BamBam has been a kpop idol since 2014, when he debuted with Mark Tuan, Jackson Wang, Jinyoung, Youngjae, Yugyeom, and JB in boy group GOT7. He’s originally from Thailand, but has sung in Korean, Japanese, and English too, the latter mostly since his solo debut in 2021.

Here are my credentials: I’ve covered GOT7 before on the blog, though I think I’m more a fan of the group themselves than their music. I’ve also covered a couple of their solo careers, including Jackson’s and Jinyoung’s. BamBam is one of the members I’d say I know the least about, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to learn more. Let’s get into it!

EP #1: RiBBon

RiBBon isn’t at all what I was expecting from BamBam. First of all it’s in Korean, when I was anticipating English, because I feel like it’s more common for kpop idols from Thailand or China or Taiwan to have English solo music. Second, the song is as far from GOT7’s EDM sound as it’s basically possible to get, with an MV in shades of cotton candy pastels, a beat I’d expect from a group like ILLIT or even New Jeans, and an overall bubbliness that really surprised me. Viewed apart from my assumptions, I think it’s pretty good. I especially liked the wordplay with “ribbon” and “reborn”, and how the meaning shifts towards the end. For the most part, though, I think a lot of it is a bit too light to make much of an impact on me.

From the EP, while I enjoyed the build of Pandora and the interesting instrumental of Air, my hidden gem was Under The Sky, which really makes the most of BamBam’s voice, only accompanied by a gentle piano. He sounds gorgeous, and I wish the title had made more use of that.

Single #1: Who Are You

Who Are You is a special pre-release, but as the ReVeLuv (Red Velvet fan) I am, when I found out that Seulgi was featured in it, of course I had to cover it. The MV, naturally, with a feature so known for her dancing skills, is pretty dance-heavy, and reminds me a lot of Irene & Seulgi’s song Naughty. Since GOT7 usually has heavier choreo, I had no idea that BamBam was capable of such fluidity in his movements, and I was really impressed that he managed to hold his own against Seulgi. The song itself is, unsurprisingly, fairly minimal, since it’s not really the point; it weaves in and out of your ears with a light touch that works well. The vocals are gorgeous, may I say; I loved how they sounded together, and I’ll probably replay it just for that.

EP #2: B

Slow Mo picks up right where RiBBon left off, with its similarly bright color palette, dreamy soundscape, and light touch with the vocals. The title’s definitely appropriate; the song really does feel as though it’s been slowed down. It floats along without a sense of where exactly it’s going, tiptoeing along an imaginary tightrope with a stronger hook on either side. It’s a good song, don’t get me wrong—-I’m sure at least five coffee shops in Seoul have had it on repeat since it came out—-but it keeps feeling like it holds itself back from being something more memorable.

From the EP, I enjoyed both the more forceful Ride Or Die and the balance Let Me Love You strikes between the softness of its instrumental and its catchy beat.

Album #1: Sour and Sweet

Sour & Sweet, unlike BamBam’s other singles, had my attention right from the beginning. It goes for a solid, synthy sound that builds on past b-sides, one that I think works quite well. BamBam has an ethereal quality to his voice, a quality that needs a strong hook to anchor it. The lyrics, which I’m fairly sure he wrote, are about how everyone is multi-faceted and has different parts of them, which is always an interesting subject for a song. All in all, I’d consider it a step in the right direction, and a lot more like the kind of sound I enjoy.

As mentioned, Sour & Sweet is also BamBam’s first full album, which is always exciting. This was easily my favorite work of his so far, from the woozy, acoustic guitar-driven Take It Easy to the soothing, wistful Ghost to the impressive all-falsetto Let’s Dance. It feels like the first step to him establishing a stronger musical identity, and I really hope he builds on it.

EP #3: BAMESIS

Last Parade is a complete departure from everything BamBam’s done in his solo career so far: bold, almost entirely in English, and EDM heavy in a way that’s much more reminiscent of GOT7. It also has an excellent build in its pre-chorus, a build that unfortunately the chorus doesn’t live up to. But that’s alright; overall, it’s more about a step (read: a barrel roll) outside the box, an exploration of identity, and so on and so forth. Its music video is the real star of the show here, melding biblical and dystopian imagery in such an effective way. Really, it’s what I was expecting his solo career to be, and though I’m not so much a fan of it, I can respect it for what it is.

From the EP, I enjoyed the catchy synth sound of Must Be Nice, but my hidden gem was definitely Mi Ultimo Deseo. It’s got such a great drive, a great build, a great everything. And it’s even got the sprawling chorus I’ve been waiting for! I’m so happy to see it.

Single #2: Dancing By Myself

Dancing By Myself is another pre-release single, this time for BamBam’s first EP all in Thai, and with another change in language comes another change in sound. I wasn’t expecting the quasi-disco beat of this song, but let the record show, I’m totally here for it. (We may have changed languages, but it doesn’t mean that we’re not saying “GIRLLLL” every five lines, so it’s good to see that some things are consistent.) This song is really great; it manages to marry a solid beat with a catchy hook while not sacrificing the vocals that I enjoyed so much in previous b-sides.

And speaking of the vocals, they’re probably my favorite part: BamBam and Timethai’s voices go so well together, with each having their time to shine. And, naturally, the dancing is excellent too. It’s not only the strongest in its parts, but the strongest as a whole, and I hope it’s a look at what’s to come.

EP #4: Hometown

Wondering is the official solo from BamBam’s EP, and, I’m happy to say it follows in the footsteps of Sour and Sweet and Dancing By Myself, with this great mix of synths and a driving beat. It’s easily my favorite single so far, with an excellent central hook, a music video that’s shot to look like a one-take movie set a la BoyNextDoor’s Serenade, I was dancing along before the song even finished. Besides all of that, I just loved how normal and human it felt, in a way that kpop songs often don’t. The way it showcases Thai culture so naturally and with so much joy, has BamBam kissing a girl in the middle of the street with no awkward camera cutaway, and has this warm, genuine sense of community is just wonderful. After several EPs where I kept wishing other songs were picked for the title track, they absolutely made the right choices this time.

And speaking of the EP, I enjoyed the slowed, reverb sound of Greenlight, the woozy, layered Angel In Disguise, and of course Jeff Satur’s feature in More Than Friend. (I’ll cover his discography one day; it’ll probably be all me ranting and raving about his voice.) This is a pretty solid EP, dipping its toes into several different genres while still feeling cohesive, which is really not easy.

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this. As mentioned, I’m a casual fan of GOT7 but I really didn’t know much about BamBam as a person, and I’m happy I got to change that. For this review, I watched his appearance on Korean Englishman, Nayeon of TWICE’s guesting on his show (which made me laugh so hard I almost cried) and a compilation or two of him made by Ahgase.

My Top 5 songs are Who Are You, Dancing By Myself, Mi Último Deseo, Take It Easy, and Wondering, with Under The Sky as an honorable mention. BamBam gets an 8.25 out of 10 from me, which might be a bit surprising. You might think that my favorite reviews are the ones where I love every song and have no commentary at all besides “THIS song right here is the greatest thing ever done”, but actually, you’d be wrong. My favorite reviews are the ones where I get to see an artist come into their own, defining their musical identity and becoming who they want to be. Hokey it may sound, but I mean it. I’ve really enjoyed watching BamBam’s music evolve from his first EP to his current one, crossing four different languages over only four years. Though not all of it was for me, I’m genuinely excited to see where he goes next.

Next time, we’re onto a girl group that been on my list a while, but who I ended up deciding to cover while doing karaoke with my friend. Tschüss!