NMIXX’s Strange Muse arrived on October 19 with a simple structure: three unit songs, each built around a pair of members, with full-group tracks alongside them. Most listeners will start with lead single “Birthday Wish.” The more interesting question is in the fine print. Who actually wrote the words, and what do the credits really show?
The answer is more specific than a sweeping claim about the members writing the whole album. Each of the three pairings has lyric credits for its performers. LILY and HAEWON share a credit on “Sing to the Moon,” SULLYOON and BAE collaborate on “Hot ‘n Unbothered,” and JIWOO and KYUJIN share a lyric credit on “WHIP.” Taken together, that puts all six members on the unit material. JYP Publishing’s release listing identifies the roles track by track, and that is the most useful place for fans to check.
For listeners who came in through the single, the album offers two ways into the group. The full-group performances show the lineup together. The unit songs break things down into smaller partnerships, and the credits reveal where each member’s writing fits. That gives fans something concrete to follow, rather than something they have to guess at from line distribution.
BAE’s name appears in more than one place, which makes her a good case study. JYP Publishing lists her as a lyricist on “RudE TaLK,” the full-group track, as well as on “Hot ‘n Unbothered,” her unit song with SULLYOON. Her participation spans both the group setting and the more focused pairing, which is a useful detail for anyone interested in how the record was built.
The context from the release interviews adds another layer. In a JYP-provided interview published by Korean outlets, BAE described discussing ideas with the lyricists and exchanging opinions with SULLYOON. She said their conversations continued by phone when they were apart. That makes the unit’s lyrics sound less like two names attached to a finished song and more like a working partnership.
The two unit songs also sound different on paper. According to JYP’s official album notes, “Sing to the Moon” is a piano-led ballad-pop song whose lyrics compare a loved one to the moon. “Hot ‘n Unbothered” takes another direction, with official descriptions pointing to minimal 808 bass, a dembow-based groove, R&B-influenced vocals and hyperpop elements later in the track. These are label descriptions rather than independent studio accounts, so fans should read them as the label’s framing.
That contrast gives fans something specific to debate. Instead of ranking the units against each other, listeners can ask how a quiet piano arrangement and a rhythm-driven groove change the space available to each pair. A vocal partnership can be interesting for how its members trade phrases, not only for who gets the most lines.
JIWOO and KYUJIN’s “WHIP” is the most interesting credit on the record, and it shows why the label matters. KYUJIN is credited as a lyricist and as a composer. A lyric credit identifies someone’s role in the words. A composition credit identifies a role in the music. Neither label on its own says that a person arranged the track, directed every vocal session, or produced the whole song.
KYUJIN talked about the experience in the release interview. She said she had wanted to try both lyric writing and composition, and she described matching the song’s direction as a challenge. She framed the contribution as a starting point she hopes to build on. That gives the milestone more meaning than the credit alone.
The limits of public credits are worth keeping in mind. Official listings do not show which member wrote a specific line, how a melody was divided, or what share of a song belongs to each writer. Assigning a favorite lyric to one member would need more detailed documentation or an explicit account from the people involved.
The same caution applies to the title track. JYP Publishing lists 2Summery under composition and arrangement for “Birthday Wish.” Member involvement elsewhere on the EP should not be stretched into a claim that all six members wrote or produced every song. The official listings are useful because they separate the different kinds of contribution.
For a first listen, start with the full-group songs, then move through the three pairings in order. Keep the credits open in another tab, and let them answer the question they can actually answer: who is publicly credited, and in what role?
The clearest takeaway from Strange Muse is also the most specific one. All six members have documented lyric participation on their unit songs, BAE contributes to a full-group track, and KYUJIN adds composition to her credits. That gives fans a solid record to discuss, and a better basis for talking about the members’ creative growth than vague praise.