j-hope poured his blood, sweat and tears into his solo project Jack In The Box. However, despite all his efforts, the first steps were rough.

In his latest interview with W Korea, he talked about the most difficult stages of the album making process. It shows how hard j-hope really works!

It seems that when focusing on working on solo albums, the members have to spend a lot of effort and spirit. Under pressure and demanding creative spirit, j-hope shared that during the time of composing the album, he seemed to have exhausted his spirit.

When asked about the year he's been working on music, he describes that he's fallen into such a severe slump that he “had a meltdown.” The cause of his suffering was the fact that he faced rejection from album producers. He asked them to listen to a few of his songs, but unfortunately, they weren't interested in what they heard.

j-hope said that: "Um… I had a meltdown around that time. I played a few works for my solo album to the producers I know. And their reaction was not what I expected."

But j-hope is really a persistent and optimistic member - as his name suggests. He didn't let rejection bruise his pride and make him lose motivation to release a great album. With a new mindset, he got back to work…and the rest is history.

He revealed that: "But you know what’s funny though? I got more creative doing a fresh start. I erased them all, and it just cleared my mind. I do not avoid challenges and slumps. I am the kind of person who encounters and overcomes it. Like, ‘Let’s just do it’. <Jack In The Box> actually walks through the journey."

When asked what he would do if the album wasn't well received, he said he would ask himself some questions about his attitude. He'll want to understand what he's missing in order to improve it a second time around. It just shows that he's not afraid to face failure and that he constantly wants to be better than he was yesterday!

In particular, j-hope had previously said that he could choose to perform in front of ARMYs who are familiar with him but instead, he chose to perform his first solo at Lollapalooza - in front of strangers who are familiar with him. You may or may not like him but it is a test to see if he is accepted or not and he is ready for the bad things.

j-hope's positive attitude towards challenges and failures — not to mention the way he accepts feedback professionally — must be why he's as successful as he is today. Jack In The Box is definitely another addition to his long list of accomplishments.