Stepping a foot outside the hip-hop realm and stripping away the high-flying, martial arts and b-boy style choreography that they emphasized in their debut, the seven members of JYP Entertainment’s latest boy band GOT7 have returned with their newest EP “Got Heart.”

Looking to swoon their female fans with their boyish charms instead of their flips and tricks, the members of GOT7 unveiled the newest concept behind their upcoming album to members of the press during a showcase at the Uniqlo AX Hall in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul on Wednesday.

“The songs from our new album have a very different image from what we have put on previously, especially compared to our debut track ‘Girls Girls Girls,’” said group leader JB during the showcase. “This time we are a lot brighter and trying out a ‘cuter’ image than what we are normally used to doing.” 

Coming five months after they debuted in January, the upcoming EP ― which will officially drop on June 23 ― will feature eight tracks, including lead track “A” produced JYPE CEO Park Jin-young.

The young K-pop newbies performed their newest electro-pop track “Good Tonight” along with the album’s slower tempo R&B singles “Forever Young” and “A,” after which you could hear all of the members breathing heavily through their mics despite the more toned down nature of the choreography this time around.

Promoted as JYP’s first-ever hip-hop group, this was quite an unexpected move for the boy band, to which even members of GOT7 expressed their surprise of Park’s decision to have them go more boyish. Through their new songs, the boys are hoping to get closer to their audience taking a more personal approach by singing to their female fans as if they were in a relationship.

“A lot of the songs are very sweet and at first we weren’t sure if we would be able to pull off the kind of cute image that was needed from us,” JR said when asked if he agreed with the album’s new concept.

“We were definitely surprised that we weren’t going toward a more hardcore hip-hop route,” JB said. “But as we practiced more and began adding all the finishing touches I think we all started to get into it…this time we were less focused on producing hardcore, performance heavy songs and rather we relied more on our acting and vocals elements.”

Despite most of the members’ initial hesitance in the group’s shift toward a softer image, they each stated their trust in Park’s decision as one of the nation’s most successful K-pop producers.

“He’s a pro,” said JB. “As a producer, when he’s working, he is very methodical and sharp, like a knife. When we hear or see something he doesn’t like, then it’s gone, so working with him is really just like watching a professional at work.”

“He really does watch out and look after us well...almost like a father figure to us,” Yoogyeom added.

After releasing its new EP next week, GOT7 will also be performing at the upcoming 2014 JYP Nation two-day concert series at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul on Aug. 8 and 9.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)