BTS’ J-Hope has diversified from the usual catchy love-themed pop songs with his solo album Jack in the Box. The album hit the market on July 15 and according to the singer unveils a little bit of his darker side.
“The theme of Jack in the Box has been in my head for the longest time,” said J-Hope in an interview with Variety. “I thought about this theme for a long time because it has to do with my stage name, J-Hope. So I always wanted to reflect the story about my stage name in my music. … This album called Jack in the Box is the moment that I want to highlight my artistry in music. So I’ve I’ve thought a lot about this theme.”
The 28-year-old said he had a clear reason for his choice of music.
“I wanted to express a little bit of a darker side of me, as J-Hope, as an individual. The feeling that you might have got when you first listened to this song is probably definitely reflected on all the other tracks in the album. This album is full of this type of particular style. It defnitely reveals a little darker side of me, a different aspect of myself.”
The album has 10 tracks on it and its all J-Hope unlike other new albums which sometimes feature other artists as well. He didn’t even include any of his BTS brothers and he said the reason for this is because he wanted to have his own narrative as an individual.
“All the tracks are filled with my voice only, because I wanted to convey my own narrative, my own story as an individual. I thought that featured guests are not necessary in this album production and I believe that filling all these songs with my own voice only would make this album very authentic.”
Although his solo album has just come out, J-Hope has no intention of taking a break and putting his feet up. The artist is in fact scheduled to headline music festival Lollapalooza on July 31 together with Tomorrow X Together.
“I’m not relying on my usual skill (of dancing). I can say that I picked up a different new weapon that I want to use-a different skill that I want to show people… I think my intention with producing this album will be reflected in my live performances as well. So I’m preparing many different things, so that the solo performance won’t be too loose. So I’ll be filing this performance with many different aspects and things.”
As for speculation on BTS announcing their break as group in June and what that would entail. J-Hope said that this wasn’t a permanent thing but was something that was meant to give them a chance to explore personal projects with the intention of making them stronger as a group.
“We expect that after gaining all these experiences and having individual projects, we will have a greater synergistic effect as a team, and we believe that that is the sustainable and healthy way for us to grow as a team. So I think we are on the verge of starting Chapter Two for BTS- and going forward we will definitely be working on group projects as well as solo projects.”