HxW’s High-Octane Debut with BEAM

Oh boy, this duo has been a long time coming—since 1996 to be exact. In their first official sub-unit release, SEVENTEEN’s HOSHI and WOOZI prove they’re the ones to beat with “96ers.”

HOSHI and WOOZI have functioned as a team long before HxW: most notably as the “two captains” of SEVENTEEN, as referenced in their song “BRING IT” off the group’s 2018 album TEEN, AGE. As pillars for performance and music respectively, HOSHI and WOOZI are central figures when it comes to SEVENTEEN’s outstanding star quality. So, of course, it’s only fitting that their first official unit project packs just as much of a punch.

Enter HxW 1st Single Album ‘BEAM’—a release that sees the duo expand on the chemistry they’ve been known for for over a decade. It opens with the haunting “PINOCCHIO (feat. So!YoON!)”, a surprisingly soft introduction for those that might be unfamiliar with the boys’ explosive power. It sees So!YoON! (of SE SEO NEON fame) singing alongside the two vocalists against a lilting music box theme. Things quickly shift with the start of the title track, “96ers,” a club banger of an ode to the teamwork they’ve finessed over the years. With a melody that pulls from “무궁화 꽃이 피었습니다” (the Korean version of the children’s game “Red Light, Green Light” for those who don’t have the melody seared in their minds from Squid Game), the boys—both born in 1996—sing overtop metallic hip-hop beats about their early start and how they’ve grown together into the artists they are today. It’s clear it’s a song the two had fun with and it’s a fitting nod to the work they’ve put in over the years, especially if all the SEVENTEEN-related references are anything to go by.

The single album rounds out with “STUPID IDIOT,” a dance track which sounds like it would be right at home on any Charli xcx album. It’s a welcome upbeat end to the release with their military enlistment on the horizon, though it does feel like a hint of what may be next rather than a final song, so hopefully this is just a taste of what’s to come.

Check out the music video for “96ers” below.

Edited by Lacey Diluvio