2022 has been a great year Hong Kong artist Jackson Wang’s rapid rise to stardom, both as a member of K-POP boy band GOT7 and for his solo work.
His opening show at The Match Bangkok Century Cup between Manchester United and Liverpool on the 12th of July sparked the interest of his fans and football supporters across the country.
Although he is known as a music artist, Jackson Wang’s life is heavily intertwined with sports. At a young age, he competed in Youth Olympics as a fencer and even earned himself a scholarship in the United States. However, he chose to follow his true passion and eventually became the artist we know today.
How was Jackson Wang’s time in fencing? Why did he decide to give up playing the sport and move on to a music career instead? Find out on Main Stand.
Born into an athlete family
Jackson Wang was born and raised in Kowloon Tong, a district in Hong Kong. His father is Wang Ruiji, a fencer who used to be on China’s national team. He won a gold medal in Asian Games in 1978 in Thailand, and also was an Olympic athlete in the 1984 and 1988 Games in Los Angeles and Seoul. On the other hand, his mother, Sophia Chow, was a Chinese national team gymnast who represented her nation during the 80s.
Born into an athlete family, it was not surprising that everyone around Jackson predicted that he would follow in his parents’ footsteps. Eventually, he chose to do fencing and started training under his father at age ten.
When he turned 16, it was time for the young-blood fencer to prove his skill, both in his homeland and internationally.
In 2010, Jackson competed in the first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. He performed well in the group stage and qualified for the knock-out stage before losing to a Russian rival in the round of 16 by just a solitary point. Despite his elimination, Jackson was immensely proud of participating in the event and keeps a five-ring tattoo on his left arm as a memento.
Lessons from his medal-winning father
While Wang Ruiji was keen to impart his knowledge to his son, he always gave room for Jackson to improvise and explore. Despite being the first mainland Chinese freelancer to win a gold medal at the Asian Games, he still freed his son from inventing his own fighting style; if Jackson won, he would give all the credit solely to his son.
"'My father always says if I lose, it's his fault, and if I win, it is my glory,” Jackson explained. “That's very supportive and I'm glad he is not a demanding coach. He lets me follow my own pace in competitions.”
The lessons from his father encouraged Jackson to learn, improvise and adapt. In addition to regular practice, they watched videos of Aldo Montano, a legendary Italian fencer, a gold-medalist from the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, and figured out ways to adapt Jackson’s fighting style.
Their efforts bore fruit as he became one of the leading athletes in Hong Kong, with a position of 11 in the Asian rankings. He was even tapped to represent Hong Kong in bigger tournaments, like Asian Games and Olympics.
However, his life took an unexpected turn.
Music, idol and life’s turning point
In 2010, Jackson Wang was sounded out by a scout from JYP, a famous South Korean record label, while playing basketball with his friends. He got invited to audition for JYP, who coincidentally were looking for the new rising stars in Kowloon. Deep down, Jackson knew he had always wanted to be a music artist and decided to take his shot.
To his surprise, Jackson passed JYP’s audition among other 2,000 contenders who had the same dream as him. He was offered to become a trainee with JYP, though at the time he was dedicated to training and earning his place as Hong Kong’s fencer for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Furthermore, his exploits had just made him an athletic scholarship to study at Stanford University the following year.
“At the time, yes, I was preparing for the London Olympics and I had a scholarship from a great university,” Jackson Wang revealed, reflecting on the day he had to make the toughest choice of his life.
“But I asked myself, 'Would I regret this decision in the future?' Like when I'm 70 years old, would I regret it even once?”
“I knew there were risks [involved]. Maybe, I would fail or maybe I would succeed but at least I tried.”
After deciding, the first step would be to tell his medal-winning father and ask permission to travel to South Korea. Of course, his father initially disapproved, given his rising fencing career. He couldn’t help but feel that everything they had done would have gone to waste. However, Jackson was determined and eventually convinced his parents and packed his bags.
Jackson had no idea if he would succeed or fail in the South Korean entertainment industry. However, he was ready to gamble with all his heart for the dream he thought was his calling.
From star fencer to the star of GOT7
Although he had to spend three years training with JYP, it seemed like he had made the right decision. When the time was right, Jackson debuted with other rising K-POP stars Mark, Yugyeoum, BamBam, Jay B, Jinyoung, and Youngjae as “GOT7.”
The new group released their debut EP called ‘Got It?’ in 2014, with “Girls Girls Girls” as their debut single.
From then on, the popularity and success of GOT7 and Jackson Wang have continuously spiked. Their singles have been met with overwhelming success, and have enormous streaming counts on Youtube and other music streaming applications. Their five studio albums have sold hundreds of thousands of copies domestically and globally.
Meanwhile, Jackson Wang is also among the most popular members of “AhGaSe” (GOT7’s fandom) due to his singing, dancing and friendly personality with all of his colleagues. At the same time, the other members of GOT7 helped Jackson with his producing and songwriting skills, and it wasn’t long before he released solo hits such as 100 Ways, Blow, LMLY, and Cruel.
Due to his success, Jackson Wang has become immensely popular in his native Hong Kong due to the courage he showed to pursue his dream. He was appointed as a tourism ambassador for Hong Kong and now even has a wax replica in the city’s Madame Tussauds exhibit.
A show in Thailand’s red war
12 July 2022 was a historic moment for Thailand, as two world-famous football teams, Manchester United and Liverpool came to compete in a pre-season match at Rajamangala National Stadium. Jackson Wang was invited to perform the opening act of the event, which was dubbed “The Match Bangkok Century Cup 2022.”
The announcement was a success for the organizers, as many members of the AhGaSe fan club in Thailand booked tickets for the match. However, this was derided as a marketing ploy and a way to sell the remaining tickets, which had priced out many local football fanatics.
Despite all the pre-show negativity, it was undeniable that this event was huge in making Jackson Wang more recognized among Thai people, especially those who were not already fans of K-POP.
On the day of the event, Jackson Wang and his team of dancers went on to blast the stadium with a full-hour show. He performed hits like Come Alive, Blow, Go Ghost, Just Like Magic, and many more. His performance earned the praise of many football supporters and undoubtedly grew his fanbase in Thailand.
In the days after the ‘Century Cup,’ Jackson made the most of this opportunity. Now dubbed “p’Jack,” (big brother Jack), he continued trending on social media and went on to make many television appearances, using the chance to reach out to new fans and accustomed fanatics alike.
Follow your dreams without fear
Jackson Wang’s life has been anything from ordinary, from being a potential Olympic fencer to a leading K-POP artist. However, he has a message that he wants to impart to the younger generation; to believe in what you choose, and not be afraid of failure.
When making the toughest decision of his life, going out on a limb to chase his dream, Jackson got to where he is now because he proceeded without fear.
“I know that a lot of people dream of being where I am at the moment,” Jackson reflected. “How a lot of people dream of where I was, whether it'd be education, academics, sports, opportunities. However, I had this feeling inside that told me, 'I want to give it a shot.'”
“Maybe I would fail, maybe I would succeed, but at least I tried.”
Sources:
https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/lifestyle/features/article/3058112/fighting-form
https://www.gmanetwork.com/entertainment/showbiznews/news/65030/jackson-wang-opens-up-about-giving-up-fencing-to-become-an-idol/story
https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop-culture/jackson-wang-k-pop-age-olympics-fencing-got7
https://www.nme.com/news/music/jackson-wang-he-walked-away-from-london-olympics-pursue-music-k-pop-career-3218946
