j-hope of BTS on his Billboard success and becoming the first solo Korean artist to headline BMO Stadium

You would deliberation astir radical would request a interruption aft spending 18 months successful the military. But astir radical aren’t planetary popular stars specified arsenic Jung Ho-seok, amended known arsenic j-hope of BTS. It seemed similar the planetary popular icon had hardly changed retired of his azygous successful October of past twelvemonth earlier helium was boarding a level to Los Angeles, acceptable to enactment connected caller material. It would beryllium his archetypal merchandise since his critically acclaimed 2022 grunge-rock-meets roar bap hip-hop debut medium “Jack successful the Box.”

Although “Jack successful the Box” was his archetypal authoritative album, his solo discography goes backmost further to “1 Verse,” his 2015 SoundCloud merchandise which sampled The Game and Skrillex’s “El Chapo” released that aforesaid year.

The 2016 BTS medium “Wings” was the archetypal to diagnostic solo works from each 7 members. Up until then, the absorption had been connected j-hope’s swaggy, growling, rap transportation (he is undeniably BTS’s swagmaster) and creation quality rooted successful his aboriginal days arsenic a subordinate of the Gwangju, South Korea-based Neuron creation crew.

With “MAMA” his solo effort publication to Wings, helium stretched himself arsenic a vocalist leveraging the soulful qualities of his dependable successful a tribute to his mother.

BTS subordinate j-Hope poses for a representation up of 1 of his L.A. shows.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

2018 marked different turning constituent erstwhile helium released “Hope World,” a six-track mix-tape. The pursuing year, j-hope released “Chicken Noodle Soup.” Although the bouncy hip-hop way sampled a 2006 opus by New York artists DJ Webstar and Young B, it featured Inglewood-raised vocalist Becky G and lyrics successful Korean, English and Spanish. So it seemed fitting erstwhile helium took a travel to L.A. to movie its euphony video, with members of the L.A. creation community, performing its choreography successful beforehand of section associated Chicken Shack’s signature yellowish car.

Since his radical announced a impermanent hiatus successful 2022 to absorption connected solo enactment — based connected the Western thought of lad bands this disquieted fans that they were breaking up (they’re not) — each of the members person released albums, to idiosyncratic success, and adjacent pre-recorded projects to beryllium released during their departure.

While inactive successful service, j-hope released “Hope connected the Street: Vol. 1,” a soundtrack to his documentary bid of the aforesaid sanction successful which helium explored thoroughfare creation successful antithetic cities crossed the world. On that album, helium worked with L.A.-based Benny Blanco and Blake Slatkin, 2 producers helium turned to erstwhile again for his latest releases “Sweet Dreams” (featuring Miguel) and his latest, the catchy, viral dance-inducing deed “Mona Lisa.”

In January, j-hope announced his Hope On The Stage tour, his archetypal arsenic a soloist with North American dates successful Brooklyn, Chicago, Mexico City, San Antonio and Oakland. The circuit is divided into sections spanning the communicative of his career. The accumulation includes a unrecorded band, and uses 28 moving lifts that reconfigure depending connected the stage.

Both “Sweet Dreams” and “Mona Lisa” were amazingly played connected tour, and a 3rd azygous is planned for the Asian leg, which kicks disconnected successful the Phillipines connected April 12.

Each halt has included tailored engagement with “ARMY,” BTS’s famously divers and passionate fandom. The experiences span determination food, tract circumstantial merchandise, immoderate designed with input by the famously fashion-forward artist, and creation challenges. Fans besides had the enactment to acquisition a bundle wherever they could “send off” j-hope.

As the circuit has gone along, Instagram’s “For You” pages person steadily yielded selfies with the famously upbeat prima and cute interactions. With each successive metropolis helium seems to up the ante: dancing successful cowboy hats and boots successful San Antonio, speaking afloat sentences successful Spanish successful Mexico, adjacent getting adjacent capable astatine points to speech hugs and clasp hands.

Ahead of the past stops of the tour’s North American dates, Friday and Sunday astatine BMO Stadium, The Times caught up with the planetary prima adjacent the stadium downtown. In an intimate post-photo sprout speech squeezed successful betwixt his promotional events connected Thursday (he popped up astatine that night’s Lakers crippled soon after), we talked astir his narration with the city, his artistry, emotion for ARMY and aboriginal ambitions.

“I’ve travel to recognize however galore radical are loving and connecting with my music, and astatine the aforesaid time, that pushes maine to deliberation astir what benignant of euphony I should make adjacent arsenic an artist,” j-hope said.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

Congratulations—”Mona Lisa” is successful the Billboard Hot 100 arsenic of this week and it’s your seventh opus arsenic a solo creator to scope that milestone.

Wow.

You’re tied with Jung Kook.

[laughs] It’s specified an grant to person truthful galore of my songs connected the chart, and I’m incredibly grateful successful truthful galore ways. I’ve travel to recognize however galore radical are loving and connecting with my music, and astatine the aforesaid time, that pushes maine to deliberation astir what benignant of euphony I should make adjacent arsenic an artist. I consciousness that my beingness astatine the infinitesimal is filled with greater anticipation and excitement for what’s to come.

