Indianapolis native Trevor Jackson has the “it factor,” that special combination of charm and skill that superstars are made of.
The 17-year-old triple-threat visited Indy last weekend where he thrilled Women’s Empowerment Series attendees with a high-energy performance of his single “Drop It Off” from his debut EP “New Thang.”
Jackson, who got his big break as Young Simba in a traveling production of the hit Tony award-winning Broadway musical “The Lion King,” said that belief has been the foundation of his drive to follow his dreams.
From “Lion King,” Jackson went on to appear in several television projects including the No. 1 rated Disney Channel film “Let It Shine,” where he starred alongside Tyler James Williams of the popular sitcom “Everybody Hates Chris.”
“I feel like I’ve always known that anything is possible,” said Jackson, who admits that working in the industry has forced him to mature quickly and continue to progress despite obstacles and naysayers.
“The most important thing is having love for what I’m doing. That gets me through every up and down and every roadblock,” said Jackson. “You have to do what you love and do it with love.”
Jackson’s love for creating and performing has gotten him recognized by MTV’s Buzzworthy Blog as well as Pepsi.com, which featured him in its Pulse on Who’s Next list of music’s hottest up-and-comers.
Jackson said that recording his first EP was an “amazing” experience. “At first, I didn’t even want to put an EP out,” said Jackson who shared that the fans’ desire for music prompted the choice to release the project. “I felt so bad because we had all these records so I was like, ‘Yo, let’s just put these out; let’s give them something.’”
Following the success of “New Thang,” Jackson is preparing to bless music lovers with his yet untitled full-length debut album. When asked to describe his sound, the singer said that his goal is to create a listening experience that supersedes the boundaries of R&B, hip-hop, and other categories.
“I want to venture to be genre-less. I feel like everyone is put into a box – I want to eventually break that wall down,” said Jackson. “There are always going to be people that don’t like your music, but I want to make world music. I feel like pop music is whatever’s popular at the time, and I want to make world music popular. I just want to make really great records.”
Jackson said fans can expect to see growth on this project as he focused on creating something that was cohesive and a true reflection of his unique artistry. “I wanted to refrain from having an album full of singles, I wanted to show my diversity – I want people to put this album on and just escape. That’s what entertainment is about and I feel like that’s been missing. I’m hoping to bring some of that back.”
For more on Trevor Jackson, visit officialtrevorjackson.com.
