K-pop artist and member of boy band GOT7 Yugyeom visited the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism on March 25 to discuss his experience as an idol and working within the music industry. Since his debut in 2014 with GOT7, Yugyeom has amassed an international following.
From touring across the world to performing in the We All Are One Tokyo Olympics concert in 2021, the last decade has been transformative for Yungyeom’s career. Currently, he is finishing up his Trusty World Tour throughout North and South America.
With a full house in attendance, students eagerly listened to Yugyeom’s as he responded to questions ranging from his music interests, his future aspirations, and perspective regarding the music industry.
This included Yugyeom stating if he could collaborate with any artist, he would want to work with SZA.
Furthermore, when asked about the intentionality behind writing the lyrics for the song REMEMBER in Got7′s latest album, Winter Heptagon, Yugyeom said that the lyrics came about from only thinking about his fans and the long term connection he has with them as an artist for 11 years.
When questioned about his perspective on life and music while approaching his 30s, Yugyeom emphasized the importance of making music that fits your age. He said that the feelings he faced as a child and as an adult remained the same.
“As you grow up, you learn how to carry those feelings differently,” he said during the panel.”That matters, because if I stay the same—if I stay light or don’t show growth—then someone might look at me and think, ‘Oh, is that what being older looks like?’ And that’s not the message I want to send.”
Yugyeom also expressed that he believes it is important to grow “older with intention—and with skill” in order to match the point of his life he is in.
Before wrapping up the event, Yugyeom was asked if he had anything to say directly to the audience of students.
“No matter what you do, if you give it 100%, 200%, you won’t regret it—even if it doesn’t work out,” he said.
Ultimately Yugyeom left the audience with how “Anyone can fail, but the important thing is to try. If you don’t try, you’ll never know.”