Sasha Alex Sloan decided there was no better time to write an entire album about her depression than during a global pandemic. Already a veteran songwriter behind-the-scenes, and with one album as a solo artist under her belt, Sloan channeled her wry, funny, and sad lyrics into a singer-songwriter record that doubles as some of the most depressing pop released this year so far. But if the success of the likes of Phoebe Bridgers and Kacey Musgraves has taught us anything, it’s that depressing music can be extremely comforting, too. It’s a reminder that listeners aren’t alone with their difficult feelings, and a more honest expression of what many people are feeling today than the shiny veneer of toxic positivity.
Happy in her relationship, and therefore left with no plans for adding a breakup album to her repertoire anytime soon, a general sense of malaise was lingering for Sloan — so she dug into that. “For a while, I was scared of writing about being depressed,” she admitted during a recent phone interview following the release of the final product, her second album, I Blame The World. “Because I was in this weird state of being happy in my relationship, and not really wanting to write about that. What I was really feeling was depression. So I was like, whatever — people write whole albums about breakups, I can write a whole album about being depressed. And that’s kind of what I did.”
What started off as the inklings of a folk record pretty quickly spiraled off into her “non-hopeful” reflection on what it’s like to be a twenty-something in 2022 — global pandemic sun, mental illness moon, global warming rising. It’s not necessarily that I Blame The World doesn’t include moments of hopefulness, it definitely does, especially on the aptly titled “Global Warming,” which finds comfort in moments of relational intimacy. It’s that Sloan doesn’t deal in aphorisms or easy, optimistic answers that ring hollow.
“These past few years have just made me a different person,” she said. “I’ve always been really cynical, but over the past few years I’ve gotten really angry. Because when you just spend every day inside your house reading awful news it does traumatic things to your brain. I think that’s what I was feeling.” Since Sloan started putting out music when she was pretty young, at the age of 22, it’s also a natural progression that her second album would be more outwardly focused.
Initially moving to Los Angeles to pursue songwriting, Sloan was discovered by music industry execs on the unlikeliest of places — Reddit. After a photo she posted went viral, Sloan did what any good meme creator does, she posted her SoundCloud link. Except with a photo of her parents gentle mocking her by painting “dork” above her room in the midst of repainting their house, a cadre of devout internet fans became very involved in following along with their favorite new nerd. Her music got into the right hands, and that sense of self-deprecation has remained a thread all throughout the process.
After starting at Berklee College Of Music when she was 18, Sloan dropped out to pursue her publishing deal and moved to LA at 19 when her viral moment led to a publishing deal. “I had no idea that writing songs for artists was even a job,” she laughed. “I thought every artist wrote for themselves, because that’s how all the artists I grew up listening to did it — they just wrote their own songs. So I had a lot to learn when I moved to LA. I worked in a coffee shop, and wasn’t getting cuts for a long time. I think the first four years of LA was songwriting boot camp for me.”
That boot camp culminated in her debut album, Only Child, dropped with the not-so-auspicious timing of October 2020. Considering how hard it is for new pop stars to break out even during the best of times — and how many other people were dealing with the fallout of releasing music in what was now a dead-end year — Sloan dealt with the disappointment and got back into the studio. With tour and any live performances on hold, it was the logical thing for a lot of writers. The resulting songs were filled with the disappointment and frustration a lot of people experienced during the pandemic, as well as a renewed appreciation for her partner.
On early singles like the searing title track, or the existential, ’90s-inflected “WTF,” that tension between depression and gratitude comes through loud and clear. Other songs, like “Adult,” deal with just how difficult it has been for Gen Z and millennial twenty-somethings to transition into life on their own, as flailing job and housing markets have altered most people’s ability to take care of themselves. Elsewhere, though, like on album standout “Thank You,” Sloan finds solace in the small, everyday moments that make all the larger issues start to fade away.
“That song was written after my fiance and I were stuck in a house together for a year and a half straight,” she said. “I just wanted to let him know that I really appreciated him being there for me and the highs and lows and you know, when he didn’t have to be, because that’s — that’s love. So that was my one gushy moment on the album. But, you know, it didn’t feel gushy, it felt real.”
