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The global-selling group GOT7 was originally supposed to debut as GOT6, revealed BamBam on the Psick Univ YouTube show released on December 18, 2022.
The digit after the name was included to represent the number of members in the group. Speaking candidly with the hosts, the Thai superstar shared the never-heard-before story of how he got added to the debut team.
The Who Are You singer walked down memory lane and said that he received a chance at debut because of his participation in the group battle on Mnet’s 2013 debut survival show, WIN: WHO IS NEXT. The show included a segment where YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment’s trainees were supposed to battle each other.
The Thai singer received the opportunity to perform alongside Mark Tuan, Jackson Wang, and Yugyeom, all showing off their b-boying skills. During the battle, BamBam teenager caught the eye of YGE founder Yang Hyun-suk, which eventually led him to debut with the group, now rebranded as GOT7.
GOT7’s BamBam reveals inside story of the group’s original debut plan
Staying true to his desire to want more exposure in South Korea, Thai superstar and GOT7 member BamBam is making big strides in variety shows. From hosting Transit Love 2 (aka EXchange 2), to selling Bunggeoppang on the streets with LE SSERAFIM’s Sakura, the K-pop idol is almost everywhere.
The Thai K-pop idol featured as a guest on Psick Univ’s December 18 episode. He spoke about many things on the show, one of which was revealing the original debut plan of JYP Entertainment’s new boy group after “beast-dols” 2PM in 2008. He revealed that it was originally going to be GOT6.
“GOT7 at first was GOT6. I wasn’t part of the team. It was only six members so we called it GOT6.”
BamBam then shared the story that made him a part of the group - YG Entertainment’s then-CEO Yang Hyun-suk was impressed by his charms in the battle on WIN: WHO IS NEXT:
“They had that time where the JYP and YG trainees came out for a battle show called ‘WHO IS NEXT.’ One of our members got hurt so he couldn’t dance. So the company was like, ‘Okay Bam. You should come out and dance for this guy.’ Somehow I just got into the show and then [Yang Hyun-suk said] ‘Oh this guy BamBam is catching my eye.’ And then JYP was like, ‘Just put this guy in GOT7.”
That one battle led the then-Thai teenager to train for another year and debut with the Last Breath group in 2014. In total, he trained for three years.
As a part of the Encore group, BamBam has now earned the moniker “Thai Prince,” and is one of the biggest superstars in Thailand. Alongside 2PM’s Nichkhun and BLACKPINK’s Lisa, he is considered one of the path-makers of Thai K-pop idols.
In other news, the idol has also been confirmed to feature as a regular cast member on another major South Korean variety show - Master in the House season 2. The sequel is scheduled to premiere on January 1 at 5 pm KST.
