HYBE’s Japanese group &TEAM has been building up to their second album this year, gradually forging a softer, more melodic sound that worked particularly well on summer singles Koegawari and Aoarashi. Earlier this month, they pre-released the wintery Illumination and now we have title track Yukiakari days before the release of the full album.
This might be an overly simplistic observation and I don’t mean to pit groups against each other, but given the fact that &TEAM, TXT and ENHYPEN often share similar producers it feels like HYBE tends to dole out its strongest songs to one of the three acts each year. In 2024, &TEAM were the beneficiaries. Apart from is performance in Japanese, Yukiakari could have been delivered roughly the same way by any of these groups. That’s not meant as a knock on lack of individuality. Instead, it’s a recognition that the song itself is strong enough to be almost “plug and play.”
More importantly, Yukiakari works as a natural climax to &TEAM’s year. Its atmospheric sound, chugging guitar and melodic peaks recall past singles but pull them together into something more anthemic. It’s a good match for the group’s light, airy tones. This combination feels dreamlike and slightly otherworldly, imbuing a very straightforward track with extra texture. The chorus swoops through two distinct melodic segments, taking its time to offer a sustained sense of release. The arrangement could stand to be a bit more unique, but overall this is a definite hit.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I’m starting to associate this sound more with &TEAM than TXT or Enhypen these days, it’s certainly more dynamic and interesting than anything either of those two groups has put out recently. I really like the rock elements and how this fits in with their other title tracks this year, both sonically and visually.
Also fun fact: one of the producers, VINCENZO (Chung Ha, (G)I-DLE), composed Drift, the intro from ALL(H)OURS’ first album that became part of their song Shock (which I love).
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I always thought &TEAM had the best music in HYBE ofc BOYNEXTDOOR is above there. So seeing this be recognized makes me happy that &TEAM is finally being on the spotlight when looking for good music. I do hope this A&R direction continues, I am really happy with their musical direction.
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that’s true. &Team had the best music in Hybe. (As in All) All their list of songs are beautiful compared to other Hybe group that’s why many people are saying they are underrated and need to be exposed globally.
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Its melodically nice, but its just too airy. Honestly sounds like most of their other songs.
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To be honest, as the casual HYBE young boy band listener, the only way I know this is &Team and not the others is that they consistently got the better songs this year.
That said, it is a great example of bright spritely well polished boy band song. If I were, say, 14 years old, I would be quite happy with this.
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it’s a shame bc I genuinely don’t think lunés have recognised that hybe is really trying to push andteam into getting a bigger fandom, especially before hybe’s 2nd japanese boy group debut. i keep seeing them about mistreatment, meanwhile their next tt producer has a Grammy. 😭
but tbh, hybe cycling through the same producers for all their bgs makes me think about how little they care about music now. they have such little regard for unique musical identities, which is I guess why hybe found themselves in a lot of trouble this year.
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