If you’ve been a following Jackson Wang (王嘉爾), then you must know that the musician has been focusing solely on his solo activities under his own record label Team Wang, after deciding not to renew his contract with JYP Entertainment.
In a surprise announcement posted on his Instagram earlier this week, Jackson had officially unveiled the formation of the project group under his label called PANTHEPACK. Not only that, it was also revealed that the GOT7 member has joined forces with some of the biggest names in Chinese music!
So why the name PANTHEPACK? As stated by the label, they chose the name because it sounds like the word “panda”, in addition to the fact that the animal is representative of China. Turns out, the co-ed group had “quietly” made their official debut earlier this year with the singles “DNA” and “Transmit” – which were released back in April and May respectively.
“I didn’t want to push it and to have it exposed before our announcement. We just thought it would be interesting to throw songs out,” Jackson clarified to NME. The idol also noted that fans might have “low-key” known about the group members’ involvement in the project. He said, “It’s kinda like a puzzle for the audience to find out, like, ‘Oh, what is this about?’ and being curious about it.”
For those who are interested, we’ve compiled some fun facts on the remaining members of PANTHEPACK. Check it out:
1. ICE
- Real name: Yang Chang Qing (杨常青)
- Birth date: 14th May 1996 (Age 25)
- He participated in the second season of “The Rap Of China” in 2018.
2. Karencici
- Real name: Lin Kai Lun (林愷倫)
- Birth date: 12th January 1998 (Age 23)
- She won “Best R&B Single” at The 10th Golden Music Creation Awards in 2019.
- Despite joining PANTHEPACK, she will still remain under the management of HIM International Music Inc.
3. J.Sheon
- Birth date: 24th December 1985 (Age 35)
- He won the Billboard Radio China Top New Artist Awards 2017.
- He rose to fame after a Mandarin cover of Charlie Puth’s hit song “See You Again” went viral back in 2015.
- When asked about the group’s goals, J.Sheon shared that their main focus is to become “the next wave”, while not being confined by the usual broad genre classification that’s often associated with other artistes and musicians.
Take a listen to their latest song “Buzz” here:
Sources: Jayne Stars, NME.
