GOT7 proves global power with ‘7 For 7’
GOT7 confirmed their global power by topping the iTunes Album Charts in 17 countries, including Brazil, Finland and Mexico on Wednesday.
The seven-member JYP Entertainment act returned to the stage as a full group, releasing their seventh mini-album “7 For 7,” seven month after they revealed “Flight Log: Arrival” in March. In this context, the number seven is meaningful in their album title.
Hong Kong member Jackson was away for his solo activity in China while JB and Jin Young released a mini-album as K-pop duo JJ Project in August.
GOT7 fans have long been waiting to see the band perform with all sev- en members together.
The band’s new single “You Are,” written by JB, expresses the group’s gratitude to their fans for giving them big support. It is a contemporary pop song with lyrics telling a wishful story asking their fans to always be there when they are exhausted and tired.
“We wanted to deliver our thank-you message to our fans as it took seven months for us to return with all the members,” JB said during an interview with the press at a studio in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, last week. “We also wanted to show how close we are as a team and that we are loyal to the group and pursue the same dream. We will keep our band together and not break up.”
Jackson, who was embroiled in a rumor that he will leave the group as he did not participate in GOT7’s promotional Japan tour last month, emphasized he is GOT7’s Jackson and his solo activity was only to show a new side of himself.
All seven members took part in producing their latest album.
Their new album consists of seven tracks including “Moon U,” produced by Young Jae and Bam Bam, “Teenager,” written by JB and “Firework” produced by Jin Young.
“Each member has his own musical style and talent. There are people criticizing us that GOT7 has no definite identity because we show various music styles but it is our strength that we do not keep to only one genre but try many different music styles,” Jin Young said.
The group has also gained strength as a multinational band. Bam Bam is Thai, while Jackson is from Hong Kong and Mark is Taiwanese-American.
JB says this allows the band to com- municate well with fans when they travel abroad and that they could have cultural differences, but growing together for a long time as trainees, the members get along very well.
“We spent almost four years together with one dream of debuting. Now, when we meet, we don’t realize who is a foreigner and who is local,” Bam Bam said.
GOT7 appeared on the K-pop scene in 2014 with their debut album “Got it?” After members of JYP Entertainment’s representative boy band2PM left to serve their military duty, GOT7 rose to fill the position by selling 330,000 copies of the album “Flight Log: Arrival” in the first half of this year alone.
The boy band also ranked No.1 on Billboard’s World Album Chart four times.