MIRRORS

Rapper/singer Jackson Wang is remembering the turbulent period of his life that inspired his debut solo album’s emotional opener “BULLET TO THE HEART.” His voice trembles as he recalls how overwhelmed he was at the time, pushing himself too hard, trying to balance all his responsibilities—including running his Team Wang agency and label while maintaining his role within K-pop superstars GOT7. “I just got on a plane and I thought I couldn't breathe,” Wang tells Apple Music. “I had a fever. I was just like, ‘What is going on?’ I felt like I was going to die. But passion and dedication in my life is so strong. I never thought about giving up. This is my personality. I think this song really represents me and that moment well. It was really like a bullet to my heart.” MIRRORS brings Jackson Wang into sharp focus. Behind the trap-influenced boom of “DWAY!” and “ON THE ROCKS” is an artist in transition. What might sound like ballads—“UNLESS I’M WITH YOU” and “爱 (I Love You 3000 Chinese Version)”—are vessels of gratitude for his fans. As the album title symbolizes, a mirror can show multiple sides but can’t hide one’s true self. Jackson Wang takes Apple Music through MIRRORS track by track.
BULLET TO THE HEART “Based on the lyrics, people might think it's a love story—like, a girl hurt you, tortured you in this relationship or whatever. But it can be about society and obstacles in life. It's going to keep coming back, dragging you down, but you still keep going. You're still there because you love it so much no matter how many times it hurts you or tortures you. You love it so much and at the same time you hate it so much. But love is solid in everything.”
ON THE ROCKS “‘ON THE ROCKS’—and ‘UNLESS I’M WITH YOU’ and ‘I LOVE YOU 3000’—are dedicated to all the people that have been supporting me since day one. People might think the whole album is based on a girl or based on a love story. But it's a dedication to my fans and supporters.”
DWAY! “‘Dway’ means ‘right’ in Chinese. Like the pronunciation, ‘dway’ also means ‘do it my way.’ So whatever I do, it's always right. It’s about having a more confident vibe in my life.”
UNLESS I’M WITH YOU “It's an appreciation. I'm so blessed to have all the supporters since day one. I made my debut in Korea. I was introduced to the public like I was a funny character, a person with a sense of humor. And I was on a lot of variety shows and I was on a lot of reality TV shows. Because of that, a lot of people didn't even know I'm capable of doing music. It got to a point where I was like, ‘Is this what I really want?’ Of course, I'm blessed, because a lot of people started to recognize my face and my name, but is this what I want to be recognized for? I didn't go to Korea to become a comedian. Since day one, all the fans knew that I was capable of making music. They supported me. That's why I'm so blessed.”
BAD BACK (feat. GoldLink) “Sometimes in life we go through so much stuff. ‘BAD BACK’ is another feeling. It's like me being emotional, blaming life, that kind of attitude. I'm bringing the bad side of me back. I met GoldLink this year at an afterparty. One day he texted me, ‘Yo, I've got a song (“Rumble”). I'm releasing my album. Hop on the song. Let's make something happen.’ Then I wrote the verse and it was on his album. And that was the first collaboration that we had. Then afterwards I'm starting to prepare my own album and I had a song I sent him to see if he liked it. It fit him really well.”
TITANIC (feat. Rich Brian) “It was great to work with Rich Brian. The thing about this album, it's like everything was kind of natural, it wasn't forced. And I feel like the public are not stupid, they can tell if something's forced. I just want to keep everything as natural as possible. Also, especially because we're both Asians, I felt like it was a good vibe, like a family doing it together.”
FADED “It just really matched with the album and I decided to put it in because it's like something that we all go through in life.”
爱 (I Love You 3000 Chinese Version) “The original version was just Stephanie Poetri singing. Then I just felt like, ‘Let's make this collaboration like me replying, responding to your verse.’ We really wish that every couple sings it to their boyfriends or girlfriends or best friends or their wife, their husband. Whoever you love, sing it to them. We really hope that people sing that song at weddings.”