As Sloan continues to write and release music for herself, instead of other artists, striking a balance between those darker feelings and the lighter moments might just be part of finding her own voice. “I think with this new record I wanted to have more fun with it,” she said. “I was in such a dark place when I was writing it. When I found myself making it sonically dark, it just felt too heavy. I was like ‘how can I express myself and how I’m feeling, but make it feel more fun?’ I was thinking a lot about the live show. Only Child was a more serious side, and this newest record is more fun. The vibe is I’m rolling my eyes and smiling at the same time.”
Following Cassidy Hutchinson’s explosive testimony on Tuesday, in which she claimed that Donald Trump knew Jan. 6 rioters were armed but didn’t care because “they’re not here to hurt me” (he also allegedly threw ketchup at the wall and grabbed the steering wheel of a Secret Service vehicle), the former-president had a meltdown on his failing social media platform. “I NEVER SAID, ’MIKE PENCE DESERVES IT (to be hung). Another made up statement by a third rate social climber,” he… what’s the TRUTH Social word for “tweeted”? Socialed? Truth’d? (It’s probably truth’d.) Trump also rage-wrote, “Bad handwriting, that of a Whacko?” a truly unprecedented collection of words.
But there was almost no “Bad handwriting, that of a Whacko?” (the horror), as the right-wing friendly TRUTH Social had trouble finding anyone to work there. Reuters reports that “many engineers and tech firms won’t consider working with a Trump company,” as they “fear an association with Trump will cost them customers [and] hurt their careers.”
The mutual aversion has severely restricted the pool of talent and corporate partners available to help [Trump Media & Technology Group] build a competitive social network on an ambitious timeline… The company risks facing the same challenge in seeking advertising from major companies, who want to avoid alienating the half or more of their customers in a politically polarized America who dislike Trump, according to two advertising experts.
Denzel Curry‘s riding a career-high at the moment, enjoying the success of his fifth studio album, Melt My Eyez See Your Future. Debuting at No. 51 on the Billboard 200 and receiving widespread critical acclaim, the album is led by soulful singles such as “Walkin,” “Zatoichi,” and “Troubles,” and led to a well-received performance at this year’s Coachella, with an upcoming tour featuring dates alongside Kid Cudi. Curry kept the momentum going with a flawless performance on NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert series, backed by a 10-piece band.
Performing songs from his new album as well as some of his beloved hits, Curry seems astonished that the set goes so well. “We only did this rehearsal twice!” he exclaims between two songs. In addition to performing “Melt Session #1,” “Walkin,” and “Troubles” from Melt My Eyez, Denzel dug into his back catalog for fan favorites like “DIET_” from his 2020 Kenny Beats collaboration Unlocked, “Clout Cobain” from 2018’s Ta13oo, and “Ricky” from his 2019 album Zuu.
Besides having a productive year for himself, Curry has become a go-to featured freelancer for his peers, popping up on songs from IDK (“Dog Food“), Sampa The Great (“Lane“), and Dot Da Genius (“Talk About Me” with Kid Cudi and JID), as well as on the soundtrack for Elvis.
The Denver Nuggets and Washington Wizards have decided to shake up their guard situations. According to a report by Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Nuggets will send a pair of stalwarts in their backcourt — Monte Morris and Will Barton — to the nation’s capital.
In exchange, Washington will part ways with one of the players it received in the Russell Westbrook trade with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, along with well-traveled guard Ish Smith.
Denver is nearing trading Monte Morris and Will Barton to Washington in deal for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith, sources tell @TheAthletic@Stadium.
Denver, expected to be one of the teams contending for a championship out of the Western Conference next season, acquire a three-and-D guard in Caldwell-Pope who connected on 39 percent of his triples last season en route to averaging 13.2 points per game. As for Smith, if he ends up taking the floor for the Nuggets, this move gives him the distinction of being the player who has played for the most teams in his NBA career, as Denver would be lucky number 13.
As for Washington, this gives them a pair of steady backcourt options alongside Bradley Beal, who is expected to sign a supermax extension with the team this offseason. Morris started all 74 games in which he appeared for Denver last year and has earned the distinction of being perhaps the most ball secure guards in basketball, while Barton has brought perimeter scoring to the Nuggets for the last 7.5 years.
Mike Lindell has announced his next big business venture. After focusing on sleep with his MyPillow products that recently suffered a critical blow after being dumped by Walmart, Lindell has jumped to the other side of the spectrum and will now help people wake up with, you guessed it, MyCoffee.
