&TEAM is a nine-member multinational boy group comprising K, Fuma, Yuma, Jo, Harua, Taki, Nicholas, Euiju, and Maki. The first act launched by Hive Labels Japan, the group was formed through the audition programme *&Audition – The Howling –* and made its debut on 7th December 2022. Six members hold Japanese nationality; one is Taiwanese; one, Euiju, is South Korean; and one, Maki, holds dual Japanese-German citizenship. The group's name, "&TEAM", is intended to convey the idea of connecting people to one another — fans to artists, and members to the world.

Origins and Growth

&TEAM was conceived from the outset as something unusual: a Japan-based multinational group navigating the conventions of the Korean pop industry. Several members — K, Taki, Nicholas, and Euiju — had previously appeared on Mnet's survival programme *I-Land*, meaning they were already Korean-speaking before the group was formed. Fuma, who had trained as a trainee in South Korea, added further Korean-language depth to the early lineup. By June 2023, all nine members had acquired sufficient Korean proficiency to appear comfortably on South Korean variety programmes — a notable achievement for a predominantly Japanese ensemble. Beyond Korean, the group's linguistic range is considerable: Nicholas speaks Mandarin Chinese, Maki speaks German, and Euiju is a native Korean speaker, with most members able to communicate in two or three languages.

The group's artistic identity carries its own intricacies. &TEAM has built its conceptual world around the mythology of werewolves — a universe that is deliberately intertwined with that of Enhypen, a fellow Hive act whose lore centres on vampires. Music videos from both groups have contained Easter eggs referencing each other's fictional worlds, a calculated strategy by Hive to weave multiple groups into a shared narrative and encourage fans of one act to explore the other.

The Comeback

On 8th May, &TEAM returns with *Mark on Me*, their second Korean-language mini-album. For a group whose primary stage has been Japan, a Korean release carries strategic weight. It represents an attempt to hold two identities in equilibrium: the Japan-rooted origins of the group on one hand, and an expanding footprint in the Korean and global markets on the other. Euiju, the sole South Korean member, has shouldered much of the group's Korean-language media duties, and is expected to play a central role in the promotional cycle once again.

The Challenge Ahead

The central question facing &TEAM is whether it can sustain the balance between its identity as a Japan-based act and its growing ambitions in the Korean market. As the first group produced by Hive Labels Japan, a strong performance in South Korea would validate a novel model: cultivating talent in Japan, then exporting it back to Korea and the wider world. Should that balance prove difficult to maintain, the group would instead become a cautionary illustration of just how demanding it is to manage the identity of a genuinely multinational act.

Now entering their fourth year as a group, &TEAM's latest Korean comeback will be a telling test of whether they can cement a durable presence in both markets simultaneously.