Jesse McCartney Says the Philippines is the “Best Place In the World!”

"Philippines is the best place in the world!” Jesse McCartney screamed at the top of his lungs on Saturday night, during his first ever concert in Manila as the crowd screams for an encore. The pop sensation started touring in 2005- and the first-ever show of the singer in Manila finally happened this year. It brought kids from different generations to experience both Jesse’s old and brand new songs. It’s both a nostalgic and refreshing show as the singer took us to a trip down memory lane as well as introduced a couple of fresh tracks the general public hasn’t heard of.

The show was opened with an electronic beat, which Jesse later on added elements to using a beat pad live. It was a two-man show as the singer is accompanied by his long-time guitarist Dory Lobel for the entire show. The opening songs were hits “She’s No You”, “Leavin’”, “How Do You Sleep”, and brand new songs “Selfless” & “Soul”.

Fans screamed out of nostalgia when Jesse started singing the first lyrics of “Just So You Know”, as well as “Because You Live”, and “Anybody”. One highlight of the night, especially for the lucky fangirl picked, was when Jesse serenaded a fan with “The Stupid Things”, a cover originally by Robin Thicke. The singer had moments with a fan wherein he knelt in front of the lucky fan, rested his head on the lap of the fan, plus offered a hug before leading her down the stage.

The singer continued on and performed his version of “Bleeding Love”, which he co-wrote for Leona Lewis. He also performed “Body Language”, as well as title track of his sophomore album “Right Where You Want Me”.  Jesse then shared the story of how his fans got him back to record songs again, before performing “Better with You”, which got him back to producing more music and to touring. He made fans dance along to “Shake”, and sing along to “Wasted”, his latest single.

Before saying goodbye, the singer expressed how good he feels performing for Manila, and even expressed how badly he would want to come back. It wasn’t an entirely sold out show (just the balcony area), but it was still packed of fans who sang along to the lyrics the entire night, making the singer feel at home in Manila. One humbling moment is when the singer said how he misses the fans. He definitely felt the warmth of Filipino fans as they were indeed all-out during the show. The show ended with “Beautiful Soul”.

As someone who’s been in the music industry since the late 90s, it’s humbling to see how an artist as big as Jesse McCartney can put on this show and make fans feel at home with him. Manila is not only craving for more Jesse, we felt Jesse also want to experience more of our warmth; just by the way he thanked fans that night, even saying our country is the best place in the world. He assured fans that he will always try to come back in the years to come, and we’re sure his loyal fans will still be there to sing along to both his old and new songs.

Thank you to RandomMinds for this opportunity.

Written by: Gelo de Vera

Photos by: Caren Guidaga and Christine Lloraine Dela Cruz