Lindell announced his new business venture during a recent appearance on the Right Side Broadcasting Network, and judging by his borderline incoherent, Trump-like ranting, it sure seemed like Lindell was hopped up on his own product. After touting MyCoffee and claiming “there’s nothing like it,” even the RSBN reporter couldn’t help but notice all of this sounds similar to Columbian coffee, which there is definitely something like.
With his pillow empire crumbling, Mike Lindell announces his new venture, MyCoffee: “The best coffee you are ever gonna have in your life!” pic.twitter.com/LkH9kFBgsU
“I’m actually gonna go to Miami for three days for filming. We have MyCoffee. This is a family-owned coffee. It’s the best coffee you are ever gonna have in your life. There’s nothing like it. Believe me. Everything that I put out there I do my due diligence. [unintelligible] for six months. These guys have their own fields in Columbia. Family-owned, they’ve been doing it for years. [unintelligible rambling about grinding your own beans] But having that, getting it for prices, because that’s what I do. Bring the best to you.”
As Lindell recently revealed, his MyPillow empire took a significant hit after Walmart pulled the products from its stores and website. Lindell calculated the loss at $100 million as he openly ranted about Walmart executives ignoring his calls. Clearly, using his Frank TV network to blast the retail giant didn’t help the situation as Lindell has pivoted to selling the best coffee you’re ever going to have in your life. The guy who’s being sued for claiming the 2020 election was stolen would never steer you wrong.
Have I seen Barbie? No, of course not. There’s not even a teaser. But I’ve seen the paparazzi photos of Margot Robbie on the set in blindingly pink outfits, and I’m ready to declare it the most important movie of 2023. (I’m tempted to say “best,” but Cocaine Bear comes out in 2023, too, and I’m not ready to make that judgement yet. Also out next year: John Wick Chapter 4, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Indiana Jones 5, and Dune: Part Two. Can we at least agree that Barbie will be the best non-sequel and/or movie about a cocaine bear?)
Why, you may be wondering, am I so excited for a movie about a six-decades-old toy that I never owned as a child because I was too busy playing with my Stretch Armstrong? (Fun fact: I couldn’t remember the name “Stretch Armstrong,” so I did a Google search for “muscle stretch toy,” and found what I was looking for. This might be because my safe search was turned on.) Let me explain. It’s because…
-I trust Robbie, who could credibly be called the best actress of her generation
-I trust writer and director Greta Gerwig, the director and Oscar-nominated writer of Lady Bird and Little Women (and her co-writer, Marriage Story‘s Noam Baumbach)
-I trust the rest of the stacked cast, including Ryan Gosling as Ken (!), Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, and Emma Mackey
-I trust Robbie and Gosling on rollerblades, who look like if Samara from The Ring crawled out of a Lisa Frank folder instead of a television
-And most of all, I tru— LOOK AT THESE PHOTOS
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I could (and arguably should) have ended this post after the photo of bright-pink Robbie and Gosling as Barbie and Ken — case closed, you already have “Barbie movie” in your Google calendar for July 21, 2023 (unless a member of Aqua), etc. But there’s something else I’d like to discuss. Some have made the argument that “we are getting exposed to way too much of this movie way too soon before it’s out,” which I understand. There’s always the risk of burnout, or that sky-high expectations won’t be met.
Vladimir Putin reportedly can’t even trust his inner circle anymore, lest he get a “hammer to the head,” and his approval rating is in the can. In fact, that rating’s lower than it’s been (globally) in 20 years, all after he decided to invade Ukraine, which has made molotov-cocktails waving grandmas real with President Zelensky (who refuses to leave his people) emerging as a folk hero. There’s plenty of talk about a secret successor in process, given that Putin (and in turn, Russia) is now a global pariah who’s plagued by sanctions, and we already heard that Putin’s circling the wagons with his few allies, which still include China and India.
Who else can Putin rustle up? He’s apparently reaching into the bottom of the barrel here, as the Associated Press reports. The Russian president’s new friends are… the Taliban. Wildly enough, he’s now embracing the group under the guise of helping a very divided Afghanistan come together. This is happening even though Russia has previously agreed with most of the rest of the world in declaring the Taliban to be “a terrorist group.” From the AP:
President Vladimir Putin says Russia is trying to build relations with the Taliban and that Russia wants to see all the ethnic groups in Afghanistan take part in running the country.
