NMIXX is coming back sooner than expected. The six-member JYP Entertainment group has confirmed its sixth EP, Strange Muse, for Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. KST, with Birthday Wish (긴 소원) as the title track. The news broke on Sept. 21 at midnight KST through the group’s official social channels and the NMIXX notice board.
The timing carries the story. Strange Muse arrives roughly five months after the group’s fifth EP, Heavy Serenade, and just two days after NMIXX reportedly took three trophies at the 2026 The Fact Music Awards, including the first grand prize of its career. There is a second milestone buried in the tracklist too: after performing as a full six since its February 2022 debut, the group is splitting into pairs for the first time.
When Strange Muse Drops, and What That Means in the US
The sixth EP is a six-track project: three full-group songs and three subunit songs. Beyond Birthday Wish, the group tracks are Kerosene and RudE TaLK.
For American fans, the release time is the practical detail. Six p.m. KST on Oct. 19 converts to roughly 5 a.m. ET and 2 a.m. PT the same day, so most US listeners will wake up to the album already live. The Sept. 21 reveal landed at midnight KST on the group’s official channels.
The turnaround is fast by NMIXX’s own recent standard. Heavy Serenade arrived on May 11, 2026, according to the official notice board, putting about five months between releases. The EP before that, Blue Valentine, came out in 2025 and helped set up the seasonal framing the group has leaned into this year.
The Full Strange Muse Tracklist: Three Group Cuts, Three Duets
The album’s structure is the headline here. More than four years after debuting, NMIXX is releasing its first EP built around dedicated unit songs.
- Birthday Wish (긴 소원) – title track, all six members
- Kerosene – group track
- RudE TaLK – group track
- Sing to the Moon (너는 달) – Lily and Haewon
- Hot ‘n Unbothered – Sullyoon and Bae
- WHIP (휙) – Jiwoo and Kyujin
Each pairing is a distinct bet on chemistry. Lily and Haewon take Sing to the Moon, Sullyoon and Bae handle Hot ‘n Unbothered, and the closing unit puts Jiwoo and Kyujin together on WHIP.
Why NMIXX’s First Unit Songs Matter More Than a Normal Tracklist
The credit list explains why this is not just a formatting change. All six members wrote lyrics for their respective subunit songs, and Kyujin also holds a composition credit on the project. Bae doubles up, contributing lyrics to the group track RudE TaLK as well.
That pattern fits a broader shift visible across NMIXX’s 2026 output. In May, the official notice board announced a collaboration with Anderson .Paak titled Caution. By August, it listed Take A Chance (Feat. Kyujin of NMIXX) from Jason Lee. Add three subunit songs, and this year reads as the point where the members started appearing in smaller configurations rather than always as a six-piece block.
What the sources do not reveal is how any of it sounds. No genres, tempos, or concept details for Strange Muse have been shared, and no music video schedule has been confirmed beyond the release date itself.
A First Grand Prize, Two Days Before the Comeback News
The momentum behind this release is real, and it is recent. On Sept. 19, at the 2026 The Fact Music Awards held at Busan Asiad Main Stadium, NMIXX reportedly walked away with three trophies: Artist of the Year, a fan-voted My Star Award for Sullyoon, and the grand prize Sound of the Year.
Korean media reports describe the Sound of the Year win as NMIXX’s first grand prize at a music awards ceremony. An official results page was not part of the available material, so the triple crown should be treated as reported rather than independently confirmed here.
Even so, the sequence stands out. Award night on Sept. 19. Tracklist reveal at midnight on Sept. 21. Album out on Oct. 19. That is a three-week stretch turning a career peak into a new release, and it frames the comeback as a direct response to the win rather than a routine entry on the calendar.
What’s Still Unannounced, and the Incheon Tour Finale
The next confirmed step after the album is already on the calendar. NMIXX will close its first world tour, EPISODE 1: ZERO FRONTIER, with a three-night encore concert from Nov. 27 to Nov. 29 at Incheon Inspire Arena. The run caps a journey of nearly a year.
Several pieces remain open. No teaser schedule, concept photos, highlight medley, album versions, preorder details, or ticket information for the encore have been announced in the supplied materials. There is also no confirmed US date on the tour finale, and no word on whether the three new subunit songs will be staged live in Incheon.
For now, the date to hold is Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. KST, which is early morning on the US coasts. Everything after that, from the first teaser to the Incheon setlist, is the part fans will be watching next.