Jackson just finished recording a 50-minute interview and live performance with popular Chinese entertainment host, VIVI G! Read the interview with translation by Kathy Liu below:
Jackson Wells Comes to Guangquaner Live
Jackson Wells is a popular singer in America. He has blonde hair as golden as a field, eyes as blue as the deep ocean, and a voice as warm as the sunshine in the early morning. He is a gifted songwriter. When he was fourteen, he started to show his talent in music composition. He is good at observing daily life events, and he makes them into beautiful songs. His MVs have over 1.8 million views on YouTube.
His music is popular in America. The first full-length album, "Picture of Life," was a collaboration with Grammy-award winning producer Bill Cuomo. As soon as the album released, it earned a high reputation from fans and media. After that, Jackson also had a successful tour in the US. Jackson has sold out sets all the way from LA’s House of Blues to Universal Studios CityWalk to the famed Bluebird Cafe.
Although Jackson was born in the United States, he loves Chinese culture and food. Besides majoring in music composition in college, he is also learning Chinese. He loves China and loves learning the Chinese language. He is currently studying Chinese at the Beijing Language and Culture University. He is a student with the popular Guangquaner Live hostess, Vivi G!
It was Vivi’s pleasure to interview Jackson Wells. We talked about his music and his Chinese heart.
Q: When did you start to compose? Do you still remember your first song? What was it about?
A: I started composing when I was fourteen. My first song was “Picture of Life”. I composed this song in fifteen minutes.
Q: When was the first time you went on a stage? How did you feel?
A: I started to perform on stage when I was five. When I was twelve, I joined a singing competition for the first time. I was one of the finalists. The stage is my good friend.
Q: Who is your favorite musician? What kind of music styles do you like?
A: I like Maroon 5, John Mayer, Taylor Swift. I grew up with pop music and country music. These music styles inspired me a lot. I also like music styles from different eras.
Q: Where do you find your inspiration?
A: I find my inspiration in my daily life. All the songs that I write are true stories. In my opinion, if I could use music and lyrics to express the feelings which many people can feel but cannot express, it would help me draw closer to my audience because we have similar experiences and feelings.
Q: Why did you come to China?
A: There are many reasons. First of all, I love the food here! It’s really delicious. Besides, I like the people here. I have many friends, and they are really friendly to me. When I had my concert, the audience was really excited; they shouted and applauded. We had so much fun. China is the best place I have been in the past five years. It’s really amazing. American fans are not as passionate as Chinese fans. My band may have more loyal fans in China than in the US. That’s why we come to China. I’m studying Chinese very hard, but I’m not really speaking Chinese fluently yet. I really want to develop my music career here in China. My fans bought my albums and tickets, etc. They did a lot for me; I want to do my best in return. I think if I just come to China to perform but stay in the US for the rest of the time, it is not fair to my fans. I think I should live in China, make friends with Chinese people, and study Chinese culture. These are very important to me. The members of my band are all Americans; they had never been to China before our performance here. Coming to China changed my life, the lives of my band members, and our music.
Q: When did you start to learn Chinese? Why do you want to learn Chinese?
A: I started to learn Chinese when I was fourteen. At that time, our family went to China for the first time. I wanted to know more about this country and its culture. Also, I think Chinese language is connected to music, because the tones of Chinese are so rhythmic.
Q: Could you recommend one of your songs to the Chinese fans?
A: I want to recommend “Closer”. “Closer” is one of my favorite songs because it has a beautiful melody and the lyrics of the song are close to our life. There is excitement and anxiety in any new relationship. I wrote this song in English, but I translated the refrain into Chinese because I think it sounds better in Chinese.
Q: How long will you stay in China?
A: I will have two performances in Wuxi after I’m done with school. Maybe in early July I will go back to the US. Then I’m going to Chengdu. Actually, this plan is tentative. I hope I can stay here longer.
Q: I don’t think I can find complete information about you. How can I find out more about you?
A: I have my own website: Jacksonwells.com. My friends and I translated it into Chinese.
From Jackson Wells’ answer, I can feel that he is crazy about music and he loves China and cares about his Chinese fans. Tomorrow at 16:00, Jackson Wells is waiting for you in Guangquaner Live. Let’s talk about music and China!