Bambam

Emerging from Bangkok with an R&B-infused approach, the singer-rapper BamBam secured his initial opportunity in 2014 by entering the South Korean boy band GOT7. The multilingual, multi-award-winning seven-member group had already propelled three albums and nine EPs to the top of the Korean charts before parting ways with JYP Entertainment in early 2021. Although GOT7 experienced moderate recognition in the United States, BamBam achieved widespread recognition in his native Thailand, where his role as a prominent and far-reaching social media personality surpassed the visibility he attained in Korea despite the band’s chart dominance. To address that disparity, he released the solo EP Ribbon in June 2021 and followed it with B in 2022.

Born Kunpimook Bhuwakul in 1997, he adopted the stage name BamBam from the Flintstones character Bamm-Bamm Rubble. At age three he became one of four siblings to lose their father. Exposure to Korean culture grew after his mother took him to a concert by the K-Pop artist Rain, sparking an interest in singing and dancing that led him, for a brief period, to a dance crew alongside future BlackPink member Lisa. At thirteen he relocated to South Korea after succeeding in the Thai portion of JYP’s World Tour audition. Three years later he secured his position in GOT7 following appearances on the reality program Who Is Next: WIN.

During April 2017, three years into his GOT7 tenure, BamBam joined Thai artists including Jaylerr and Captain Chonlathom on the single “Make It Right,” issued to promote a Yamaha motorcycle. Later that year the group’s eighth EP, 7 for 7, marked the first release to include music co-composed by BamBam; the jazzy, keyboard-led ballad “Remember You” extended his involvement beyond prior lyrical work, a pattern that persisted through the remainder of GOT7’s time with JYP. Shortly before the contract concluded, he issued the solo single “Beat Your Best” in December 2020 to support an energy drink. He then joined Abyss, which put out his debut solo EP Ribbon in June 2021. Before year’s end the single “Who Are You,” featuring Red Velvet’s Seulgi, appeared ahead of his second EP, B, in January 2022.