Interview: Get inside BamBam's mind on everything he represents

Though raised by an industry that’s always chasing after newness and the next best thing, BamBam (@bambam1a) is not one to worry about staying relevant and meeting other people’s expectations.

These days, the 25-year-old singer is preoccupied with his personal and professional rebirth and building a career without his usual six-piece support system by his side. With BamBam and his GOT7 members Mark, Jay B, Jackson, Jinyoung, Youngjae and Yugyeom all pursuing solo activities following their departure from their agency, JYP Entertainment, in January of last year, BamBam has been more than happy to explore his expanding professional space.

Read on to get intimate with BamBam on his musings, latest music projects and more:

“I realised that the world is bigger than I thought and that I can do more than what I thought because in the past year since I moved to my new company, I’ve been doing a lot more than just music and performing,” he shares.

Now signed under ABYSS Company—home to Korean acts such as Sunmi, Urban Zakapa and Sandara Park—BamBam is experiencing a different kind of freedom. “I think I’ve learned more about myself and what I really want. I thought that my last company was everything and that if I didn’t sign with them again then no one’s gonna care about me anymore.”

Since joining ABYSS, the style star has released two mini albums, worked with household names like Coca-Cola and Toyota, and has been named global ambassador for the popular life simulation video game The Sims 4 as well as the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.

Since his solo debut in June of last year with his first mini album, riBBon, BamBam has consistently shown his growth and versatility as an artist through music and concepts that are both unexpected, but somehow also distinctly BamBam.

“You know, people always say that every artist has to have their own [sound or style]. But for me, although of course, I have certain things that I like or that I want to put out, I think the colour, the style, is in the artist, not in the music,” he shares. One look at both riBBon and his sophomore mini album, B, instantly confirms this, as both are light and whimsical, especially in comparison to most of the darker, sexier concepts he has channelled as GOT7’s BamBam.

And if in the past he was recognised more for his rap and dance contributions to his group, this time around, BamBam is making moves to highlight his uniqueness and musicality. “Every song that I sing, I try to make it my own style, but you know, when I put my voice in something, when I want to tell my story through my music, then any style becomes BamBam style. It doesn’t matter what style you’re doing. If you’re doing it, then it’s your style,” he says.

With his third album already in the works, his fans can only guess what he’ll do or where he’ll go next. That, perhaps, is precisely why BamBam has captured a loyal audience that enjoys what he puts out in the first place—because like him, it’s music that’s experimental, ever-evolving, and always, always exciting. 

It’s easy to keep wanting more of something once you have it. Looking at a superstar like BamBam, who has been given nicknames like Prince of Thailand and Young & Rich (both of which his GOT7 members are responsible for), you’d think that his dreams are only getting bigger.

While there will always be new heights for him to reach, for BamBam, the goals that matter are the little things he has to work hard for. “I want to learn how to do housework,” he shares. With fans often pointing out his obsession for cleaning (run a quick Google search and you’re bound to find videos of him sweeping floors on set or giving tips on how to properly clean your bed), the unfiltered explanation he provides for his dream of becoming more domesticated is an unexpected but welcome surprise.

“It’s for my future! If I get married, I want to send my wife to work, and then I want to clean the house. And if the table breaks, I want to fix that. I want to fix all the stuff! And when my wife comes home, I’ll be like, ‘Oh, welcome home, I made you dinner!’ I want to do that stuff,” BamBam shares in between laughs.

Whether he’s talking about settling down, making jokes about early retirement plans, or simply poking fun at his wrinkles and many other signs of ageing he’s been experiencing, every word that comes out of BamBam’s mouth is a comforting reminder that at the end of the day, when the designer clothes are off and the layers of makeup have melted away, he really is just like everyone else, worrying about real-world problems that have nothing to do with making music or performing in front of thousands of people.

That, and that he truly lives up to his reputation of being completely, refreshingly honest. “Behind the camera or in front of it, I’m really the same person,” he shares. “I don’t want people to love me as the person that they want to see. I want them to love me as the person I am.”