Jackson Wang has spent over a decade moving at full speed — performing, collaborating, and creating across the worlds of music, fashion, and beyond. But even for a global star, there comes a moment when you need to hit pause.
In 2024, Jackson finally took the well-deserved break he needed, and for the first time, slowed down. He spent his year off catching up with friends and family, finding himself, and reconnecting with music at his own pace. Away from the spotlight, he fought through the shadows of his mind and the chaos of public life; and in the stillness, he created MAGICMAN 2.
A follow-up to the intricate MAGIC MAN from 2022, it retells his journey of finding the light at the end of a long, dark, and winding tunnel. Written and produced entirely by Jackson himself, the album sees the global icon at his most vulnerable, revealing all that he found and discovered during his year of self-reflection and discovery.
Photographed by Ennuh Tiu. On Jackson: Padded bomber jacket and trousers from Patton
“If it was like, ‘Hey, I want to have a hit’ or ‘I want to get on the Hot 100,’ then I would be making songs about, like, I don’t know… Candy Crush. It doesn’t have to mean something to me, you know?” Jackson explains, in an exclusive interview with Billboard Philippines. “Right now, it’s just not something that I want to do, not just as an artist but as a person. That’s the whole point of this album.”
He continues, opening up about his pursuit of complete authenticity in his music: “I think moving forward, I just want to make something that’s real to me. Even if I’m making a song about candies, right, or about bananas, it must mean something to me,” he says. “I mean, it can’t just be, ‘Hey, this is a good song, you should just record it.’ I don’t want to do that anymore.”
As he begins a new chapter defined not by concepts or characters, but by himself, Jackson openly embraces the unknown. He says it simply: “MAGIC MAN is done. Now it’s just… Jackson Wang.”
Read the full November 2025 Digital Cover here.
Billboard Philippines November 2025 Digital Cover.
Photographed by Ennuh Tiu. Creative and Fashion Direction by Daryl Chang. Art Direction by Gelo Quijencio and Alannah Mitra. Styling by Bettina Banez. Assisted by Mel Estillore. Tailoring by Nina Amoncio and Patch Amoncio. Makeup by HONG Eunjae. Hair by LEE Han. Photography assisted by Rojan Maguyon and Popoy Obales. Shot at Presidential Suite of the Dusit Thani Manila. Shoot Coordination by Liezel Restauro.
Written by Franchesca Basbas. Billboard Philippines, November 2025.
Special thanks to TEAM WANG and PUBLICITYASIA.