Welcome back to our Music Rewind series! To say 2023 has been a big year for &TEAM is the ultimate understatement. For a start, it’s their rookie year, so the level of success they’ve had is not only astonishing but unprecedented. From number-one albums to winning awards, the stats say a lot. But what’s more is seeing how much &TEAM’s fanbase, LUNÉ, has grown in the year since &AUDITION and their debut.
Because of all these new fans, we figured we should wrap up &TEAM’s 2023, to highlight all their achievements in their rookie year! So here’s our &TEAM Music Rewind!
Where It All Began
Allow us some artistic license in our *2023* Music Rewind whilst we briefly mention the end of 2022.
&TEAM were formed at the end of last year on the global survival show &AUDITION: The Howling and officially debuted on December 7th, 2022, with the mini album First Howling: ME. The group consists of nine members, including four who were also featured on the survival show I-LAND, which created ENHYPEN in 2020. All of this is to say that &TEAM’s debut was hugely anticipated, not least because of &AUDITION and the fans made then, but also because, by the time they debuted, some of the members had had dedicated fans for over two years.
But, naturally, &TEAM did not disappoint. First Howling: ME and singles ‘Under the skin’ and ‘Scent of you’ made sure that the group came out of the gate running. From the very start, their music was elite-tier, and their lore equally intricate. And there’s more where that came from in 2023!
&TEAM also started 2023 how they meant to go on, with a gorgeous stage on CDTV Live! Live! on January 1st. The collaboration with ENHYPEN showed that &TEAM did not come to play, and that they could stand alongside their senior artists. However, despite the high energy, enha and the &AUDITION boys reuniting for ‘Into The I-LAND’ was a bit of a tear-jerker to start the new year with.
FANTOUR LUNÉ MARE: 月波 (TSUKI-NAMI)
In May and June, LUNÉ finally got what we’ve been craving for a while – a full show from &TEAM! The Japan fan meetings were so much fun, even from the other side of the world, and only got us more excited about what a potential tour set could look like from &TEAM.
First Howling: WE
And halfway through 2023, we got &TEAM’s first comeback! First Howling: WE is a phenomenal mini album that does a fantastic job of further carving out the path &TEAM began with First Howling: ME. Naturally, the album shot to number one on both the Oricon and Billboard Japan Hot Albums charts.
The title track ‘Firework’ is truly the song of our dreams. The synth-pop-inspired, joyful anthem has the exact excited-yet-determined energy that only a rookie group could pull off. It’s also in sharp contrast to its predecessors ‘Under the skin’ and ‘Scent of you,’ and we can’t believe they showed this much versatility in their debut year!
OSTs
The First Howling series isn’t the only music &TEAM have lent their talents to; they’ve also released OSTs in 2023! As well as ‘Buzz Love,’ which was on First Howling: ME, becoming the Romance Before Debut theme, the group released ‘Blind Love’ as the theme for Dr. Chocolate, and those two song titles aren’t confusing at all…
But before ‘Blind Love’ was ‘W.O.L.F. (Win Or Lose Fight),’ which is the original soundtrack for &TEAM’s original story webtoon Dark Moon: The Grey City. Sung by the OG &AUDITION boys, K, Nicholas, EJ, and Taki, it’s a crystallization of &TEAM’s musical identity.
First Anniversary
Our &TEAM are a year old…sort of. Some people celebrate &TEAM’s anniversary on the day the group was formed (September 3rd), and some on the day they debuted (December 7th). We say they’re like royalty and get to have two birthdays. Looks like &TEAM themselves are leaning toward the first option because, in September, we celebrated 2023 縁-WE-EK, which was packed with content and events.
It also brought the return of FANTOUR LUNÉ MARE, as &TEAM headed out on some more fan meetings in Japan and Korea!
First Howling: NOW
And then, we got &TEAM’s first full album! First Howling: NOW was released on November 15th, along with the title track ‘War Cry’ and coupling track ‘Dropkick.’ The album reached number two on Oricon and the top spot on Billboard Japan Hot Albums.
‘War Cry’ is definitely the most intense title track we’ve seen from &TEAM so far, but it builds on what was created with First Howling: WE’s b-side ‘Road Not Taken.’ We absolutely love this more ferocious side of &TEAM, and we can’t wait to see it grow as the group continues to develop.
End Of Year Stages
If there’s one thing &TEAM is gonna do, it’s show up for special stages. In 2023 alone, they’ve done ANNX Special Live, GMO Sonic, DUNK Showcase (twice), KCON 2023 Japan, Weverse Con, MAMA Awards, and the 2023 Asia Artist Awards.
We love how &TEAM isn’t afraid to try new things and experiment on these massive stages, from the MAMA dance break to the ‘GENTO’ collab with THP faves SB19 at the AAAs!
&TEAM’s Accolades
Listen, by now, you can probably tell that here at THP, we’re pretty big fans of &TEAM. But we’re not the only ones! In addition to their chart success in Japan, the awards are starting to happen, too! So far, they’ve won Best 5 New Artists at Japan Gold Disc Award, and Best Choice Award and Best Emotive Award – Music at the Asia Artist Awards. Can’t wait to see more of these for &TEAM, as they’re so, so deserved.
What’s Next?
So, what will &TEAM’s 2024 look like? Well, up first, they have their first proper tour! FIRST PAW PRINT begins in January across Japan and Korea. The members have spoken a lot about how they really want to perform in front of LUNÉ all around the world, so will 2024 be the year? Here’s to hoping!
Moreover, what will be up next in their discography? Will we see more of the First Howling series, or was NOW the end of it, seeing as it wrapped up the two mini albums before it, too? Will it be a Second Howling or something else entirely?
Regardless of what happens, we’re confident that 2024 will be just as successful for &TEAM as 2023, and we can’t wait to witness it!
What was your favorite highlight from &TEAM in 2023? What are you looking forward to next year? Let us know on Twitter @TheHoneyPOP or over on Facebook or Instagram!
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