Putin’s statement Tuesday came in a meeting with President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan during the Russian leader’s first trip abroad since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict. Tajikistan, which hosts a Russian military base, has a long and porous border with Afghanistan and is wary that Islamic radicalism could seep into the country.
That’s wild as heck, even as Putin’s putting on concerned diplomatic airs while determining to make new friends. Sidling up to the Taliban certainly isn’t a good look, but neither is bombing shopping centers like it’s no big deal, all to serve an imperialistic desire. It’s really no wonder that U.S. intelligence officials cite sources that say Putin’s “rule is no longer absolute” in his country or anywhere else.
Jason Momoa finally headlined his own TV show with Apple TV+’s See, which began as a wild and wooly journey into a weird world where no one can see Jason Momoa. That seemed like a bit of a waste (because let’s get real, everyone likes to look at Momoa), but the audience rolled with it for a second season of Baba Voss, which honestly felt difficult to watch during the protracted torture moments from Dave Bautista‘s Edo Voss upon Baba. The third season shall be the final season, and Baba’s bearing those physical scars, but that conflict appears to be over with another one only beginning.
The good news here? That post-apocalyptic situation, with humanity losing the sense of sight, might be headed toward an end because a new generation of babies can see. The bad news? This launches conflicting tribes into an even more intense battle and a race to gain superiority over everyone else. Yet if you want some more good news, the Masturbating Queen (Sylvia Hoeks) is also back, and Baba Voss has been living in the woods, but he’s back, too. Francis Lawrence launched the series as director, and Momoa loved the battle scenes full of echolocation, but everything’s gearing up for final conflicts, so here’s a synopsis:
See is set in a brutal and primitive future, hundreds of years after humankind has lost the ability to see. In season three, almost a year has passed since Baba Voss (Momoa) defeated his nemesis brother Edo and bid farewell to his family to live remotely in the forest. But when a Trivantian scientist develops a new and devastating form of sighted weaponry that threatens the future of humanity, Baba returns to Paya in order to protect his tribe once more.
88rising’s Head in the Clouds Forever showcase at Coachella remains one of the biggest nights for Asian representation this year. For two consecutive weekends in mid-April, 88rising took over Coachella with a lineup spanning across past, present, and future that had unexpected surprises from 2NE1 reuniting to debut performances that made history. Jackson Wang, a Hong Kong born multi-hyphenate based in South Korea, enthralled fans with his 10-minute performance that previewed his upcoming album Magic Man with “Blow” and an unreleased song, featured tight choreography, and brought honor to the Chinese entertainment industry by shining on an international stage.
To fans outside of America, Wang is known for being a member of the South Korean boy band Got7, his charming appearances on Chinese variety shows, and a fashion entrepreneur through Team Wang design. But Wang has been quickly making his mark in the States as an artist with massive crossover appeal through his English language pop songs (“100 Ways,” “LMLY”) and hip-hop features (“Different Game,” “Bad Back”), focused on introducing a new persona known as the Magic Man. The concept of Magic Man came from a particular low point in his life, where the now 28-year-old artist sees that as part of his journey of finding the new him.
K-pop idols tend to be bulletproof brands who are easily commercialized and marketable with a clean aesthetic. Wang is taking a risk with Magic Man by using his solo music to portray a more raw and honest version of himself, one that feels true to his current moment. He hints Magic Man will have a mix of grunge, rock, and pop, which are rougher edges to the songs his fans are accustomed to. More importantly, it sounds like the music he wants to make, hoping Team Wang supporters have faith in his capabilities to brighten his star power and to enjoy the effort he’s putting into the Magic Man experience every time he performs.
Calling from South Korea, Wang spoke to Uproxx about his Coachella performance and what that meant to him, why Magic Man is an essential listen for the summer, and how more people should understand themselves first before chasing their dreams. This is Jackson Wang pulling the curtain, and it is as real as it gets.
Your Coachella performance this year was an important moment for you. You specifically told the crowd, “This is a moment in history. This is Magic Man. This is Jackson Wang from China.” So as the first Chinese solo artist to make their debut at Coachella, what did that performance personally mean to you?
That meant everything, you know, like me coming from my hometown. And I just want to rep my people out there. Coachella is big for my career and as an artist, you know, that’s just crazy. And honestly, before that performance, I literally thought in my mind that after this performance, I can die. Like, you know what? I’m going to kill it like it is my last performance.
