Considered to be the first global team under Korea-based superlabel HYBE, &TEAM debuted as a nine-member J-pop group (EJ, Fuma, K, Nicholas, Yuma, Jo, Harua, Taki, and Maki) in 2022. Like many pop groups before them, &TEAM came together through a competition reality show, 2022’s &AUDITION - The Howling, though some of its members first appeared on I-LAND, the 2020 competition show that launched K-pop group ENHYPEN. While ENHYPEN has utilized a vampire concept in their music, &TEAM has leaned into werewolf lore as a way to explore coming-of-age themes. On “Under the skin,” an emo-rock debut track that nods to t.A.T.u.’s 2002 hit “All the Things She Said,” the &TEAM members use the supernatural framework to explore a yearning to find others like themselves. Throughout 2024, &TEAM broadened their concept to release a series of tracks that met listeners in each of the four seasons: “Samidare” (spring), “Aoarashi” (summer), “Jyuugoya” (fall), and “Yukiakari” (winter). The project culminated in the group’s second studio album, also titled Yukiakari, which is the Japanese for “snow light.” In 2025, the group made their official Korean debut with Back to Life.