“Here in Singapore, it really feels like summer forever,” said Megan Nicole. With that plug of her latest single “Summer Forever” (which charted within the iTunes Top 10 in Singapore), she kicked off her first world tour right here at the Shine Auditorium on Nov 15.

Fans here had reason to feel mighty special as the 19-year-old performed unreleased original tracks from her upcoming debut album live for the first time, which is not to say that familiarity wasn’t appreciated by the 400-strong crowd ranging from teenagers to parents. The YouTube star got her well-balanced set list of both originals and pop covers started with The Wanted’s“Glad You Came”

“We’re only into the first song and you guys are getting me all emotional,” said the visibly pleased performer dressed in a black blouse and a white ballet tutu. That heartfelt remark undoubtedly made concertgoers glad that they spent their Friday night at this stripped-down yet entertaining set.

Having collaborated and toured with YouTube giants Boyce Avenue(who will be playing a full show here next week) and with over 400 million views on her channel, the young singer-song writer was more than ready to flaunt her unmistakable talent on stage with a touring guitarist and drummer.

Responding to almost every shout of “I love you”, with “I love you too”, the charismatic brunette teased fans with occasional winks and waves. Her confident grooves, though largely similar to Taylor Swift’s, still offered a tinge of originality. This was especially obvious when she swayed from side to side with both hands on her hips during her rendition of Swift’s hit, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”.

A musician as much a singer, Nicole was in her element strumming on her acoustic guitar, and getting everyone bopping along to her infectious tom-beats during her cover of Lorde’s “Royals”.

What really surprised the crowd though, was her mash-up of Ke$ha’s“Die Young” and Taio Cruz’s“Dynamite” when she cleverly switched the tempo from her acoustic version of the former song which really got fans singing along and throwing their hands up in the air.

A similar response was gathered when Nicole stopped her band midway during Justin Bieber’s“Baby” to get every person in the room involved in the “oh” sing along session. “To the guys out there, it’ll be a secret that you sang along to Justin Bieber tonight,” she said conspiratorially.

And sure enough, there were many closet “Beliebers” in the house.

As promised earlier in her approximately 75-minute set, the Interscope Records/Badboy Records artist got 7 lucky fans upstage to help out with Maroon 5’s“This Love”, and that was probably the highlight of the show – at least for the 7 who also got an exclusive hug from her. The seasoned performer was quick to get back into the song when she forgot the lyrics in the second verse of that number.

The good parts weren’t over just yet; the crowd enjoyed itself volleying beach balls in the air as she sang the first few lines of her highly successful single “Summer Forever”. Who said you can’t have a summer vibe during a mid-November night in an air-conditioned auditorium?

It was impossible to keep fans seated when she requested for the space in front of the stage to be filled during Nicki Minaj’s“Starships”, the last official song of the night. Of course, like in every other gig, chants for an encore or “one more song” were always granted.

If you were 1 of the people who gave the music video of her first original song “B-e-a-utiful” its 17 million views, that might just have been the word you’d have used to sum up the performance.

Photos courtesy of Sprout Entertainment