Watch: Jackson Opens Up About GOT7, BTS's RM, K-Pop Stereotypes, And More

GOT7’s Jackson recently sat down for an interview with the Zach Sang Show and talked about a variety of topics including his career, passion for music, GOT7, his friendship with RM, and more.

During the interview, he talked about being very active on variety shows during his early days and why that changed. “People recognized Jackson as a funny character that is in a lot of variety shows. They didn’t even know I do music.” He continued, “I went to Korea because of music, so at that point, I was just asking myself, ‘Is this what I really want?’ and that’s when I decided that I should maybe stop for awhile.”

When asked if he thought he had another story to tell that is bigger than GOT7 when pursuing his solo music, Jackson responded, “I would say what I’m showing as a solo artist is within GOT7 and not outside of GOT7. You can analyze GOT7 as seven different colors because we have seven members, and I’m just, let’s say red. When you listen to my songs as a solo artist, you get red.”

On his production process and passion for music, Jackson explained, “I don’t treat this like homework,” and added that he doesn’t force the process, allowing it to come naturally. He shared, “It’s always been art [for me]. Sometimes when art is too commercial, people are not stupid, so they can tell if it’s forced or not.”

Regarding the stereotype of K-pop being very manufactured, Jackson replied, “I don’t know about this stereotype, and it’s not true. Our group GOT7, we write our own songs, and we produce about 90 percent of everything ourselves.”

He continued, “I think it’s because they don’t want to get deep down into it. You see a lot of K-pop groups releasing a bunch of songs, but if you really want to get deep and actually know every artist and their personalities and visions, it’s all different. Just because from the outside [they see it] as a bunch of songs, but I don’t think it’s a good way to judge it like that.”

In response to what part of the creative process is most fulfilling for him, Jackson commented, “I wouldn’t say the outcome matters a lot. If I put out a record and nobody likes it, I will still be okay if I actually worked hard on it.” He explained, “If I didn’t go 100 percent, maybe like 90 percent, even if the song blows up, I will still kind of regret it.”

Jackson was then asked about BTS’s RM, and he shared on how they became friends, “[RM] and I go all the way back to when we were trainees. I was a trainee at JYP, and he was a trainee from Big Hit. We met through a friend, and he is the same age as me.”

About how different their personalities are, Jackson said, “I goof off often, and I joke around. I’m more aggressive. RM is pretty calm, and he is very smart. He doesn’t talk too much, but whatever he says, it just feels right. He’s like the conclusion to me.” He explained that he rants to RM when he runs into problems, and RM will sum up everything and give a good conclusion, saying, “You should do this, this, and this.” Jackson added, “I don’t call him RM. I call him Namjoon.”

Regarding BTS’s success, Jackson remarked, “They are really hard-working, and RM is really, really hard-working, and he has a lot of pressure because he is the leader of the group. Because of his personality, I feel like everything that he does or BTS does just feels right. They’re very talented, and they think ahead.”

Watch the full interview below:

Check out teasers for Jackson’s upcoming solo album “Mirrors” here!