It feels like &TEAM have promoted recent single Firework more frequently on Korean broadcasts than in their native Japan, making the whole ‘Korean-agency-debuts-Jpop-act’ approach even more nebulous. Thus far, &TEAM’s output has basically been K-pop performed in Japanese — a trend many agencies are attempting to replicate.
My thoughts on this aside, Firework is a very strong pop song. Road Not Taken is less strong, but still enjoyable. HYBE’s oppressive vocal production is omnipresent, flattening any character from the performance. And, the beat lurches in a way that never quite comes to life. But underneath these quibbles is a solid song with some standout melodies. The pre-chorus is a highlight, presenting an oasis of vocal interplay that captures attention. And even if I generally hate the way this agency produces vocals, their filters give Road Not Taken‘s chorus an angsty texture that works well.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
This is my guilty pleasure song for the year so far. Should I like it? No, not so much. I mean, this could be by anyone, really, I could list a half dozen young boy groups of whatever we are calling this generation. And another one where I see so many boys, and hear only one or two. Also for Hybe, the video is rather low budget, or should I rephrase it to say that they spent the right amount on the video.
Pfft, whatev, I am old enough to not care about such questions, as the finger hits the replay click.
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I… really like this. &Team are so far delivering banger after banger for me. I can’t believe they were able to pull off this kinda concept too so well! They just might get the edge over Enhypen for my music taste soon.
This song has a haunting dark vibe – I could hear some Ateez New World in there somewhere too lol – their songs are definitely interesting! And their vocals and rap are really cool too! They’re definitely great performers too so as much as I love the original Japanese versions of their songs I’m happy they are getting korean versions so that they can promote on shows!
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This is one of my favorite b-sides of the year—I’m definitely on the &Team train! While their sound is in the vein of TXT and Enhypen, the HYBE group they actually remind me the most of is SVT in terms of performance quality, synchronization, and intricate choreo (beyond the elevator lift from Rock with You)—they also happen to have a Chinese (Taiwanese) member and a half Asian/half white member.
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I really like this group. Their voices and personalities work well together, their performances are polished. and they have a lot of energy and emotion.
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