We can’t believe that it has been over 7 years since GOT7 released their debut song. Yugyeom and Bambam who were underage when they debuted have now become grown men. JB and Youngjae are becoming talented composers now. Mark and Jackson have become CEOs. Jinyoung is a successful actor. And, the fact that they are still GOT7 makes them even sexier. You know what? Not every group can remain with their original line-up on their 7th anniversary, but GOT7 did it. They celebrated their 7th anniversary while the news of their contract with JYP Entertainment ending was spreading. Yep, the seven members of GOT7 parted with their agency that made their name known, JYP Entertainment, on their 7th anniversary. Most of their fans found it as good news. Wait, how is that a good thing? You can find out the reasons below!
GOT7’s Mistreatment by JYP Entertainment
As we already know, GOT7 is a boy group under JYP Entertainment. You can’t say that you like K-pop if you don’t know about JYP Entertainment. Whether you’re a fan or not, you must have heard about them or at least know some of their artists. JYP Entertainment is one of the biggest K-pop agencies in the industry. Their popular groups and singers are 2PM, 2AM, Wonder Girls, Rain, Twice, and GOT7. As a group under JYP Entertainment, people expected GOT7 to be a big hit in the 3rd generation of K-pop. However, JYP Entertainment seemed to not want GOT7 to rule their generation. There are times that GOT7 received mistreatments from their agency. If it was another company, people probably could understand some mistreatments for their artists. But, it’s JYP Entertainment. And to compare, Twice who debuted as their 3rd gen girl group (they debuted a year after GOT7) has better promotions. JYP Entertainment is also known to favor their female artists over their male artists. Here are some proofs of GOT7 being mistreated by JYP Entertainment. Songs produced by JB, GOT7’s leader who now goes by Jay B, kept getting rejected by JY Park. It’s not that he listened to the songs fully. Jay B said that JY Park sometimes wouldn’t even last 5 seconds before rejecting them. It didn’t only happen once. JY Park and JYP Entertainment in general kept refusing songs produced by GOT7. They said that the songs were not GOT7’s color. GOT7 also had poor social media promotions. Other idol groups usually promote their songs when they are about to make a comeback, but GOT7’s social media platforms didn’t do that well. Even when promoting through music shows, GOT7 would have fewer weeks to promote than other idol groups. It is sad to know that ITZY who is in the same division as GOT7 got a better promotion than them. As an idol group from a big company, many people expected to see GOT7 in some reality shows. But, it was rare to see GOT7 in any type of reality show. Even when they promoted their songs, GOT7 only had a few reality shows to attend. Some fans asked the TV shows to invite GOT7, but their responses were mostly “It’s hard to contact GOT7” or “GOT7 is busy.” Little did we know, GOT7 was not that busy. They were being blocked from having some individual or group schedules. When they were invited to Knowing Brothers, instead of having the full group, GOT7 came with JY Park. Even though the episode was to promote GOT7’s new song, JY Park stole the attention. And, do you know why Jackson’s solo songs were never promoted in Korea? That’s because JYP Entertainment did not allow Jackson to promote his solo project in Korea. He can promote it anywhere but in Korea. Can you imagine that? There are a lot of GOT7 mistreatments from their previous agency JYP Entertainment. When they were still in JYP Entertainment, there was a truck with a protest sign regarding this issue. The truck was driving around the JYP Entertainment building to show how disappointed GOT7’s fans, Ahgase, were with the agency. So, with all the poor treatment towards GOT7, do you think it would be the right choice to continue with the same agency? Let’s check out the next chapter of their story in the next section!
