GOT7 member Kim Yugyeom has opened up about his recent record deal with Jay Park’s AOMG.

Last Friday (February 19), the K-pop star announced that he had inked a deal with the South Korean hip-hop label after ending his contract with his longtime agency, JYP Entertainment. Kim, as well as his six other GOT7 bandmates, left the company on January 19.

In a recent interview with Elle Korea, Kim revealed that he was initially “half-excited, half-worried” about his partnership with AOMG. “It was the first time that AOMG had recruited an artist who was currently active as an idol,” the singer said, as translated by Soompi. “But they welcomed me with open arms and I felt like I could depend on them.”

Kim added that he decided to sign with AOMG because he felt that the direction he wanted to take for his musical endeavour matched with the company’s. “I want to work with the diverse musicians at AOMG and become an ‘all-rounder’ who is skilled at both performance and music.”

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Speaking of GOT7’s future, Kim confirmed that the band are still going strong despite going their separate ways to pursue solo careers. “We can say confidently to our fans that this is not the end for us. We believe that each member achieving his dreams is important to our ultimate goal as a team,” he said.

The full Elle Korea interview will be published in the March issue, per Soompi.

On February 20, GOT7 shared their first song together after leaving JYP. Titled ‘Encore’, the song was co-written by member Jinyoung and released via Warner Music Korea.

Last week, AOMG said in a statement that it was excited to “take a new step together” with Kim. The announcement also dropped alongside a performance clip of Kim dancing to ‘Franchise’ by Travis Scott.