While Michael Jackson looked at the man in the mirror, what this Jackson saw instead was a 'demon'.
In an interview with Zaobao on Wednesday (Aug 10), Jackson Wang of Got7 fame admitted that it was a "struggle" to restrain himself from eating too much and gaining weight in Singapore.
"I really want to eat," the 28-year-old singer said. "So it's a constant struggle… when the food is delicious and I really want to eat it. But I know as soon as I finish it, the 'demon' in the mirror will appear."
Jackson arrived in Singapore last Tuesday for the ticketed Team Wang records (Human Remix) event that took place at the Marquee nightclub between Saturday 10pm and Sunday 6am last week.
He hosted and curated the event, which saw performances by Marquee's DJ Fvder, beatboxer Dharni as well as artists such as Laurie, Xenzu and Boytoy.
But Jackson's travels have also been marked by a distressing weight gain, he revealed to Zaobao in the interview.
Said Jackson: "When I woke up in the morning and was about to take a shower, I had to check on some work in my chat group via phone — some photos and videos [of myself]. I thought, 'Okay, not bad'.
"But when I put my phone down and looked in the mirror, I was shocked. It's a different guy in the mirror — not the guy in the photo or video."
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He explained that he had gone from 60kg to 64kg after his recent travels and had gotten "really fat and puffy".
"I get a shock looking at my reflection when looking in the mirror. [I go] 'Wow! Who is that?'"
Jackson added: "I haven't been running lately. I have to go for a run, there's no other way out."
Relatedly, a netizen recently encountered Jackson at a Singapore gym, sharing her experience on Xiaohongshu on Monday.
"Jackson looked at me and I looked at him for a few seconds before he continued running on the treadmill," she said.
The netizen stated that she had waited for Jackson to finish working out before approaching him for pictures. After she was done, Jackson continued to exercise.
Said the lucky woman: "There's a reason why he looks so good."
ALSO READ: Woman runs into Jackson Wang at Singapore gym: ‘I regret not wearing contact lenses and drawing my eyebrows’
khooyihang@asiaone.com