K-pop boyband GOT7 have confirmed their long-awaited return in January 2025 with the mini-album ‘Winter Heptagon’.
On December 20, the seven-member act announced that they will be releasing a new mini-album titled ‘Winter Heptagon’ next year. Due out on January 20 at 6pm KST, the record will commemorate 11 years since GOT7’s debut.
“GOT7 plans to display their talents to the fullest while showing off its irreplaceability and the close-knit bond among the members,” said Kakao Entertainment in a press release.
“The members, who have been actively building their careers as solo artists, actors and entertainers both at home and abroad, will present top-notch music, performances and chemistry together this time, seeking to capture the hearts of their global fans,” it added.
GOT7 leader Jay B first teased their upcoming return at his ‘Tape: Reload’ concert earlier this month, which was also attended by several members of the group. It will be the boyband’s first group release since dropping their self-titled mini-album in May 2022, their first record since leaving longtime agency JYP Entertainment.
Comprising members Jay B, Jinyoung, Jackson Wang, Mark Tuan, BamBam, Youngjae and Yugyeom, GOT7 first debuted in January 2014 with their first mini-album ‘Got It?’. The group went on to release hits like ‘Just Right’, ‘If You Do’ and more. They left JYP Entertainment in 2021, following the expiration of their contracts with the agency.
In other K-pop news, HYBE label ADOR has issued a statement urging the members of girl group NewJeans to continue using their official social media accounts with the agency due to potential legal issues with advertisers. The five-member act launched an independent Instagram account earlier this week amid their contract dispute with the agency.
10cc drummer Paul Burgess has announced that he is leaving the band because the demands of touring have become too much for him.
The 75-year-old musician, who also spent time performing with Jethro Tull, Camel, Magna Carta, and The Icicle Works, has chosen to walk away from the legendary rock group after more than five decades.
He shared: “After so many wonderful years with 10cc, I must admit that the rigours of touring are no longer manageable for me as I get older, and I feel it’s time to let go of the long hours in airports and endless travel on buses.
“I’m not planning to stop playing altogether. I will still perform but at a pace that feels right, working alongside old friends and a new group of fellow musicians called The Guilty Men.”
Frontman Graham Gouldman confessed that it will feel unusual to perform without his “longest-running musical associate.”
He explained: “When Paul and I first joined forces in 10cc, we never could have imagined that we’d still be at it after 30 years, let alone 52.
“Paul has been my longest musical partner and it will feel different to turn around and see another drummer, but I completely understand why he no longer wants to sit on a plane for 14 hours or wake up in a new hotel every day for weeks at a time.”
Ben Stone, who has previously played with Mike and The Mechanics and Bonnie Tyler, will be taking over on drums.
Paul, who had several runs with 10cc after joining in 1973, performed his final show with the I’m Not In Love band in Alexandria, Virginia this past September.
The group is set to continue their And Another Bloody Greatest Hits Tour in the UK next year.