I wanted to give everything that I had, for my hometown, for Chinese [people] at the same time, and for Asians. I just wanted to kill it to the limit that I could. When I look back and after 50 years, 40 years, I don’t even know if I’m going to live that long. But when I look back and tell my grandkids, like, “Yo, your grandpa did everything. He did everything he could.”
Coachella is always a big moment for artists, and I’m glad that 88rising was able to do that type of showcase. And during that set, you performed a song that fans caught on that was new and it hasn’t been released yet. What can you tell me about that song?
My new album is Magic Man and honestly, it’s probably going to be [out] in September. I just think that because I’ll be having a lot more performances throughout the year, in every performance, I’m just going to perform maybe most of the songs on the album. Because as an artist right now, I’m still building. I’m not a well-known artist that everybody knows around the world. I’m at a stage where I need to build. I’m just taking every opportunity I could to perform my music around the world. To deliver it, to showcase it to everybody that watches the show.
You’re looking to drop a new single in July. What are some ideas you’ve been thinking about as you begin to roll this single out?
Oh my God. This music video, this visual, and everything. Usually, when I film a music video, I have my really core team set up the production and stuff. Maybe I’ll just hop in for like three days before the shoot and I’ll prep everything cause everything is communicated beforehand. But this time, everything is from scratch. I gotta be there to create the treatment, I have to direct it, I have to set up every single bit of detail. You know how production works. All this artwork, set, lighting, choreo, movement, camera angles, like all this specific sh*t that I have to go through. But that’s okay. Two-three weeks before the shoot, I’m there to create everything from scratch. It was crazy but me and my team that came with me, we crushed everything in two weeks from scratch. From nothing. It was a hard moment, but in some ways, I think it turned out dope. I think it turned out not bad and I’m really satisfied with what we came up with.We are in the process of post-production right now. Cutting the scenes and adjusting the frame. Coloring. Visual effects and all that stuff right now.
In each of these songs, are you going to try and make them into mini universes or a multiverse type of thing? Is that still true that you want to do that?
Yeah, that’s still true. You know like in an album, everything is in one universe. But at the same time, every song is from different regions in this universe. I wanted to showcase that. That’s why I’ve been shooting a lot of visualizers so you can connect each song. But there are some songs that without visuals, just by the song that you hear, it feels in the same universe but different territories already. That’s why I wanted to emphasize videos to come along with it.
This album, Magic Man, it’s more about the tone of it and the attitude of it. Like me really breaking through my negative moments. I understand that a lot of people think, “Oh, he came from this life. He did this and he did that. He did a lot of variety shows.” I understand that, I really respect that, and I love it. But at the same time, there’s sides like the super raw me, the 100 percent honest that people don’t see. The attitude and the approach, I don’t think people see that. I really want to make that approach [clear], I really don’t give a sh*t.
When you like me and support my music as an artist through my image, people like me for different reasons. And they support me for different reasons and I understand that. I think that’s something that I really appreciate and something that motivates me in every moment. At the same time, I just want to be true to the people that supported me. I’m not a perfect person. I have that vision to grow. I will do whatever it takes. No matter what it is, I want to be better and better. Because a lot of times, I feel sorry for my fans. They supported me since day one even though my music and all the stuff I was putting out in the past was wack. I feel that and I know that every time because I’m strict to myself and my team. I know it was wack but it’s okay. What’s more important is that I’m growing, I’m evolving, and I have that attitude that I’m never satisfied with myself because I feel like I should be better in everything that I do.
Whether it’s music or a talk show, whether it’s a movie or whatever, I just need to be better. That’s the only reason that pisses me off. Why can’t I be better? That’s all I care about every day when I wake up. Before I go to sleep. That’s all I care about. How do I work harder to be a better artist that can convince myself to think, “Oh, this is it.” But I am doing it to my limit currently, but you never know. Every time I try to exceed it, some other gates, some other windows open. I just go through that.
You gotta shatter the glass ceiling and break through. This journey of finding the new you, it sounds incredible.
It’s not. I’m just in the process. I don’t know. In two-three years, four-five years, I’ll make it. And people be like, “Damn, he’s good.” What they have not seen is how I came up. But all my supporters know how he came from wack to okay to not bad to like “Damn, he can do this, he can do that.” I think it’s about the journey.
