IVE and NMIXX Released Music on the Same Day. Fans Debated the Moments, Not Just the Charts

The interesting contest is not automatically a chart showdown. It may be the simple question: Which few seconds made you hit replay?

IVE's ‘Looks Can Kill’ music video and NMIXX's ‘Strange Muse’ mini album arrived on October 19, 2026. Contemporaneous public listening discussions focused on different things: the flow of IVE's video and the unusual sounds across NMIXX's tracks.

In the IVE thread, listeners praised the catchy chorus while others said a dramatic interruption in the MV broke the music's momentum. In the NMIXX album thread, some favored the unfamiliar textures of ‘Kerosene’ and ‘RudE TaLK’ over the main track.

These are individual fan reactions in two open discussions, not evidence that the groups are competing in a formal contest. An editing break may feel creative to one listener and distracting to another.

A music video mixes sound with editing and narrative, whereas a song on a streaming service may work differently. An album's B-sides can also attract a different set of tastes than its lead single.

IVE's MV appeared October 19. The NMIXX album discussion lists six tracks and identifies October 19 as its release date. This story deliberately avoids unsupported streaming rankings and sales figures.

Reactions may evolve after live stages and full-album listening. The focus here is what people were actually discussing on October 19–20, not predicting winners.