As Jackson Wang tried to catch his breath, he told the crowd at the Head In The Clouds Festival in Pasadena on Saturday, Aug. 5 that his set was intended to be a teaser of his Magic Man World Tour.
And by the time he left the stage, literally dragged off by his backing dancers, it had done exactly what any tease would: Left the audience wanting a whole lot more.
Wang headlined Saturday at the festival founded by the 88rising record label to showcase the best in Asian and Asian American music. But like so many more of the artists this year and in years past, that really just means showcasing fantastic music that happens to be made by people whose ethnic and cultural roots are Asian.
Great music is great music no matter where it comes from. And in Wang’s too-brief 10 songs over 35 minutes, it’s clear the Hong Kong-raised singer is a shining star today who’ll only burn brighter in years to come.
Wang opened his set with the 2020 single “100 Ways,” and followed that with the “Magic Man” tracks “Blow” and “Champagne Cool.” (If you want to sense of his artistic vision check on the video for “Blow” on YouTube).
The music mines a vein of alternative and synth rock. The production makes evident Wang’s past as a member of the K-pop group Got7, especially in the crisp dance choreography of Wang and eight fantastic backing dancers. As with many K-pop stars, Wang is an objectively beautiful man, his hair divided between bleached blond and black, his bright eyes popping amid the broad smudges of dark eyeliner that encircled them.
Other highlights of Wang’s performance included songs “Dopamine” and “Cheetah.” The finale of “Cruel” not only delivered one of the standout songs on “Magic Man,” but the wildest performance of the night. As Wang sang, the men and women in his dance crew tossed him back and forth like a pinball — like, no kidding, physically hard— knocking him to the ground several times until he collapsed in a…
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