True to its namesake, Thriller – Live was indeed a riveting production, consisting of 33 of the greatest hits of the late Michael Jackson, performed back-to-back by a stellar cast flown in from London’s West End.

The 2-hour show, held at the Marina Bay Sands, was delivered through outstanding vocals and impressive dance moves. So impeccably accurate was the performance put up by the cast, that they could almost be mistaken for lip-syncing.

Realistic vocal imitations and splendid choreography - this was what Thriller - Live was made of.

Kicking off the night with the hard-hitting opening number, Jam, the show started out with a Broadway-musical feel, but almost instantly grabbed the attention of the audience with its contagiously-high energy.

Taking the audience on a journey through the King of Pop’s career from start to finish, the casts re-enactment of the Jackson 5’s hits like ‘ABC’, ‘I Want You Back’, and ‘I’ll Be There’, complete with afros and tight white bell-bottoms, brought about a sense of nostalgia baby-boomers in the crowd would vividly remember.

The change of lead vocalists in each segment became apparent as the performance transitioned from one era to the next. Songs like ‘Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)’ and ‘Blame It On The Boogie’ saw the addition of an array of dancers and backing vocalists clad in neon-coloured sweat suits, tube socks and headbands that reinforced its retro feel.

From where it all started - songs by the Jackson 5 made it to the set list, combining old with new.

However, not every song had the audience tapping their toes, as 19-year-old Alex Buchanan took center stage with his rendition of MJ’s 1980 ballad, ‘She’s Out Of My Life’. At first glance, Buchanan seem to give off a cookie-cutter boy band vibe with his boyish and lanky look, but this was soon dispelled with his emotional, well-controlled vocals and a tender falsetto that left the audience in awed silence.

19-year-old Alex Buchanan (right) was the heartthrob among teenaged girls, receiving the most swoons during the 2-hour show..

Giving the show a little extra spice, female vocalist Brittany Woodrew’s powerful vocals were greatly refreshing, especially in duets with the rest of the cast and most notably, here doubling up as Siedah Garrett in ‘I Just Can’t Stop Loving You’. Singles from the 1984 Thriller album, like ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Something’ and ‘P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)’ got the crowd clapping and nodding to the beat.

Tarnya Neil, the most powerful female vocalist of the night.

But it was the seemingly impossibly anti-gravity lean depicted in ‘Smooth Criminal’ that had the whole theatre up on their feet. Backed by a full live band, the dancers’ replication of Jackson’s famous move, made possible by special shoes invented by the King of Pop himself, was certainly the moment the audience had anticipated.

The anti-gravity lean, a Wizard of Oz-inspired move, replicated onstage for the night.

Alex returned once more to perform the legendary pop rock number ‘Beat It’, a performance that was certainly one of the highlights of the evening. Accompanied with a note-for-note replication of Eddie Van Halen’s guitar solo, the choreography fully emanated the exact aura of MJ’s music video, with moonwalks, leans, and MJ’s signature pelvic thrusts. Also singing ‘Dirty Diana’, Buchanan left the audience, especially a group of a dozen girls in the front row, cheering for more.

Crowd favourite Alex Buchanan shares the stage with the lead guitarist, whose finger-tapping solo matched Eddie Van Halen's note for note.

A particular treat was 14-year-old Tariq Wooding-Olajorin. Playing the part of young Michael, he won the hearts of the audience the moment the first words of the classic Jackson 5 songs left his mouth. The crowd’s approval towards him was evident, as after making his return on stage for Jackson’s environment-conscious anthem ‘Heal the World’, he received a standing ovation – an ‘A’ for effort in the prepubescent boy’s attempt to delve deep into the low notes of the song.

14-year-old Tariq Wooding-Olajorin was the youngest member of the cast for the night.

Finally, the military jacket-clad cast filed onstage, and launched into the most highly anticipated segment of the evening, performing all of MJ’s biggest hits like ‘Billie Jean’, ‘Bad’ and of course, ‘Thriller’, before ending off with a heart-warming rendition of ‘Black or White’. The end of the show saw the majority of the audience on their feet and dancing, while singing along with the cast.

Rapturous applause ensued even after the end of the show, indicating the crowd's approval towards the cast and production of Triller - Live!

Thriller – Live proved to be a fun, energetic showcase of Michael Jackson’s life’s work, one that even the most loyal of MJ fans would approve of. The performance definitely does the king of pop, rock and soul justice. In prefect memory of the legend, Thriller – Live carries on his late majesty’s legacy to the generations that will forever miss him.

Urbanwire meets up with the cast and find out more about the company themselves, click here to find out more.

Thriller – Live runs from May 3 to May 15. For more information, log on to Marina Bay Sands Singapore.

Additional reporting by Tiffany Sandasegaran, Tan DingXiang and Cheryl Tan.

Photography courtesy of Tan DingXiang (UrbanWire) and Tay Wan Lin (Klix Photography).