fbpx
Search
Close this search box.

A guide to stanning K-pop/J-pop group &TEAM

by RepublicAsia

IMAGINE this, you’re scrolling through your YouTube recommendations looking for something to watch. You see your usual BTS music video or favorite “Going Seventeen” episode. You might also see a special video NiziU posted or a new performance by XG, but you aren’t in the mood to watch those videos again. 

So, you keep looking until you come across nine boys dressed in bright orange-and-yellow clothes with the cutest smiles on their faces. This is new, you think, but you still click it. As soon as it starts, you are left in awe by the sweet melody, synchronized dancing, and cute members.

After the performance, you are intrigued, yet you wonder who they are. You search for who they are and find out they are Hybe Japan’s newest boy group, &TEAM. Still intrigued, you look them up, and soon you become a fan, a Luné. You want to know more and see more but where do you start? What do you need to watch or listen to know who they are?

Well, here’s your answer: 

First things first, who is &TEAM? They are Hybe Labels Japan’s newest boy group that debuted on December 7, 2022. Yet, they were formed a few months earlier, on September 3, 2022, which they celebrate as their anniversary. 

Their members are leader Ponyo look-alike EJ (pronounced as Euijoo), eldest K, Stylish Nicholas, and Talented Taki, who you might recognize from Enhypen’s survival show “Iland” where they appeared as contestants. Sadly, they did not make it as members of the group but Hybe saw their potential and decided to give them another chance with their survival show “&Audition: The Howling.” There they met their Pokémon loving sub-leader Fuma, Snaggletooth Yuma, Ending Fairy Jo, Harua the Bunny, and Maknae Maki.

To learn more about the members, Luné @hoonswift on X suggests searching them up on KProfiles for fun facts and watching their performance videos like “Buzz Love”. 

Music

Photo courtesy: @andteam_official | Instagram

After getting to know their members and maybe looking them up on KProfiles, you can get into their music. In their discography, they have two mini albums titled “First Howling: Me,” including the songs “Buzz Love”; and “First Howling: We,” which is the album they used to debut in Korea. Their Korean debut was so successful they decided to release their first studio album with new and old songs stretching as far back as “&Audition: The Howling.” You can also watch the music videos which show the members telling the story behind each song. 

Social media

Next, you would probably want to keep updated with &TEAM to find out what content is out or when their next comeback is. You can do that by following them on their social media accounts. They are on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and @andTEAMofficial for official updates. For more member-related content, they can also be seen on their official member X account, @andTEAM_members, and Weverse, where they post about what they can do and even some pictures of what they are up to. 

Lastly, they are also active on TikTok (@andteam_official) where they post their different TikTok challenges and other artists. Though they are not promoting any new music now, they are still active doing other TikTok trends such as SB19’s “Gento,” which K did a while back. It was from this TikTok that they were able to meet and collaborate with SB19 in December at the Asia Artist Awards. 

After following them on their socials, Luné @fumashachi advises that you watch all their content chronologically to see them grow. This section will show you where you can start and what to watch. 

Shows

Photo courtesy: @andteam_official | X/Twitter

As mentioned, &TEAM was formed on a survival show called “&Audition: The Howling ” which is an eight-episode show which introduced us to the talents and versatility of the members through different performances, such as covers and signal songs during their humble beginnings. Here, you can also see their growth as artists and people striving to be their best as they debut.

After their survival shows, &TEAM moved on to variety shows that portray the members in different, sometimes funny, situations. Their first variety show was the two-episode “&TOUR,” where EJ took his members paintballing and then to a relaxing campsite where they rested and strengthened their bond. The next episode showed the members taking their MBTI tests, where we learned more about the personalities of each member. 

Next, &TEAM tried doing different tasks like cooking, where they made burgers, and DIY, where they made things for their dorm. Then they took another page from the Dark Moon WEBTOON and did a concept based on the fictional sport, “Night ball.” They never actually played in the episode but did things like locker inspections and forming puzzles. The fun thing about these shows is they showed the members’ acting and comedy skills through short skits at the start of the episodes.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Vlogs

Photo courtesy: @andteam_official | X/Twitter

The next set of videos are vlogs that feature snippets of the members’ lives as we watch them do their routines and see the fun things they do outside of performing. These vlogs are called &ROUTINE, &DAY, &DAY_OFF, and Our Diary, which are ongoing, with &Day releasing a new episode as recently as February 29, 2024. 

Photo courtesy: @andteam_official | X/Twitter

Another set of content they have is behind-the-scenes content in which they have one called “EPISODE.” This shows the members talking about what is going on and messing around with each other during their downtime in award shows and shoots. These videos best show the members’ dynamics, while still following their music. 

Other shows

Photo courtesy: @andteam_official | X/Twitter

They have other exciting content that showcases the members and their relationship with one another. An example is &CUT, which are short videos of the members talking to their Luné about their experiences on shows and playing games. Other content that showed this is their Children’s Day video, where the older members treated their younger members to an amusement park. It featured the rides and their holiday gift exchange, showing how much they know and care for each other. 

Other content showed them in fun and funny situations that entertained fans, like their trip to an actual amusement park where members had different reactions to the Vikings ride while answering questions; and pranking videos where the staff pranks the members. 

Other ways to stan:

Enhypen connections

Photo courtesy: &TEAM | Youtube

There are many ways to stan &TEAM—you can also check out these collaborations with Enhypen. &TEAM’s connections with Enhypen started during “Iland,” the show that formed Enhypen. It was here where Enhypen and Lunés first met EJ, K, Nicholas and Taki as contestants wanting to debut. Their most notable collaboration happened on January 26, 2023, when they performed Iland’s signal song “Into the Iland” and “One in A Billion” together on “Countdown TV Live! Live!”. The performance allowed us to see how much Enhypen and the original four members of &TEAM have grown while showcasing new voices.

WEBTOON: “Dark Moon”

Photo Courtesy: @GREYCITY_HYBE | X/Twitter

Another way to stan is through reading their webtoon called “Dark Moon: The Grey City,” which showcases them as werewolves trying to live among humans and fend off vampires before eventually coming together. This is another connection between them and Enhypen as they have a series under the same title called “Dark Moon: The Blood Altar,” which features Enhypen as vampires as they get close to the new girl at their school, Sooha. &TEAM also appears in this series as their rivals, the werewolves. This is also the basis for their album concepts and songs with them as werewolves. 

Concerts and other live events

Photo Courtesy: @andteam_official | X/Twitter

Like other groups, &TEAM also holds concerts and other live shows to celebrate with their fans.

Lunéville Twitter/X 

This last way to stan &TEAM is from Luné @fumashachi on X. Their tip is to join &TEAM stan Twitter, which is a community where you can learn more about &TEAM and interact with other Lunés. They suggest just curating your timeline carefully. 

Hopefully, this guide helped you to know and fall in love with the talented boys known as &TEAM. Just remember what King K said: stan them at your own pace (advice from @fumashachi, too). 

So, enjoy and welcome to Lunéville!

With reports from Brigitta Aquino

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

As you found this post useful...

Follow us on social media!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Dive deeper into the issues that affect your community. Follow republicasia on FacebookTwitter and Instagram for in-depth analysis, fresh perspectives, and the stories that shape your daily life.