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The two-month survival audition series, &AUDITION - The Howling, aired its finale on September 3 and introduced the world to &TEAM, HYBE's new Japanese boy group.
Among the 11 trainees, five were to join the four debut group members, K, Nicholas, Taki, and EJ. The two-hour finale gave fans from around the globe a chance to witness more incredible performances by all 15 members, including The Final Countdown.
&AUDITION - The Howling’s finale was attended by ENHYPEN, who were formed through the 2020 survival show I-LAND. It was the four debut members’ previous survival show where they proved their talent. The latest reality-audition series was aimed at finding new members for their group.
After months of watching 11 trainees undergo harsh feedback, relieving compliments, and ups and downs, five members were selected to debut, while the other six were eliminated.
Meet the &TEAM members who survived &AUDITION - The Howling
&AUDITION - The Howling’s official debut team members were announced in the nail-biting finale. The idol group will be called &TEAM. Joining debut members K, Nicholas, Taki, and EJ are trainees Fuma, Yuma, Jo, Harua, and Maki. The five members proved themselves through sheer talent, growth, and determination to move forward.
The criteria for selecting the debut members were producer evaluation (40%), special producer/guest evaluation (30%), preliminary global voting (20%), and live voting (10%). The five trainees ranked in the top five in overall scores.
Meanwhile, the six remaining members, Gaku, Hikaru, Junwon, Hayate, Yejun, and Minhyung, could not pursue their dreams to debut through &AUDITION - The Howling. The boys were shattered when their names weren't called out as selected debut members. Judge, mentor, and performance director Sakura Inoue shared their heartbreak as well.
&AUDITION - The Howling’s special guests feat. BTS’ RM, ENHYPEN and more
While the finale was special in its own sense, the official debut announcement of HYBE’s Japanese global boy group was made even more meaningful by the guests in attendance. Attending the finale was HYBE’s founder, Bang Si-hyuk, aka Bang PD, sitting beside BTS’ leader, RM.
Music giant Scooter Braun, whose Ithaca Holdings was acquired by HYBE in a billion-dollar deal, also witnessed the company’s new group first-hand.
Famous Korean soloist ZICO and Japanese producer Ryoskuke Imai were also special guests of the night. Fixed judges, producers Soma Genda and Pdogg, choreographer Son Sung-deuk, and performance director Sakura Inoue congratulated the &TEAM members and gave encouraging words to the remaining six trainees.
K-pop idol group ENHYPEN was also added to the list of special guests. The Pass the Mic group’s addition was more meaningful as they shared history with K, Nicholas, Taki, and EJ.
All seven ENHYPEN members and the four debut trainees competed in the 2020 survival show I-LAND. Watching interactions between the idols was a heart-touching moment for fans as they saw them together after nearly two years.
Meanwhile, K, Nicholas, Taki, EJ, Fuma, Yuma, Jo, Harua, and Maki will debut as &TEAM under HYBE LABELS JAPAN on December 7, 2022.
