KUALA LUMPUR: Temperatures soared in Stadium Merdeka last night as American superstar Jennifer Lopez performed a sizzling show in her first-ever concert in Malaysia.

Entitled the Dance Again World Tour, the Malaysian stop of the concert drew a crowd of at least 20,000. For the many fans who have followed Lopez’s almost 15-year-long career, it has been a long time coming.

Featuring several themes — including old Hollywood glamour, a boxing ring-themed set and a party finale — the 43-year old Latin diva sang hit after hit accompanied by dazzling choreography and her troop of dancers.

Co-directed by current boyfriend, choreographer Casper Smart, and much sought-after creative director Jamie King (who has directed concerts for Madonna, Britney Spears, Michael Jackson), the world tour is Lopez’s debut headlining tour, which she embarked on right after leaving her role as judge on the hit reality-TV series American Idol.

Coming off the release of her first greatest hits album Dance Again … the Hits, a compilation of top songs spanning nine albums, fans were treated to a long list of hits ranging from her late 1990s hip-hop influenced tracks to her more current dance hits.

Opening with smartly dressed dancers doing a Broadway routine with canes — with a video featuring her singing Never Gonna Give Up — Lopez soon appeared on stage to deafening cheers by the crowd. She then launched into an energetic rendition of Get Right before quickly moving into a sassy performance of fan favourite Love Don’t Cost A Thing.

Other hits then quickly followed, including older tracks I’m Real, All I Have, Ain’t It Funny and the anthem-like Jenny From The Block. Newer hits such as Loubotins and Goin’ In were not left out.

The charismatic Lopez put on an exhilarating and highly energetic show throughout, not forgetting to interact with her fans along the way. She asked how everyone was feeling and said she was in Malaysia to have a good time. Lopez then asked “Do we care about the rain? and the crowd replied with a deafening “No!”

She went on to sing an acoustic version of her No 1 hit If You Had My love and Until It Beats No More.

The finale saw the atmosphere and crowd excitement truly take off. The sultry entertainer performed one of her greatest hits, Let’s Get Loud. By the time she sang Dance Again, her last song for the night, the crowd was thoroughly entertained and left wanting more.

Spanning more than 45 cities with a reported 53 shows, most performances of the Dance Again World Tour sold out, with positive reviews all round.

Lopez will perform next in Singapore tomorrow — the final show of the Asian leg — before taking her tour to five cities in Australia. The Malaysian stop of the Dance Again World Tour was co-sponsored by fz.com and Celcom.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on Dec 3, 2012.