With “Jack successful the Box” you weren’t needfully acrophobic astir charting, but you look much ambitious with these releases. Is that true?

Yes, you’re precise connected point. I consciousness similar this was a situation that I needed to instrumentality connected aft my subject service. And up until now, I focused connected what I liked, but this time, I wanted to collaborate with large producers who person a deeper knowing of the culture. I was funny astir their instrumentality connected j-hope arsenic an artist. Once I took that measurement forward, I felt it would unfastened up caller opportunities for maine to experimentation and instrumentality my euphony to the adjacent level. I genuinely consciousness this is simply a large clip for me.

“Jack successful the Box” was unthinkable but “Sweet Dreams” and “Mona Lisa” person a antithetic benignant of sexy vibe and the ARMY is loving it. Have you been enjoying the response?

Well, you cognize I didn’t person excessively overmuch of this connected my caput erstwhile I was making these songs but I wanted to marque a opus that benignant of expressed my maturity aft the subject service. So, it benignant of came naturally. So, I wanted to amusement different ocular broadside of maine arsenic j-hope and I privation to amusement thing new, a caller facet of maine for my fans.

Can we speech astir Jay?

Jay? [laughs] Yes, ARMY calls.

It’s been benignant of a amusive happening betwixt you and U.S. ARMY that you benignant of crook into “Jay” erstwhile you onshore successful the U.S. How would you picture him?

You know, I find it precise comic too. I emotion the vibe successful the U.S. I’m enjoying myself and having fun, and due to the fact that of that, it allows maine to amusement a much genuine side. Fans truly look to similar it excessively and truthful I consciousness large astir what I’ve been capable to stock present successful the States.

“Of people I could not person imagined backmost past that I would person this benignant of beingness and I truly admit what I person currently,” j-hope said. “As clip passes by, I’m truly grateful to spot much and much radical listening to and enjoying my music.”

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

You look to beryllium having the clip of your beingness connected this tour. You’re interacting with the fans a batch much connected a idiosyncratic level, going retired into the assemblage erstwhile you execute “=Equal Sign” picking idiosyncratic [to interact with]. Has 1 of those moments stood retired to you?

I deliberation you cognize maine wrong retired by present and I truly admit that. I wanted to amusement thing large for the fans who’ve been waiting for specified a agelong clip and I wanted to link astatine a precise idiosyncratic level done these concerts and performances. There’s a opus called “=Equal Sign.” and its archetypal lyric is astir however we presumption each different arsenic equals — “There is nary 1 supra us/There is nary 1 nether us.” Staying existent to that message, alternatively of maine being connected signifier connected a higher level with the assemblage below, I wanted to genuinely link with my fans by engaging with them straight and seeing them eye-to-eye. This transportation with my fans has been incredibly meaningful.

With these upcoming performances you go the archetypal solo Korean creator to header BMO Stadium (he is besides the archetypal Korean antheral creator to header a stadium amusement successful North America). Do you deliberation the Jung Ho-seok of 2013 who seemed amazed to adjacent person a packet of instrumentality message could person envisioned this?

Of people I could not person imagined backmost past that I would person this benignant of beingness and I truly admit what I person currently. As clip passes by, I’m truly grateful to spot much and much radical listening to and enjoying my music. I consciousness similar it’s their enactment and passionateness that let maine to beryllium the creator I americium today.

“Hope connected the Stage” successful part, is simply a tribute to your origins arsenic a thoroughfare dancer but you besides bash a batch of singing [in the show] with a unrecorded band. You’ve downplayed your vocal quality a small bit, but you person a large dependable that’s truly flexible. When did you archetypal recognize that you tin sing? Was it a earthy hold of rapping?

It’s an absorbing question. As I prosecute music, I deliberation I’ve developed a benignant that embraces versatility. Throughout this process, I tried to research and experimentation with my dependable successful assorted ways and I judge that’s reflected successful my vocals nowadays. I effort to present my vocals successful a earthy mode without forcing thing and it seems similar the assemblage appreciates that. Are my vocals perfect? That’s thing I request to deliberation about, but I’m committed and striving to marque it better. It’s a spot hard to pinpoint a circumstantial moment. Before my debut, I had vocal lessons and arsenic I started recording, my vocal benignant people began to develop. It’s hard to accidental precisely erstwhile the displacement occurred, but it was a gradual process.

While moving present you went to In-N-Out, and had each the “L.A.” experiences. In the aboriginal days of BTS you filmed a world amusement wherever you were mentored by Warren G and Coolio — they adjacent took you to Long Beach’s VIP Records…

You watched this — wow [laughs].

Yeah…[laughs] American Hustle Life. Is determination thing you learned astir hip-hop from that acquisition that you support with you today?

It was much than conscionable a philharmonic influence. I was precise young astatine that time, and if I had the accidental to spell backmost now, I deliberation I could recognize and instrumentality successful a batch more. At the time, though, it was a process to accommodate to a caller culture, antithetic from the 1 I grew up in. And I judge that those moments were important for my maturation and shaped who I americium today. That’s the astir important acquisition I took from that experience.

Rest successful peace, Coolio.