Got7: The Alpha Men of the K-Pop World

Since 2014, this group has captured the hearts of many with their outstanding vocals, inspiring messages, and relatable personalities along with a growing catalogue of chart-topping hits fused with RnB-inspired instrumentals that continue to make them stand out in the competitive industry of K-Pop. Im ‘JB’ Jaebeom, the leader/main singer-songwriter, gives his all when it comes to giving the ahgases (the name of their fans) a taste of something new in each project along with the other six members contributing with their own composed songs and solo songs which could mostly be seen in the Present: You album .

With their album Spinning Top: Between Security and Insecurity, these seven men prove how much their fans support means to them despite their many struggles transitioning into mainstream success. Of course every idol has their own set of perks, but Got7 is not your average cookie-cutter K-Pop group as they allow themselves to improve in every aspect of everything they accomplish.

Rewind the Flight: The Beginnings

Forming under JYP Entertainment in 2014, these seven vastly different men have built what can only be described as an underdog-like reputation for themselves as similar group BTS were quickly gaining fans debuting under Big Hit Entertainment a year earlier. Most members are very vocal about the struggles they had to face during their trainee days with Jackson Wang, Mark Tuan, and Bambam having a tougher time being foreigners.

In multiple interviews, Jackson explains how he came up from being an athletic Chinese fencing champion to someone who could be a great example of how you can achieve your dreams with hard work, while Mark came up not originally wanting to do music but auditioned through his school’s encouragement which led him to become a practitioner and growing fond of singing overtime. As for Bambam, who got the name from his mom, he wasn’t suppose to be in Got7 originally but debuted after a dance battle between JYP and YG Entertainment’s trainees on the reality-survival show WIN: Who Is Next with Jackson, Mark, and Yugyeom.

On the other hand, you've got Korean members Lim Jaebeom, Choi Youngjae, Kim Yugyeom, and Park Jinyoung, who became trainees having previous experience in the entertainment industry doing music together/individually and starring in K-Dramas such as Dream High with Jackson, Mark, and BamBam. Despite their individual struggles with each other at first, they became stronger together.

For their Eyes on You tour in America, Got7 appeared on Good Day New York to explain how excited they were about meeting fans and the many sacrifices they made to become so well known despite their relatively small fan base they had at the time. This interview gives you some information about the members and how they keep going despite the struggles they face as a more rogue K-Pop group.

In this interview, Jackson Wang tells a very in-depth story about how he came up from being a Chinese fencer to one day wanting to do music despite his families concerns. Despite being a foreigner with no previous experience in performing arts and not knowing the Korean language, Jackson explains how he worked hard despite the amount of hate and turmoil he had to go through to become his own person.

What Makes Them Stand Out?

Their Originality

As mentioned before, JYP has a history of molding his artists/groups to subdue the traditional image of a K-Pop idol, breaking several barriers and taking very effective risks to make his name stand out among the industry’s most well-known juggernaut companies like Big Hit, YG, and SM. This has only further lead Got7 to huge acclaim outside of Korea as their relatable personalities and versatile music are what lead to more K-Pop artists to go mainstream worldwide and reach new audiences.

Relationship with Ahgases

With this kind of influence it’s gotta be a lot right? That’s where the ahgase fans come in and remind them that they’re here to stay and will be there through it all sharing certain intimate experiences that give new meaning to K-Pop as a whole. Got7 is one of the few groups to get access to do certain things, with each member having individual SMS and having tattoos, unlike most K-Pop companies that don’t allow that kind of freedom among their artist(s).

Non-traditional Lineup

Aside from the numerous amount of all Korean groups, here you have three foreign members who’ve showed that non-Koreans exist and are just as worthy of an opportunity despite the biased views among most of South Korea.

However, it seems like South Korea has been more accepting of groups such as Got7 who don’t really follow the traditional all-native lineup just like it has been since nice the early 90s with groups such as Seo Taiji and Boys among many others who came before Got7. The fans seem to like the concept as it’s becoming a recent trend in modern day K-Pop and gives other artists access to reach larger audiences because of their association.

Their Musical Versatility

Many past K-Pop artists have gone the extra mile by doing different versions of their songs, which only became more common as JYP had his girl group The Wonder Girls make an English version of their hit song "Nobody" back in 2008, which would lead way for more and more artists of that time to do so as well. This only became more popular as Got7 released their song "Lullaby" off their Present: You album back in September 2018 which had the boys sing in different languages including Spanish, Chinese, and English to get closer to international fans and to show their musical versatility in the process.

Got7 has always gone above and beyond for their fans, which has brought them great praise since they are one of the few groups to break though those barriers of the modern K-Pop sound and what music they create as well. Their comebacks seem to get better and better as they continue to grow in different ways and experiment with certain musical styles to please fans and discover more about themselves too. Without this, K-Pop music would just be repetitive with not incorporating different music styles/genres to stand out or at least make a statement.

Spinning Top: Between Security and Insecurity

With all their recent success outside of Korea, Got7 doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon since they’ve already made announcements for another album, which means more touring and interesting interactions with the fans. There’s a reason why most fans would agree that they, unlike their equally talented acquaintances, stand out from most K-Pop groups and really bring everything they can to make ahgases know that they’re not going anywhere despite daily doubts

That’s where you get their Spinning Top album, which is basically an upfront confessional love letter to the fans sharing their worries and hopes for not only themselves but for the fans. The title track "Eclipse" has Got7 singing about how they’ll “win the fight” with fans but still get so insecure and scared that they’ll leave, hence the spinning top concept with the other songs getting more positive with every listen.

The reason the word “fan” is mentioned so often is because they care so much for them; of course it could be a separate discussion on their fans, but basically Got7 thinks of them as special friends/family which, makes the experience even more beautiful.

Going Higher and Higher

Despite the amount of criticism of JYP Entertainment’s promotional team, Got7 has no plans on stopping anytime soon with the fans being their number one motivator. As trainees, they came into the company together already developing a close connection with each other even before debuting with their single "Girls, Girls, Girls" in 2014. Since then, Got7 has been soaring to new heights that would take them places they could only dream of being, including America.

Their loving fans are only gonna continue to support them through all the struggles and accomplishments they have. With the amount of projects that go on inside and outside of the group, these seven men are still gonna be here to show their fans and the haters that they’re in fact here to stay. In conclusion, it doesn’t matter where you come from, but the journey and the people that shape you to become a better version of yourself matter the most.