That’s what I mean. Incredible as in it is inspiring. You have this drive that not a lot of artists have. I get the sense you are a lot happier with your music right now.
Honestly, I’m never happy. It’s not there yet. I just know this is the limit that I can go right now. How can I sharpen my weapons to go to the next level? That’s some sh*t that I need to take on my own. My team is great. They’re very professional, they know what they want, and they are very organized. I love them. At the same time, I just think that product-wise, me as an artist, I just have to take it and I have to be better. That’s it. They can’t perform for me. I need to do it. I need to kill it. Not even that I’m sorry to my fans and my supporters, sometimes, I’m even sorry to my team. Like f*ck, if I can be a better artist. If I can be better, then I can make them proud. I’m not good enough, that’s why I’m trying to be better every single day, even on the little stuff that I’m caring about every day.
Is there someone you look up to? Are you trying to be among certain idols or is it just all on your own?
To me, my ultimate goal in life is to leave something behind before I die. Because life, you never know what happens. You can die tomorrow, right? But I just want to live to the fullest every day. I can produce some stuff. I can do some stuff that makes my supporters or even my team, my family proud. Whatever it is culturally or even just as an artist, I want to leave something behind. Growing up, I’ve always been really into respecting people like Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Yao Ming, Jeremy Lin. They did something for the culture and the world like “Damn, they can do that?” That’s been my dream and that’s all I’m going for because you only live once.
Can you tell me what led to Magic Man? Your last album was Mirrors in 2019. What inspired the title?
Because I was in my lows a year and a half ago. For the entire year back home by myself, I was in negative moments. I’ve been in this industry for eight, nine years and everything felt like a loop. Schedules after schedules. I have to do this, do that. But I was thinking, “You know what? I can’t have everything in the world but what is something that I really want? What is my goal in my life? Like I said, what is something that I want to leave behind? Is there something I should approach instead of doing something else that has nothing related to that?” So, I’m like, “You know what? Screw it. Let’s do it.” I know it’s a risk. I know I might not be making a living off it, but it’s okay. I’m just going to do it. If I do it and if I fail, I fail on my own hands. If not, if I don’t do it right, it’s something that I am going to regret for life. So I’m like, “You know what? Screw this sh*t.” I just want to do something that I believe in. Let’s see if it goes well. And if it goes well, I’ll admit it. I’ll do everything that supports the next generation. I’ll believe it, but let me do it first before I’m too old for it.
A lot of people say, “Yeah, you can still dance when you’re 30, 40, 50.” But it’s a different vibe. If I’m at my prime in my stamina and my youth with two-three years left, I’m just going to do everything to that extent. Let me try first. And I really, really want to try and do anything that I can do.
So I was in my lows back home for a year and I got drunk every day by myself. Just thinking: “What am I doing right now?” I see no future. I’m stuck. I’m not inspired. What is it that I’m doing every day? I’m not a person, I’m a workaholic. I’m not a person that wants to communicate with people when I go through stuff. The only thing that I want is to solve the problem. If I’m stressed, there must be a problem so I must solve it. That’s all in my head for many, many years.
But there’s one time where I was in a session and I was cutting a song for the Magic Man album. At that time, I didn’t even have the title for the album, I was just creating songs for the tone and color I was going for. Like grunge, rock, pop melodies and stuff. I was going for that. I wasn’t delivering. I was having a hard time. I was literally crying in the session but then my producer was like, “What’s wrong with you?” He actually shut down the session. He’s like, “Screw this session. It’s not about work anymore. Let’s talk it out.” I was like, “Yo, we are not being efficient. We need to cut this song right now. I’m wasting my time. I need that time right now.” And then he’s like, “Yo, we gotta talk.” For the first time in my life, I actually feel like words mean something. Words are so powerful.
Later that week, I started to talk with my stylist in America, the director in America. They told me the same stuff. We were drinking. They were saying some sh*t that really hit my heart. Like damn, it is real. I never thought that conversation would have such a powerful effect on me.
It hit you differently.
Yeah, it hit me different. I’m like, “Damn it is real.” And from that point on, I just want to do whatever I want, be honest to my fans. Be honest to my supporters, my family, my crew. This is what I want to do. If you believe in me, I believe in it. Let’s just go. If we fail, we fail together. If we succeed, we succeed together. We’re going to conquer. That’s all in my head right now.
