[NYOTA
MAGAZINE]
STAR POWER
Jack Fowler Volume 35
from the editor HELLO THERE, READER! In this Star Power issue, we got to chat with Jack Fowler, who gained recognition after being in the popular series Love Island and who is now solidifying himself as an up-and-coming DJ to watch. As usual, I hope you enjoy reading the issue and that it inspires you to go after your dreams.
YOURS TRULY, Carol Wright EDITOR IN CHIEF @_CAROL_WRIGHT
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contents 1. Editor's Letter 3. Get to Know Jack
4. Jack's Playlist
5. Star Power: Jack Fowler
9. Jack's Top Picks
Follow us @nyotamagazine
#StarPower
GET TO KNOW
Jack
Can cook real good Jerk Chicken, Curry goat & rice and peas
Flew two planes when with the Air Training Corp I'm from one of the most remote islands in the world, called St. Helena. Located in the South Atlantic Ocean it has a population of around 7,000 people.
Performed At Soho Theatre with the Nation Youth Theatre
Met and had a drink with Drake at the Rosewood Hotel 3
#NyotaMusic
Jack's Playlist Stevie Wonder // Isn't She Lovely
Marvin Gaye // I Want You
Teddy Pendergrass // When Somebody Loves
you Back
Bob Marley
// Could You Be Loved
Drake //
HYFR
Chris Brown// Yo!
Kanye West // All Falls Down
Craig David // 7 Days
Gunna // Pushin P
Skrapz // One More Chance Freestyle
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#StarPower
#StarPower
Jack Fowler Interview by Carol Wright | Photographer: Kirk Newmann
Jack Fowler, one of the breakout stars from Love Island, is transitioning from reality television star to musician. After signing with Island Records and coming out with his single "Foolish," Fowler is set to take over the airwaves. He talked to NYOTA about the role music has played in his life, collaborating with fashion brands, and his advice for aspiring musicians.
Growing up, was music a large part of your life? Yeah massively. I was brought up a lot in soul music, a lot of Motown, and reggae. And I've always had a kind of rich flavor for music, maybe a bit different from the average six, seven, eight-year-old in school because obviously, you wouldn't typically listen to Marvin Gaye and Luther Vandross at that age, but I was. So music was a big part of growing up. I enjoyed being on stage. I was very much in musical shows and theatre and stuff like that. So music has always been a big part of my life. Signing with Island records must have been a life-changing moment. What have you learned from working with the team there? Island Records are such a good team. I mean, they've really, really helped me, they've looked after me, they've nurtured me as well, as an artist, and as a new artist, really, because there's a lot of things that I want to do and there are things I need to learn. And we have frequent meetings and strategies to capitalize on what we're doing. And I'm just really grateful to Island because they are a big machine, and we have a great target to hit, and we're aiming towards it.
Tell our readers about your single “Foolish.” What inspired the lyrics? We wanted to come with a summer vibe, you know, everyone was in lockdown, obviously. We wanted it to be something that people listened to, had fun with, and vibed with. It was very vibrant with the music videos, very summery, and the lyrics. I wrote the lyrics, and I think people make mistakes in any relationship, not just boyfriend or girlfriend, but your friendship group and your family group. So, you know, you make mistakes, and sometimes you're a fool, and that's just life. I think making a song that can cater to not just the teenagers but 30year-olds, 40-year-olds, and 50-year-olds because everyone throughout life makes mistakes, so that was the thought process behind that one.
