CIX performs at Paramount Theatre in Oakland on March 26, 2023. Gavin Legaspi/STAFF.

OAKLAND — Soul-music-loving K-pop group CIX concluded their second U.S. tour at the Paramount Theatre with a breezy, groove-centric 100-minute set.

The quintet, whose name stands for “Complete in X,” is a rising act on the C9 Entertainment roster. Members BX (Lee Byoung-gon), Seunghun (Kim Seung-hun), Yonghee (Kim Yong-hee), Bae Jinyoung (Bae Jin-young) and Hyunsuk (Yoon Hyun-suk) debuted in 2019 with EP Hello Chapter 1: Hello, Stranger and single “Movie Star.”

The Saturday show, concluding the tour dubbed <Save Me, Kill Me> featured a handful of songs from CIX’s latest EP, ‘OK’ Episode 1: OK Not, released last August, in addition to prior hits.

Many of the group’s songs included fun rap breakdowns by BX (the group leader) and Hyunsuk, but where the group shined brightest was on its singing abilities and appreciation for American R&B influences from the ’80s and ’90s. CIX members also didn’t spend too much time on between-song banter, concentrating on the flow of the overall performance, which seemed to go by much quicker than typical.

CIX performs at Paramount Theatre in Oakland on March 26, 2023.

The group kicked off with the bassy “Numb,” dressed in black suits with gold and red embellishments that ran down their legs, making them look a bit like Spanish bullfighters. Their focus was on singing first, and the dancing steadily grew more intense as the song went on. The next song, the fast-paced “Young,” offered a different vibe—more like Euro-pop. Like the opener, it had a rap break, as well as some fun hand choreography.

Before “Jungle,” the members taught attendees (the group’s fans are called FIX) to vocalize along. This mid-tempo R&B jam was the group’s bread and butter, a vibe CIX returned to time and time again on tracks like “Like It That Way.” The latter included melodic oooh and ahhh vocalizations paired with fluid and feminine dance moves, accentuating their figures.

In the middle of the set, as the five members each had a turn to perform a cover song solo, both BX and Seunghun returned to this sound. BX’s song was a wavy R&B jam with some rapped lines (according to the setlist, it was Futuristic’s “Bodied,” and if so, BX made it his own). Seunghun did his best to recreate a ’90s R&B music video, singing a cover of Giveon’s “Heartbreak Anniversary” with a wine glass (and possibly red wine) in hand. During his smooth arrangement, he hopped down into the pit at the front of stage, still with the glass, before walking back and forth.

CIX performs at Paramount Theatre in Oakland on March 26, 2023.

Later in the show, fans loudly sang along with similarly smooth songs like “Everything,” during which the house lights came on, and the group encouraged the singing to get louder and louder, and the bass-laden “What You Wanted.”

Yonghee and Jinyoung showed off their balladry with their solo performances. The former took Justin Bieber’s “Holy.” Sitting on a stool in jeans and a blue hoodie, he crooned away to the uptempo song before walking around and then kneeling at the lip of the stage and motioning for fans to hold their lightsticks up high. The latter performed keshi’s “Alright.” Wearing a large untucked white shirt with really long sleeves, Jinyoung reached high into a sandy falsetto while rocking from left to right at center stage; slowly at first, then like one of those inflatable people at a car dealership. In between the two of them, Hyunsuk performed “Text Me” (by Korean rapper DPR Live). It was the show’s most aggressive moment.

Other songs leaned closer to dance pop, such as the bouncy “Imagine,” during which the room became awash with rainbow-colored lights. The five members spread out across the same stage, some having removed the black jackets with which they began the show and a couple holding towels to wipe away the sweat.

CIX made a point to say this was their first tour performing the song “Imagine” live, and it was one of the biggest highlights.

Single “458,” from the latest EP, fell in the pop banger realm. “BAD DREAM” recalled ’90s house techno with industrial sounds and production. “Without You,” another newer song, began as a soft ballad before the hard-hitting beat kicked in on the choruses.

Without wasting time, CIX brought the show to a close with a two of their biggest hits in “Movie Star” and “Cinema,” as well as “Drown In Luv” (another new tune) and “The One.” Over the course of the show, they repeatedly promised to return to the Bay Area stronger and more refined, but as their vocal prowess showed, that’s not something they should worry about.

Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter. Follow photographer Gavin Legaspi at Instagram.com/batang.gabino.