You’ve been talking about in your interviews how you want to be a bridge. I think it’s interesting that you want to be a bridge between the East and the West. A bunch of artists have done something similar where they use their platform to connect the East to West, but this is something you truly believe in, and it extends beyond the music industry. Why do you want to be a bridge?
It’s important to connect. When I say bridge, it’s not the only bridge. I’m talking about one of the bridges. More opportunities and more windows to connect. And for me, it’s important to me because I think the East and the West have their own community. What happens in the East stays in the East. What happens in the West, the majority stays in the West. But lifestyle is so interesting that people don’t know. People don’t know or they are not interested. The problem is they are not interested. I think the first step is because they are not interested. What can make them interested? If we have good content, then people would be like, “Oh, what’s happening over there?” This is the real stuff that I want to deliver. How we grew up. How we eat. How we got our education. How we live, what’s the lifestyle like? How is it right now? People don’t know. People can judge it through the media. They don’t know, know. I feel like I want to connect to that.
I want to end on the Team Wang design philosophy of “Know Yourself, Make Your Own History.” I think it relates to more than just fashion, but also for your current career trajectory. You’ve had to overcome obstacles to release your solo music, whether on your own label or through 88rising. With everything you’ve said, do you have a better understanding of yourself now?
I’ve been knowing about myself. Everyone realizes when it’s the outcome, when it’s the result. But what I’m looking for is who is here in the process of building together. That’s the memorable part. Everybody is gonna see you make it, but when you don’t people don’t care. I think 88Rising, Team Wang Records, Team Wang design, everyone in our community right now, even the audience. They believe in that vision.
And everybody is in different industries. Some can be a doctor, some can be working at companies, some could be this, some could be that. All I want my audience to do is think about themselves. What is your dream? Do you know yourself enough or do you like thinking too much about people looking at you that’s why you lose your focus on what you really want in life? You know, you could be paid a lot of salary every month to do something that you don’t really enjoy. But what is something that has always been in your dream that you really want? When you are working and you are doing something that you really love and you have so much inspiration and motivation for it and you’re so dedicated to it, you wouldn’t even think it is a job. It’s that vision that I really want to tell people. Know yourself first.
It felt like you were just talking directly to me. I needed that. I’ve had my own dreams and aspirations but I’m always sitting on my hands.
Nobody knows you. Nobody knows what you want and that exact picture more than yourself. If you don’t know yourself, you can never make it happen. Everyone is different. Everyone has a different personality, different vision, and a different standard of happiness. How can you expect people to know exactly what you want when they have a family too? They have friends too. They have their own lives too. You just gotta make that and explain it very in detail. And just get it. Just get it and it’s done. The product is out the way you want it, then it’s done. If you have that, everyone around you can do what they do. They can do it to support it. They can’t help you draw. If you’re an artist or painter, they can’t help you to draw. You gotta do it. You gotta brief them well. And tell them so they are excited too. And then it is going to work. It’s not going to work when it is like, “Hey, do everything for me. Get a director. Help me to direct this.” This sh*t is never going to work. You might get lucky. There’s luck, too. You might make it, but I’m telling you, all these artists that are successful right now, I look up to them, too. I feel like they have something different in them. It’s not the team, it’s them.
Jackson Wang is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
During the chat, Corden asked Sheeran what songs he thinks he’ll “have to” perform on every tour for the rest of his life. He responded:
“I put it in my head, I was like, ‘I’m a massive Coldplay fan, and if I go to a Coldplay show and they don’t play ‘Fix You’ or ‘Yellow,’ I’m going to be like [shrugs].’ So in my head, I’m like, ‘People are going to think that coming to my shows,’ so I would always have ‘Perfect,’ I’d always have ‘Bad Habits,’ ‘Shape Of You,’ then you got ‘Thinking Out Loud,’ ‘The A Team.’”
He continued, “Whenever you put out a new album, you’re like, ‘If I’m not ending the show with the new single from this album and it’s from the last album, I’m like, ‘Ah, is it… has it done well?’ So I was like, I’m really happy to… ‘Bad Habits’ is the best of the whole show, so I’m really, really, really, really pleased with that. But I thought I would just end the show with ‘Shape Of You’ for the rest of my life.”
Check out clips from Sheeran on last night’s Corden above and below.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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(@RonFilipkowski) 