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#StarPower
Last year you became an ambassador for the brand I Saw It First. What was it like collaborating with the company and stepping into the realm of fashion and modeling? Yeah, I mean, when you come off such a big show, there are a lot of brands that want to be a part of you, and for me, it was very much overwhelming. We wanted to choose things that were not everything. I didn't want to be a part of everything all the time. I wanted to be very particular with what I chose, and having that collection come out of it first was a great opportunity, and we took it. Moving forward, I'd like to push towards more of the high-end fashion and the high-end magazine covers and spreads. I've done a lot of influencing, as it were, with the platform I have and fast fashion brands; they're great, but I would like to, for now, try and step away from the cycle of fast fashion and step more into the high fashion world Do you hope to do more fashion-centered collaborations in the future? Who knows? I have no real ambition at the moment to start my own brand, but we have had talks about it. In the future, it could happen but having a brand - if I were to do that. I'd want to be very much involved. I wouldn't want to just be the face. So I'm very aware that it will take time and it will take a lot of dedication, and when I do something, I'd like to do it properly. At the moment, I just haven't got time, not with my DJ sets and being up and down the country. I'm being booked in Europe now in the summer and just doing a lot of things around the music. So that, for me, at the moment, is my main focus.
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"Sometimes, when you focus so heavily on where you want to be. You actually miss all the learning that you're doing to get there."
#StarPower You were on the popular series Love Island and that of course has led to you becoming a recognizable figure online. Due to your time on the show has it been difficult to be seen as solely a musician? I definitely had a great reception to "Foolish." I mean, that was amazing. Having that kind of feedback was really uplifting, and I think it really made me feel like I can do this, and I will do this. Definitely do find it difficult sometimes to step away from the light of Love Island, and that's no disrespect to Love Island. I mean, listen, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing right now, well, I might be doing what I'm doing right now, but it would be a different kind of journey without Love Island. So, I have a lot of respect for Love Island and reality TV, but I think you have to step away from that to be taken more seriously as an artist. So, for me, it's more about not really doing any more reality TV. I enjoyed it, I loved it, I have some great memories and made some great friends, but music and DJing are where my future is.
How did being on the show help you learn to navigate the highs and lows of being a public figure? Being in front of a camera from such a young age, being on stage, even just learning scripts and learning how to be in front of a camera, your angles. I think that definitely played a part in what I'm doing now. Coming out of Love Island, there was nothing anyone could have said or done to prepare me for what I came up to because it was unbelievable. You literally go in there, and you're just Jack from East London, and then come out, and it's like the whole of the UK knows me. I even went to LA, I even went to Miami, and I went to Vegas. I was getting noticed out there because I think you guys [Americans] must have Hulu. It was so weird for me because I was just like, this is so strange. Like a year before, I was just Jack being a personal trainer, and now I'm having people come up to me and take pictures and stuff in LA. So no one can prepare you for that. What advice do you have for aspiring musicians? I'd say focus on not the end goal. Like have the goal, but don't focus purely on that. Focus on taking one step at a time, one step at a time, one step at a time because sometimes, when you focus so heavily on where you want to be. You actually miss all the learning that you're doing to get there, and that learning, that part of that kind of journey of getting to where you want to be, is so important to your overall career. So yeah, you want to be charting and top album and number one in the charts, yeah brilliant. Still, you know, focus on one session at a time, one studio session at a time, one writing camp at a time, and learn that you can never stop learning, and even when you get to your goal, and you win your goal, you can still be learning.
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#StarPower
#StarPower
Jack's Top Picks Fashion Trend: Oversized T's, Jeans & fresh Jordans / Smart Boss suit, crisp white shirt & Shiny black shoes.
Book: 100 Things Successful People Do - Little exercises for successful living, by Nigel Cumberland
TV Show: My Wife and Kids, Fresh Prince of Bel-air, Friends & Gogglebox
Movie: Hitch - Will Smith (I know every single word - this film is where I learnt how to be smooth with the ladies 😉 ) 10
NYOTA Magazine STAR POWER TEAM EDITOR IN CHIEF GRAPHIC DESIGNER
CAROL WRIGHT
WWW.ISSUU.COM/NYOTAMAGAZINE
CAROL WRIGHT
HTTP://NYOTAMAGAZINE.COM
COVER DJ
Jack Fowler
CONTRIBUTORS PHOTOGRAPHER
PUBLISHING
Kirk Newmann
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