Group Highlight: GOT7

GOT7’s musical talents are undeniable and have finally been getting them the exposure they deserve amongst the music industry. Much of the group’s success is thanks to their wide reach in international markets. With the most recent news of a JJ Project comeback and solo album release for Jackson, now is the time to get hype about these boys and all the quality releases they are bound to provide us in the future!

Exceptional Beginnings

Before the formation of the full group, members JB and Jinyoung, who went by Jr. at the time, debuted as duo JJ Project in 2012. At the same time, future members Mark, Jackson, BamBam and Yugyeom, who were scouted from Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Seoul respectively, were training to debut as a group. The quartet made their first impression on the public on Mnet’s survival show Who is Next: WIN against notable YG trainees. When it came time to actually debut the group, JB and Jinyoung were added to the mix, along with final member Youngjae, who debuted after only seven months of training.

GOT7 officially debuted in January 2014 with their first mini album Got It?, which peaked at number two on the Gaon Album Chart and number one on Billboard’s World Albums Chart. The rookie group garnered quite a bit of attention with their debut single “Girls Girls Girls,” mainly due to their use of martial arts tricking and b-boying in their choreography. They even found almost immediate success in Japan, signing a contract with Sony Music Entertainment within three months of their debut.

Remaining active in their first year, the boys released their second EP Got Love in June with title song “A.” Their first full album, Identify, followed in November with title track “Stop Stop It,” which topped Gaon’s Weekly Album Sales Chart in its first week. “Stop Stop It” also peaked at number four on Billboard’s World Digital Songs Chart.

Sophomore Success

Following a jam-packed debut year, 2015 proved to be a critical time for GOT7. The group didn’t release a new Korean album until mid-July, instead focusing on activities in Japan and their web drama, Dream Knight. When “Just Right” was finally released, it peaked at number three on Billboard’s World Digital Songs Chart and remained there for two consecutive weeks.

The catchy and sweet song that promoted self love proved to be the jumping point for GOT7, leading up to the success of their next mini-album Mad in September. The title track “If You Do” earned the group their first music show first place, taking home the trophy for the October 6 episode of The Show. Their international success continued to grow, propelling the group even further into the spotlight the following year.

Hitting It Big with the Flight Log Series

After completing yet another Japanese tour, GOT7 released their first album of 2016 in late March, which would become the first of three albums in the Flight Log series. Flight Log: Departure’s title track “Fly” peaked at number two on Billboard’s World Digital Songs Chart, breaking their previous record. Along with the group’s usual international success, “Fly” also received plenty of love in Korea, leading to even more music show wins for the group during their promotions. They even held their first solo concert in April, making it the first stop on their first global concert tour. The Fly tour included stops in four different Asian countries, as well as five stops in the U.S.

The most noticeable change that came with the Flight Log series was the amount of work put into the albums by the members themselves. Flight Log: Turbulence, the second part of the Flight Log trilogy, was released in September 2016 and featured member contributions to either lyrics or composition on 11 of the album’s 13 tracks. The album, as well as title song “Hard Carry,” dominated the international charts, debuting at number one on Billboard’s World Album Chart.

The final chapter in the trilogy, Flight Log: Arrival, was released in February 2017. The album surpassed the group’s previous sales records just a month after being released, with 310,000 albums sold worldwide within that time. Their most successful album to date, Flight Log: Arrival placed first on Gaon and Hanteo’s album charts, additionally topping Billboard’s World Album Chart.

What's your all-time favorite GOT7 track? Let us know in the comments.