In between conquering Korean charts with their title track and album Blue Valentine, NMIXX have maintained an unlikely collaboration with Brazilian drag artist Pabllo Vittar. This pairing sounds more fun than the actual music it has spawned, but it’s always nice when K-pop agencies remember that “global outreach” doesn’t automatically mean going to America. And despite its relative conservatism as an industry, K-pop feels uniquely suited to cross paths with drag.
Last year, I gave NMIXX’s first pairing with Vittar a decent rating but I can’t recall anything about that song. It didn’t last long on my playlist and felt more like an interesting diversion than a full attempt to create something with lasting impact. The same can be said about Tic Tic. This is two minutes of booty shaking groove with the most threadbare of songs thrown over the top. NMIXX are largely relegated to speaking and making sound effects while Vittar does most of the singing. It’s an enjoyable burst of energy, but it feels very throwaway.
In fact, Tic Tic is so throwaway that I debated whether I should write about it at all. Ultimately, I wanted the opportunity to express how interesting the “performance video” is. It’s a clip from Brazil’s Carnival celebration, but removing any crowd noise and ambiance gives the video an eerie, stilted energy. Also, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a K-pop group caged in such a tiny (elevated!) stage, their movements constrained and their audience appearing inert thanks to the studio mix being used as the audio. I find the idea of cultures colliding in this way very fascinating but I’m not sure NMIXX’s appeal comes across here. At the very least, it’s an interesting visual. I wish the song had more to offer.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
Grade: C
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
i so badly want to get into brazillian pop as part of my latin pop exploration quest, i know the country has such a diverse scene and i have a few songs on my playlist but i just dont know where to start fully exploring
some songs i liked:
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That first song is groovy as hell.
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i love my samba fast paced and full of groove
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I think that maybe you’ll enjoy Chiclete com Banana, Carlinhos Brown and Ivete Sangalo older songs too. I really like Secos & Molhados. Oh, Tim Maia might fit into this too
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I didn’t really like Mexe, but Tic Tic is quite fun! I really liked the pre chorus in Portuguese and Lily’s part in the first part of song.
For me it’s not like a super good song, but something fun to listen to sometimes. Although I’ll probably listen a lot because it’s stuck in my head 😔
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at the very least ik the girls r gonna be raking in cash from this cuz ik damn well brazilian gays do NAWTTTT!!! fucking play abt pop girls like why do u think gagas show there was the most attended concert by a female artist of all time. and on that note nmixx + pabllos performance in brazil broke a record the most attended kpop concert of all time
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so in other news theres this greatest experimental pop song of the year and possibly decade that just came out earlier today…..
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