towards a group that is otherwise perfectly fine.
Let’s say there’s a tweet that says:
“I can’t believe people stream Boompala, when there’s music like this (embedded link of the Heavy Serenade MV)”
A Fearnot replies:
“LE SSERAFIM Boompala debut streams 1,325,928 👑👑
🪓🪓🪓 JYPAPI TANKED 🪓🪓🪓🪓🪓
NMIXX Heavy Serenade debut streams 556,322″
I guarantee you that the only person who would tweet something like the former is a MyBlinkTokki, not an NSWER. They’re simply acting as though they love NMIXX, for the sake of shitting on LE SSERAFIM. However in the latter, they don’t need to face any issues because their ults aren’t insulted.
Above all, I fear KiiiKiii is the next target… their concept is so good
submitted by /u/Simon_OMEGA16
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