Featured image by Simon Emmett courtesy of Wilbros Live.
MANILA, Philippines — Fresh off a recent track drop that ushers in a new era, the multi-awarded and platinum-selling Irish band, THE SCRIPT makes a return to Manila with the group’s “MAN IN THE ARENA TOUR”.
Slated for March 18, 2027 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, presented by Wilbros Live with Midas Promotions, the group is making their Philippine stop, bannering the new single “Man In The Arena,” the first taste of their new album “The User’s Guide To Being Human” which is then slated for release on August 14, 2026.
With over 14 billion streams, 5 million album sales, six UK #1 albums and countless international Platinum certifications led by two US Platinum singles and two US Top 10 albums. With this string of releases and concert dates, The Script will then follow the album with a UK and Ireland arena tour which starts in October, with further global touring also confirmed.
Image by Simon Emmett courtesy of Wilbros Live.
“The User’s Guide To Being Human” is the band’s follow up to 2024’s “Satellites”. It was a record that saw vocalist Danny O’Donoghue attempt to process the grief that followed the tragic passing of his bandmate and friend Mark Sheehan in 2023.
The record was followed by a global arena tour in which every show paid tribute to Mark. After the tour ended, O’Donoghue found himself energized and inspired. Within a week of finishing, he was writing and recording new material with Andrew Frampton, Steve Kipner and Jimbo Barry, who between them had previously contributed to many of The Script’s huge hits, including “Hall Of Fame”, “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved”, and “Breakeven”.
Recorded in Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles, the result is an album in which Danny has established a powerful sense of purpose and direction for the next stage of the band, full of the real, emotional, soul-deep connection that their fans have come to love.
The lead vocalist says, “The title is what this album is about. If you need something to remind you of the spectrum of feelings and emotions that make you feel human, this is it.”
The skyscraping ambition of “Man In The Arena” lives up to its title, with a hard-hitting R&B groove suddenly bursting into a classic Script mega-chorus built for the biggest of stages: with O’Donoghue’s typically charismatic vocals and lyrics that affirm that the person who dares to put themselves in the spotlight is infinitely braver than anyone who criticizes from the sidelines.
Its lyrics are taken, in part, from a famous speech by American President Theodore Roosevelt.
He explains, “He talks about how honors don’t belong to the critics. They don’t belong to the people sitting on the couch, laughing at the person in the ring stumbling and falling around. The honors belong to the one who gets in there and whose face is marred with dust and blood. I remember reading it and being like: that needs to be in a tune, the energy in it is beautiful.”
Official tour artwork courtesy of Wilbros Live.
Tickets for the return of The Script in Manila for their upcoming “Man In the Arena” Tour is set to go on-sale on Friday, May 29, 9:30AM via SMTickets.com and SM Tickets outlets nationwide.
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