Last year, a myriad of new groups debuted with what was considered the signature K-pop sound trending at the time: sizzling electronic sounds, piercing beats and full-force chanting.

Fast forward a year, many of those rookie groups are pivoting to softer and more melodic sounds, referred to as “easy listening.”

The changed trend has been becoming increasingly noticeable amid the wave of new releases in the spring and early summer.

Along with the softened music, the idol groups’ aesthetic concepts have also changed into more casual looks.

So after years of uproarious sounds and charismatic concepts, why is the scene starting to tone things down?

Time to pivot

One of the most successful recent cases has been girl group Nmixx, which came back in March with a much subtler version of its signature “Mixxpop” music style. The group has been merging segments of drastically different genres into single songs since its debut.