My KPop Playlist: Got7 - You Are
After that last KPop post, we need something fun and bouncy and uplifting. Free of controversy, even.
Enter: Got7
Got7 is a--you guessed it--7 member boy band signed to the JYP label. They debuted in January of 2014, and have been a success from day one. The members are:
Left to right: Mark, YuGyeom, JinYoung, YongJae, Jackson, BamBam, and JB.
Who Does What:
JB (Im JaeBom): Leader, main vocalist, songwriter.
Mark (Mark Yi En Tuan): Lead rapper and visual.
Jackson (Wang Jia Er): Main rapper, vocalist and face of the group. Understatement on that last part.
JinYoung (Park JinYoung): Lead vocalist and the second face of the group.
YoungJae (Choi YoungJae): Main vocalist.
BamBam (Kunpimook Bhuwakul Bambam): Rapper, vocalist.
YuGyeom (Kim YuGyeom): Main vocalist, rapper, maknae.
As you may have guessed, the names in parentheses don't all look Korean. That's because Got7 is a truly international group: Mark is an American of Taiwanese descent, Jackson is Chinese (Hong Kong), and BamBam is from Thailand. The other members are, of course, Korean. Still, that nearly half of Got7 is not Korean is unusual in KPop; however, it's done nothing to put a dent in their popularity. They are one of the most beloved groups in the industry.
Note: The photo above is a rarity in that 1) it shows a KPop group with all of the members having normal-colored hair for a change. That doesn't happen often these days. 2) It's one of the few photos to show a serious side of Got7. It was tough to find one that wasn't goofy. That's because their typical image is of being the clown princes of KPop. They don't take much seriously. Except their music. They do have serious songs, even dark ones, but, for the most part, they are a "happy" group, with personalities to match. And that makes them one of the most lovable bands in all of KPop.
As if they wanted a tune to match their adorable image, Got7 released "You Are" in 2017, and it's one of the most joyful and uplifting songs about the power of love ever composed or performed. However bad your day has been, this song penned by leader JB will lighten and brighten your mood, but with gentle persuasion, rather than banging you over the head or yanking you around. You don’t even need to understand any of the lyrics to feel happy and better about the world while listening to it. The music and vocals do the job across all language barriers. But if you want to know the lyrics, an English translation is available with a click of the CC button:
Definitely one of Got7’s crowning achievements.
The live performance I've chosen will be a major deviation from the usual formula. Rather than showcasing their talent, I'll demonstrate why I consider Got7 the clown princes of KPop. This is NOT a definitive or even great performance of Got7 or "You Are," and it's not supposed to be. The point of the "Van Live" series is for a group to be silly and have fun. And that's exactly what anyone can expect from this boy band, most of the time, especially near the end when they all join in for the chorus and don't care if they're all in tune or not, just like normal friends singing along to the car stereo:
What a bunch of goofballs. I love them to pieces for being so crazy and carefree.
