Despite his cold demeanor, however, he works tirelessly for this night and his expectations are high. “It’s really a huge challenge for me as a J-Hope artist. It’s a very important push to just go forward,” he tells Rolling Stone backstage through a translator in a secluded enclave in the artists’ area. “So I had to prepare very hard as it is a very important moment and an important part of my art. After this show, maybe I’m going to feel a lot of things. I’m sure it will help me as an artist to take the next step.” Preparation included deep dives to perfect the live delivery of the first two singles (“More” and “Arson”) from his first solo album, Jack in the Box, and they’re the songs he says he’s most excited to perform the first time. “They’re also songs that have styles I’ve never played before,” he explains. “So I practiced a lot because they’re quite difficult songs to do live.” The singles, he says, require a lot of energy and he spent a lot of time rehearsing them. “I have to perform these songs solely depending on my voice and mood. Not the usual weapon I have, which is dance,” he adds. “So in that regard, I focused a lot on those two key singles that mean a lot to me.” Going solo also meant rehearsing without his six other BTS bandmates. The experience was “lonely,” he laughs. “I miss my limbs.” But this also presented good challenges – physically, energetically and mentally – after working for the last 10 years in a team environment. “[It’s] very challenging, but also very fun. So actually, I think it’s very positive to face new challenges, [which] they will really help me as a person. So I’m really enjoying the whole process. Every moment is so much fun and so new and makes me feel like I’m back in the old days.” With Jack in the Box, J-Hope is the first BTS member to release a solo album — and it’s truly solo, unfeatured. “I filled the whole album with just my voice. So I made this album to prove myself, you know? I wanted to show the world that this is the music I make. That’s the vibe I get. I wanted to let a lot of other artists hear my music. that I want to let artists know that, ‘Oh, J-Hope makes this kind of music,’” he says. “I’m looking forward to a collaboration, so maybe I can do a really cool and awesome collaboration with other artists. Nothing is set yet, but it’s just my bold ambition. I am open to any future plans like this. If I do a next collaboration, it will probably feature my ultimate weapon, which is dance.” It’s only been a few weeks since Jack in the Box arrived, but J-Hope already has a major festival performance under his belt and has had time to reflect on some lessons learned. “Most importantly, I realize that in taking on this huge task, it was a huge challenge to do what I wanted to do right now. Looking back, actually, I think I realized that if it wasn’t for now, I wouldn’t have been able to release this album,” he says. “So I think that in itself marks a big milestone in my musical journey. So actually after this album, I’m slowly starting to define the direction my music should go next. I learned that maybe I was a little arrogant, maybe a little lacking and a little inexperienced. But I learned so much through this album. In that sense, I think this album is very, very meaningful to me.”