GOT7 Is Not Renewing Their Contracts
Before they officially parted with JYP Entertainment, there were rumors about GOT7 not renewing their contracts before they expire in January 2021. Fans noticed some hints that GOT7 might be leaving JYP Entertainment soon. In early January, JY Park unfollowed GOT7’s official account, Mark, Jinyoung, and Bam Bam on Instagram. Youngjae removed his cover of JY Park’s song, and Bam Bam also removed his tweet about JY Park. These signs that GOT7 was leaving JYP Entertainment were strong. Well, thinking about how JYP Entertainment treated them, it’s not surprising that they are not renewing their contracts. But still, fans didn’t know what would happen next after they leave JYP Entertainment. So, a few days before January 14, 2021, or GOT7’s 7th anniversary, Ahgases were in a panic and confused! It was a mixed-feeling situation. Finally, on January 9, 2021, GOT7 released a statement that they will not renew their contracts with JYP Entertainment. Even so, they will remain as a group. It is no wonder their fans’ bonds are so strong, even GOT7’s members have a close relationship with one another. Can you believe that? Well, they shared a photo for their fans to show that they will be together as seven. On January 10, 2021, GOT7’s members revealed a picture of them taking a selfie together with all seven members. The caption was only a hashtag that said “#GOT7FOREVER.” It was taken when they were attending the Golden Disk Awards 2021. It was also the last scheduled activity of GOT7 as a group under JYP Entertainment. So, will GOT7 return as seven in their next comeback? Let’s check out the answer!
GOT7’s New Agencies, Future Plans, Etc.
Before the news of GOT7 parting from JYP Entertainment was released, some agencies were already linked to the members. BH Entertainment, an agency that focuses on acting, is linked to Jinyoung. MakeUs Entertainment is linked to Bam Bam. As for Yugyeom, a company founded by Jay Park, AOMG, was rumored to be interested in him. There are many possibilities for the members who are so talented and amazing in their own fields. The fans can’t help but feel happy knowing the members are considering the offers positively. At this point, fans think that everywhere is fine as long as it’s not under JYP Entertainment. And, after their contracts officially expired, good news is approaching the members! Mark was reported returning to the U.S. since his hometown is Los Angeles. According to Joey, Mark’s brother, fans don’t need to worry about Mark since he will be going back to LA. Mark also already started releasing new music. “One in a Million” was released on February 12, 2021. He’s also going to be a streamer on Twitch! On January 22, 2021, Youngjae and Jackson officially landed in their new home, Sublime Artist Agency. This is also the agency of Rain, EXID’s Hani, Lim Nayoung, etc. As for Jackson, they also agreed to have a collaboration with Team Wang, Jackson’s record label which he found in 2017. On January 28, 2021, BH Entertainment released an official statement that they signed a contract with Jinyoung of GOT7. The agency is also home to some popular actors and actresses such as Han Ga-in, Han Hyo-joo, Ahn So-hee, Yoo Ji-tae, Kim Go-eun, Lee Ji-ah, Park Sung-hoon, etc. Fans cannot wait to see Jinyoung as an actor again! Following his new path as an actor, Jinyoung revealed he wants to go by just Jinyoung instead of Park Jinyoung, his full name. On February 18, 2021, AOMG officially released a statement about Yugyeom signing a contract with them. Though, the news has been linked with Yugyeom since early January 2021. The agency was found by Jay Park, the former leader of 2PM, a boy group under JYP Entertainment. As for Bam Bam, besides being active in Thailand, for Korea, he will be under Abyss Company. It’s an agency with Urban Zakapa, Sunmi, etc. Abyss Company, previously known as MakeUs Entertainment, signed an official contract with Bam Bam on March 4, 2021. Sunmi, a former JYP Entertainment artist, also welcomed Bam Bam since they are in the same home again. You may be wondering what will happen to JB, now known as Jay B. The leader is still not announcing his new company as of now. People think that he is not being selfish and is letting the other members find their homes before considering his own. With the talent that Jay B had, it seems like no company can ignore him. Jay B also revealed that he is still working on the legal document of GOT7 regarding the contract and copyright with JYP Entertainment. Although the work was still incomplete, he still wanted fans to know. Jay B also said that he is learning new practical things while taking care of the documents. So, it’s not that Jay B doesn’t want to have a new agency. He’s still busy doing what a leader should do and is staying independent for now. Maybe he will go to a new company soon after everything is cleared. Just wait and see!
