BTS’ J-Hope to drop solo debut album

SEOUL: J-Hope of K-pop supergroup BTS will drop his first formal solo album Friday, Yonhap news agency reported.

“Jack in the Box,” set to be released at 1pm local time, is also the first-ever official solo album from the septet, having recently announced a new chapter of its career with a focus on individual projects.

His agency Big Hit Music said “Jack in the Box” is the name of a children’s toy where a clown or jester pops out of the box when it is opened.

The title represents J-Hope’s aspirations to break the mold and grow further, it added.

As J-Hope revealed a week ago, the album’s tracklist will include 10 songs: “Intro,” “Pandora’s Box,” “MORE,” “STOP,” “=,” “Music Box: Reflection,” “What if…,” “Safety Zone,” “Future” and “Arson.”

The cover art for the album was done by renowned American pop artist KAWS.

“More,” the single prereleased two weeks ago, and “Arson” are the album’s two main tracks, according to the agency.

It also said the two main singles represent the central message of the album, which has consistency in genre and the flow of the story from the beginning to the end.

“More” is an old-school hip-hop song combining strong drum beats and guitar sounds.

The rapper-dancer boldly proclaims he wants “more” in the song alongside dark and heavy soundscapes.

“Arson” is about him meeting the harsh world after breaking out of the “box.” It depicts the agony of J-Hope as he stands at a career crossroads.

The album will be uploaded on music services Friday and become available in a “Weverse Album” format, not a full-fledged physical album, on July 29.

A Weverse Album is a digital album that can be played after downloading the app of the same name and scanning the QR code.

J-Hope will headline the main stage of the annual US music festival Lollapalooza at Grant Park in Chicago on July 31 (US time) for the first time as a Kpop idol singer.