'MANILA WAS INSANE.' Hong Kong-born singer and rapper Jackson Wang runs around the Araneta Coliseum, making sure he gets to party with hundreds of fans during the Manila leg of his 'Magic Man 2' world tour on Sunday, November 2, 2025. Photo from Jackson Wang's Instagram
Forget the traditional pop concert. Jackson Wang's Manila show was a sensory overload of theatricality, as he stripped away the idol facade, then instantly flipped the switch to ignite a giant, frenzied party.
This was how Jackson brought his "Magic Man 2 World Tour" to the Philippines on Sunday, marking his first solo concert in the country.
The singer-songwriter opened with a dramatic aerial choreography as fireworks engulfed the stage, launching into "Hate to Love." The performance set not just the mood, but the emotional trajectory of the entire two-and-a-half-hour show.
Most of the night's setlist drew from his third full-length album "Magic Man 2," which explores four stages of grief through its four chapters.
READ: Jackson Wang's 'Magicman 2' sets Billboard 200 record
The concert, presented by iMe Philippines, mirrored this structure. Four acts, excluding the encore, stitched together a narrative of struggle, seduction, unraveling, and eventual self-acceptance.
From the highly theatrical choreography that saw Jackson attempting to escape from his ensemble of performers to a gritty close-up montage of his face that showed him agonizing and silently screaming — every tiny detail was curated to serve the story he was trying to tell.
The first act featured "Access," "Hate to Love," "Closer" as well as unreleased tracks “Shadows on the Wall” and "Contact" — songs that wrestle with control, boundaries and identity.
Jackson Wang strips to his core during his 'Magic Man 2' concert in Manila, showing vulnerability through his heartfelt songs.
Transitioning from one act to another, the multi-hyphenate used elaborate cinematic videos to shift the mood of the stage.
The next part grew somber. Songs that evoked contemplation and desolation, like "Not For Me," "Blue," and "Everything" dominated the performance.
Even the clothes he wore and the stage lights spoke of the same themes. Clad in full white outfit with buckled straps, Jackson stood quietly at the center stage as deep blue lights flooded the stage with only a faint white spotlight to illuminate him.
"Thank you so much guys for coming to my show, for giving the time and effort to listen to my story," he said.
The third act snapped back with intensity. Heavy beats, sharp movement, and hip-hop swagger, serving as reminders of his decade-long roots of being a pop idol. The GOT7 main rapper and lead dancer fired through "Buck," "Let Loose," "Titanic," and "GBAD."
READ: GOT7 say new EP shows members’ ‘distinctive musical colors’
But it was in the fourth act that Jackson opened up fully.
Through a video that showed snippets of his struggles as an artist, he delivered a monologue that spoke of grief and his journey to finding his true self.
He recounted how he took a full-year break to ask "difficult questions" about his artistry and the kind of person he wants to show the world.
"All my life I've been telling others 'find your magic, find your happiness.' But the truth is I've never found mine. Everytime when I say it, it felt like I was teling myself that," he said.
"I didn't know what everything means to me anymore. Am I the Jackson Wang that that people know of? Or am I me? So what am I? I took the time to ask questions that I never had the time to think of."
He then shared how his album "Magic Man 2" emerged from honest contemplation of himself.
"I created this album not as an artist, not as a product, but as a human, as me. I wanted to share my thoughts with everyone for once before it's too late -- as a friend, family, as a partner, and as someone that cares about you all."
Jackson Wang faces a childhood photo of himself with his parents during one of the most emotional moments from his 'Magic Man 2' concert in Manila.
And so for one of his final songs of the night, Jackson turned his back from the audience, and while facing his childhood photo with him in between his mother and father, he belted out a heartfelt rendition of "Dear:."
The song was mostly in Chinese, a clear nod to his ancestry.
"Mama, don't let them take me down. Baba, I hope I made you proud," he sang.
A RAVE AT THE BIG DOME
But the night wasn't just heavy emotion. He made sure to remind "Jackys" and "Ahgase" how he can turn, not just the concert stage, on fire, but even an entire stadium.
The Big Dome erupted into a giant party scene as Jackson made his way around the audience, dancing and singing along with fans.
"Manila has crazy energy," he said.
Celebrities including Anne Curtis, Darren Espanto, Cassy Legaspi, Miki of BGYO, and HORI7ON members Kyler and Reyster were spotted among the ecstatic crowd.
Some lucky fans join Jackson Wang on stage for a steamy performance during the Manila leg of his 'Magic Man 2' world tour.
Meanwhile, some fans became the envy of that night's concert-goers, as they joined Jackson and his squad for a steamy number on stage.
By the end of the night, more fans were invited on stage as Jackson continued the party atmosphere that had all the fans jumping and screaming with full-throttle energy.
As he bid his fans farewell, once again, he expressed his hope that beyond the fun experience of his concert, he wants everyone to take on the lesson of his story and always stay true to one's self.
"I'm just one artist out of millions of artist. I'm blessed that I can have this opportunity to share my story. That's why I kept saying thank you, thank you, for coming here, giving the time and effort to listen to my story," he said.
"Feeling not okay is okay. Why the f*** do we have to feel okay all the time? That's why I'm saying 'live the magic.' Whatever happened to you, good and bad, it made who you are today."
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