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Jackson Wang Interview: On Diljit Dosanjh, Mumbai, And if He's Acting in 'Krrish 4'
During his visit to India, the 'MAGICMAN 2' singer Jackson Wang reflects on identity, fame, and why India feels like a personal checkpoint in his artistic evolution.
Trailed by an eight-person entourage, Jackson Wang steps into Fairmont Mumbai’s Grand Terminus with the quiet ease of someone used to making an entrance. Dressed head-to-toe in his trademark black, he offers a warm “namaste” to the room, before settling in for a full day of interviews.
The Chinese artist, ahead of the launch of his fourth solo album, MAGICMAN 2, first rose to fame as the main rapper in the K-pop group, GOT7. Handled by JYP Entertainment Corporation at the time (one of South Korea's “big three” agencies), he debuted in 2014. While fans in the West knew him as Jackson, in China he was Wang Jia Er, a variety show darling, known as much for his suave dance skills as his off-the-cuff humour.
But when GOT7 left JYP Entertainment in 2021, the pop sensation set his sights Westward, looking to explore his solo career in English music, under his own banner, Team Wang.
Unlike many K-pop ‘idols’ who often keep their true selves tucked neatly behind polished public personas, Jackson Wang has never been one to play pretend. So, when asked how his stay in India was going so far, he answered with the kind of frankness that makes one lean in.
“I feel like I’m living the same day over and over again,” he says about his second visit to India, shuffled from one press room to another. “I just want to go out and feel Mumbai.”
He isn’t here on a collaboration spree. “Just [seeing] friends,” Wang says plainly, a coterie that now includes actor Hrithik Roshan, and filmmakers Ayan Mukherji and Karan Johar as they were all pictured at a party together at the Roshan’s house.
On Krrish 4
Recently, and most famously, the singer joked about wanting to be in Krrish 4 in an interview, sending his Indian fans into an absolute frenzy.
Wang laughs as he denies the claims, revealing that he said it in good “humour to bring some positive energy to the interview.” Feigning seriousness, he adds, “Please tell the press right now. It has been officially announced. I would never be in Krrish!” He noted that meeting the Roshans simply felt like spending time with friends.
In fact, the only acting experience Wang has had so far was in the early days of GOT7, a drama titled Dream Knight (2015). “I never act. But when we first debuted, [we had to],” he recollects with a smile. “It was torture for us. One week [before that] we didn’t know we have to shoot an entire drama.” The singer adds that he doesn’t believe he can ever star in a romantic comedy, a fact sure to disappoint his millions of fans.
“I think [my fans are] thinking of the Jackson Wang that they think [I am], but it is not me,” he says.
Well, in that case, who really is Jackson Wang?
The Magic Man
After completing more than 10 years in the industry, Wang took a year-long break. He tells THR India, “When I stopped for a year and reflected, I started to think: am I the Jackson that everybody thinks, or am I really me? And who am I? I didn't know.”
That journey of self-discovery led him to creating MAGICMAN, breaking it all down to get close to his inner self. He says, “And then I realised I’ve been escaping this person for so long.”
The album represented his evolution in music, sound and visuals, while the upcoming one, its sequel, is more about explaining who the ‘magic man’ is, why he looks the way he does and how he’s related to the Jackson Wang fans know and love. This latest chapter is deeply personal, almost confessional, based on a raw exploration of his place in an industry that both shaped and shackled him.
“I started writing personal diaries and turning them into music,” he adds, breaking it down into four chapters: Manic Highs (High Alone), Losing Control, Realizations and Acceptance.
Describing the rationale behind the four, he explains, “From when everything felt fine, to running into problems, thinking things are not what I thought they would be. Then, to calm down and realise new, mature thoughts. And lastly acceptance, of good and bad — whatever happened to me in this entertainment industry.” The singer notes that he has finally accepted it all and moved on with his life.
Wang continues, saying that the point of this album wasn’t to tell people his life is a mess, because everyone is. He simply wanted to share his story, and by doing so, letting others know they’re not alone. “What helps is giving yourself time,” he says.
While he gives himself that time now, looking back at his career, he didn’t always. He recalls, “I hadn’t been giving myself time for my entire career. I never even wrote a song about what I really want to talk about as a person.”
But today, at 31, the singer has learned to prioritise himself. “I think [I started prioritising myself] when I was just actively in GOT7. When we were in JYP, it was a little stricter. Not that I couldn’t be me, I was in variety shows. But just the music side or other stuff. Because when you're in a group, it's not about you. It’s about the team, and, in a big corporate [company] — [it's] not my choice.”
While most struggle with the dichotomy between their public personas and their private selves, Wang does it with ease. He shrugs, saying, “It's not hard. It's just [making] decisions. I've always been honest with my audience.”
Wang in India
Speaking of honestly, Wang admits to being completely himself, no matter the country or its audience. Referring to his performance at Lollapalooza in Mumbai two years ago, he says, “I don't think about what works in what country. I never change. If you look at me, all the videos that I direct. They’re different concepts but in the same language. I think that's also why it didn't really work in India, you know?"
When told the Lollapalooza crowd knew the lyrics to most of his songs, Jackson Wang is genuinely surprised. Humble as always, he even doubts many people are aware of his recent collaboration with Punjabi star Diljit Dosanjh.
He looks back at Coachella 2023, where Dosanjh first performed at the Sahara Tent stage, saying, “Two-and-a-half years [after that], when I was creating [a song titled] “Buck,” I thought of him. I DM’d him, luckily, he said yes. We met in LA, shot it, and that was it.”
Well, ‘Buck’ currently has 8.4 million views on YouTube, if that’s any indicator of its — and his — popularity.
One thing to note about Wang’s music videos and stage performances though, is his attention to detail; from the choreography to the camera movements and even, stage construction.
In a trip down memory lane the singer tries to recollect his first time on stage. At first, he thinks it was his audition for JYP. “I went to the casting and they wanted me to dance. I didn’t know what to dance, [since] I only did in my shower. But they said, dance. So, okay, I have no shame. I’m an extrovert. I'm like, let’s go!” he says with a laugh.
But upon probing a little deeper, he remembers a talent show he was part of, back in grade 6. In fact, Wang adds, “I think it’s still online [unless] somebody deleted it. That’s when the entire school was saying things like, oh, he might be an artist later.”
Back in those days, his mum once bought him a DVD of Michael Jackson. “I was so sick I didn’t go to school and just slept on the sofa every day, taking medicine; and I was watching the concert nonstop. I wanted to dance like that too.” The singer was also inspired by Queen Latifah, Blackstreet, The Neptunes, G-Unit, Westlife, and even Justin Timberlake.
Today, Jackson Wang is a star in his own right, and while he deeply appreciates his global fanbase, deeming them as the reason he can still be an artist, it doesn’t affect what he wants to do.
“Not pressure, they're bubbles,” he says, talking of his rising popularity across the globe. “And I think we shouldn't be overwhelmed by it.” As he prepares to release MAGICMAN 2, his most personal album yet, Wang isn’t just chasing charts — he’s on a mission to understand, express, and redefine who he really is.