On September 9, singer Jackson Wang released his second solo album, ‘MAGIC MAN.’ Jackson Wang deliberately decided to add a new tone and color to his discography with this album.
‘MAGIC MAN,’ A Fresh Style of Jackson Wang
‘MAGIC MAN’ focuses on toxic love and self-discovery. As all we know, Jackson Wang suffered from a self-described mental breakdown last year. But now, he has emerged and craved a fresh artistic start. We can say that ‘MAGIC MAN’ suits the captivating style of Jackson Wang so much that he gains many more new fans to his fandom.
The singer also revealed that, especially in this album, he wants to convey the meaning of the lyrics more. He admitted that he used to focus not only on the delivery but also on the technical things like the tone and melody. However, he found that a masterpiece should be as natural and honest as possible, not forcing on technical matters.
“You just can’t be too greedy in wanting to have everything in life. For this specific album, I just chose to be me.”
Jackson Wang in Vulture
Jackson Wang Inspirations for ‘MAGIC MAN’
In an interview with Vulture, Jackson Wang stated that Prince inspired his second solo album, ‘MAGIC MAN.’
In fact, Jackson Wang also included Prince’s ‘Little Red Corvette’ in the lyrics of ‘Drive Me Like You Stole It.’
“I’ve listened to Prince since I was a kid. I think my parents played me that, and then I just stole their CD and played it over and over again myself. [My favorite songs are] ‘Little Red Corvette,’ ‘Dirty Mind,’ and ‘1999,’ of course. There’s two more, ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ and ‘If I Was Your Girlfriend.’ Just that rawness; he doesn’t give a damn. I am a big fan of that. It’s that presence of being an artist [that influences me]. Like you won’t say, oh, he’s a singer, a dancer — it’s an artist, you know. It’s the impact of his performance. When he’s there, he gives you 100 percent. You feel like he throws jabs at you in every way. It’s just perfect, his charisma as a performer.”
Jackson Wang in Vulture
The Bridge Between East and West
On the other side, deep inside his heart, he adores Jackie Chan and people who have been a bridge between East and West. This adoration surges his desire to be one of the bridges.
“But I’m still going to share more stuff about the East to the West. And maybe it’ll be interesting for [fans] to realize, Oh, I didn’t know they have that in the East. People don’t know how we grow up, what we listen to, what we do. It’s the other side of the world. So all I want to do — as my culture, as my people, as our culture — is just to share and connect. And that’s it. What’s the point of saying, ‘Oh, this is your territory, this is my territory?’ At the end of the day, we’re humans.”
Jackson Wang in Vulture
This desire might be one reason he released English-language songs so that everyone would understand the meaning of each song he wanted to convey.
The cinematic music videos
It started with ‘Blow’ and ‘Cruel,’ and now the title track ‘Blue,’ Jackson Wang gives us sophisticated cinematic music videos. He stated that he has been into cinematic and action-related visuals for a couple of years. The singer also learned deeper about contemporary dance, which he has successfully showcased in his music videos.
Additionally, Jackson Wang was inspired by ‘Inception,’ where viewers are free to interpret. Though the more you try to understand the movie, you’ll get fed up.
“This is what we’re trying to do [with MAGIC MAN]. … You don’t know what’s going to happen [with this album], and you don’t know what is happening at the same time. The more you think about it, the deeper you get. But at the end of the day, it could be something very simple. It’s how you would interpret it. Art is very personal. There’s no specific equations; you can’t calculate that.”
Jackson Wang in Vulture
The use of alcohol and cigarettes in ‘MAGIC MAN’
With rock, punk, and pop in one album, Jackson Wang undoubtedly shows his other sides. He also uses alcohol, cigarettes, and complicated relationships as references to emotional turmoil.
In an upbeat track like ‘Champagne Cool,’ Jackson exposed how showbiz makes us see something we believe true, which is not.
“Smoke and mirrors and showbiz
It’s all fake, but it’s true
I take my troubles
With my bubbles and I keep my
Champagne cool”
Listen to the complete tracks of ‘MAGIC MAN’ by Jackson Wang
Do you have favorite song by Jackson Wang in his second solo album ‘MAGIC MAN’? Feel free to share with us in the comment section below and stay tuned for more updates on new releases.
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Jackson Wang he is pretty cool ;]