GOT7 fans Ahgases demand for Choi Young-jae solo album, say they would 'pay millions' for it
GOT7 fans have begun demanding a solo album for the group's lead vocalist Choi Young-jae via the hashtag #ItsTimeForARSolo. GOT7 is a seven-member K-pop boy group that debuted in 2014. Despite their long run in the industry, the group has often struggled to perform as well as their contemporaries commercially, something their fandom, Ahgases, have blamed their agency JYP Entertainment for, especially after reports have suggested that JYPE founder Park Jin-young exerted an excessive amount of control over the group's activities and musical direction.
But in addition to this, GOT7 has notably not had too many solo projects for its vocalists. Rappers Mark and Jackson have managed to do well in their solo projects, with Jackson developing a huge fanbase in China, where he is from, in addition to working with international acts like Joji. Fellow rapper BamBam also has a huge fanbase in his native country, Thailand, while the group boasts quite a massive international fanbase owing to their ethnically diverse lineup.
Young-jae, one of the group's lead vocalists, graduated from Seoul Korea Arts High School and was a trainee for only seven months before he debuted with GOT7, a remarkably short training period by most standards. Despite the support from Ahgases, however, the group's activities have been quite limited, especially where solos or subunit projects are considered. And the fandom is now demanding more.
A GOT7 fan account tweeted, "If you see this post you’re required to reply with “#ItsTimeForARSolo #이번은_Ars_차례” Lets get it trending and show how much we want Youngjae’s solo album! @GOT7Official, @GOTYJ_Ars_Vita, #GOT7," to which one Ahgase responded, "#itstimeforarsolo@GOT7Official @GOTYJ_Ars_Vita @jypnation can u hear us!?!?!?!??!" while another fan stated, "Yall i really hope youngjae or one of the boys sees this and shows it to him," and one fan said, "I agree, period #itstimeforarsolo."
'ARS' is the name Young-jae produces music under, and it means 'art' in Latin. The hashtag was soon trending, as fans continued to tweet at JYPE, demanding they "Give Choi Youngjae a solo album NOW / Give the people what they want." One fan tweeted, "Our sun (@GOTYJ_Ars_Vita) is very talented and has an incredible voice. Please @jypnation give him the support he deserves and allow him to have his SOLO. #이번은_Ars_차례 #itstimeforarsolo #GOT7 @GOT7Official #Youngjae," while another said, "Imagine having this vocalist in your power and not giving him a chance to shine #ItsTimeForARSolo #이번은_Ars_차례 #GOT7 @GOT7Official" along with a video of the singer performing during one of Got7's concerts.
Despite fans of many K-pop acts stating they were broke and couldn't afford to pay for online concerts during these pandemic times, it appears Ahgases are ready to lay it all out there for a Young-jae solo. One fan stated, "I would pay millions for a solo album pls #itstimeforarsolo."JYPE is yet to respond to the Ahgases' demands.