BTS’ J-Hope on New Album ‘Jack in the Box,’ Lollapalooza, and More

RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook have officially been together as BTS since 2013, working tirelessly while becoming the biggest band in the world. The group recently announced it would be embarking on a new chapter together, one that, for now, places an emphasis on solo activities. Although individual members have released mixtapes or singles in the past, none have officially released a full-length solo album — until now.

At first glance, J-Hope can seem like the most light-hearted and upbeat member of BTS, a big smile perpetually on his face. But there’s a lot more than meets the eye. He’s the group’s lead dancer, but he’s also involved in the creative process for every BTS album. He puts extreme care into his craft, and he isn’t afraid to experiment.

With his new album, Jack in the Box, J-Hope — born Jung Hoseok — turns introspective, showing off a darker side to his persona, not to mention how multidimensional he is. With “More,” the album’s prerelease rock/hip-hop single, he surprised audiences and even bandmate RM with his approach. (The album title is a play on Pandora’s box, which also inspired his stage name.)

Talking to Rolling Stone in Korean, over Zoom, the 28-year-old dove into the creative process and what Jack in the Box means to him and his identity.

The whole world is about to hear Jack in the Box. How are you feeling?
It’s half nervousness, half excitement. Since I’m the first one to go solo, I feel a sense of responsibility and there’s definitely some pressure as well. Jack in the Box is filled only with things I personally wanted to do, almost to the point where I worry to myself, “Did I focus too much on solely what I wanted to do?” [Laughs.] I think that’s where the half nervousness comes from. This album is really meaningful to me, and mostly, I feel proud and excited it’s coming out.

Although BTS members have released mixtapes and singles in the past, you’re the first to release a full-length solo album. How did that decision come about?
Rather than thinking of an order of who would release first, while promoting as BTS, I kept asking myself the question “What type of music can I do as BTS’ J-Hope?” I am always asking myself that question, steadily coming up with a plan. I think by doing that, naturally, my [2018] mixtape Hope World came out … and from reflecting more, I realized I wanted to show more dancing, which you can consider as my main foundation. That led to the creation of [2019 solo single] “Chicken Noodle Soup,” which features more of that. I started to think that J-Hope needed to show more sincerity in music, and that’s what I focused on while approaching Jack in the Box. I think timing-wise, I ended up becoming the first because I was constantly preparing. I didn’t approach the project with wanting to be first in mind.

How long has Jack in the Box been in the making? You’ve mentioned in the past that you always have a plan, and in a recent V Live, you confirmed that the artwork for last year’s full version of “Blue Side” was somewhat of a spoiler for this album, with the jack-in-the-box illustration and the words “Pandora’s box.”
The jack-in-the-box concept is actually tied heavily into my stage name, so I think I’ve always had the idea in my back pocket. I’ve always felt the need to unveil music tied to jack in the box thematically for a long time. Pandora’s box is also an analogy for my name. “When can I release this? When can I make an album that includes these elements?” These questions were always in my head. I wanted to include spoilers of these themes in the artwork for “Blue Side,” and while discussing with the artist behind the work, I clearly stated that I wanted these elements included. That’s how systematic my approach was as I prepared the album and its tracks.

You’ve shown darker sides to yourself in tracks like “1Verse,” from 2015. Even with Hope World, although visually it may seem colorful, the lyrics show depth. How did you decide to visually go darker and heavier with “More” and the full album?
First off, how do you know “1verse”? [Laughs.]

I think it’s this: While being part of BTS for 10 years, I’ve experienced a lot. From that standpoint, of course there are stories I want to tell, and I realized that it could be tough to tell some of these stories through music with the existing image and vibe of J-Hope. I felt the need to show some of my darker aspects … and I think I really wanted to do something like this. I wanted people to realize that J-Hope isn’t limited to bright things. He can do these concepts and has a wide spectrum. I wanted to call attention to this ability by challenging myself. I didn’t think much of the future.

Just wholly focused on what I wanted to do, what I wanted to express, what I wanted to show — that was the focus, and Jack in the Box has those raw elements. When this album is…