On Saturday night, A-List performers from the UK and America came together to celebrate the life of Michael Jackson, in a one-off concert at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

The concert, featuring performances by chart-topper Christina Aguilera and Motown legend Smokey Robinson, was founded by Michael’s mother Katherine Jackson saying that “this event will be an event great enough in scale, talent and imagination to form a worthy celebration of Michael's life”.

Although the event drew worldwide interest, it was largely criticised due to the continuing trial into Michael Jackson’s death taking place within weeks of the concert. Michael’s siblings, Jermaine, Randy and Janet Jackson, publicly stated that they will not be supporting the event for this reason, and caused ticket sales to be relatively lower than expected.  As the date of the event drew closer and headline acts such as The Black Eyed Peas and Jennifer Hudson began to drop out, it was unknown as to whether the show would go ahead as planned.

Nevertheless, on the night, the event proved to be nothing short of a success. From RnB singer Ne-Yo’s rendition of Jackson’s “Billie Jean” opening the show, to soul singer Yolanda Adams’ emotional cover of “The Earth Song”, one-by-one the performers paid their tributes to the ‘King of Pop’. The concert also featured an appearance by Jackson’s children; Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket who thanked everyone for their support, and a performance from 3 of The Jackson Brothers.

However, the show was stolen by 2008 X Factor winner Alexandra Burke who was the last act to take to the stage, belting out the classic “Who’s Loving You” and the original Michael/Janet duet “Scream”, complete with intense choreography and impressive pyrotechnics, making it one of the most well-received performances of the night. 

The show is set to be broadcast on Sky Arts on 15^th October.

(Photo courtesy of www.alexandra-burke.us)