One of the biggest music events of the year, MTV World Stage, was recently held at i-City, Shah Alam in Malaysia.

MTV VJs Utt and Holly kick-started the event, welcoming thousands of fans to MTV Asia’s 2011 headliner. The night played out with world-class acts taking to the stage and performing to a venue-full of zealous Malaysian fans. 

With a bit of an introduction and chit-chat between MTV VJs Utt and Holly, the already excitable crowd was given a further nudge to take their happy anxieties one notch higher in welcoming the night’s first perfomer – Malaysian Hip-Hop/Rock group, Pop-Shuvit.

Although it was a first, listening to some of the music from neighbouring Malaysia, the girls at kourier have concluded that it was an impressive compilation of performances that kept the crowd on its feet. And this was especially so when it came to Project E.A.R.’s time on stage.

In case you haven’t heard, Project E.A.R. consists of members from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines as well as Singapore! It was a rousing opening altogether, which came with such a long intermission right after that we’re sure the crowd even suspected that the night was over.

But of course, the delectable appetiser was just a prelude to more exciting things because next up was the act that kept the “pretty people” (OK, we know we’re lame…) jittery with anticipation…. Beast! The break (that took forever) had seemingly been preparing the sea of people for a scream session. When the lights dimmed and LED screens beamed on, everyone around us went bonkers.

From the moment the boys’ silhouettes appeared to the final beat of their last song, it was non-stop cheering and shoving as fans fought their way to the best stage-front spot they could find.

Unlike the showcases that were held prior to World Stage, there was little interaction with the audience this time around. Nevertheless, we’re sure the fans were pleased with a generous, and stellar stage of 6 tracks; Shock, Fiction, On Rainy Days, Special, Soom and Beautiful.

Some lucky fans even nabbed bouquets from the members. July had been nothing short of memorable for Malaysian B2uties as MTV helped round up a double dosage of Beast – something that will be rare to see in Southeast Asia alone.

Reaching a thumping high, it was soon Neon Trees‘ turn. The American alternative rock band performed a series of songs, further electrifying the night. Soaking up the atmosphere, lead singer Tyler Glenn, ran through the crowd during one of their sets, Your Surrender.

The band concluded their performances for the night with hit song, Animal.

The loudest cheers of the night were of course reserved for Thirty Seconds To Mars. We knew full well that the group’s poster boy, Jared Leto had pretty peepers and our sentiments were confirmed by a certain placard that was dutifully waved about the entire night – “Jared, you have beautiful eyes.“.

Fortunately, it wasn’t just an ogle-fest. Leto, decked in black, charmed and rocked (shouldn’t these two be mutually exclusive??) with songs such as title-track Escape from their album, “This Is War”.

Some of us also encountered a new first upon meeting the catchy, grungy sounds of Thirty Seconds To Mars. “Blown away” would be an understatement because we have images of Leto’s stage presence and charisma seared into our memories.

The energetic band wrapped up the night with Kings and Queens, and invited dozens of fans up on stage to join in their final performance.

On a personal note, MTV World Stage 2011 has officially solidified itself as one of the best live stages I’ve ever attended. I’ve been impressed with the burning vigor coming from the artist themselves, as well as the uncontrollable passion for music coming from the fans.

Reading all of this is not going to be enough if you really want to relive the concert, so be sure to tune in to the premiere of MTV World Stage Live In Malaysia 2011 on August 8, 2011, Monday, 10pm (WIB), 11pm (SG/PH/HK), 12 midnight (MAL)!

And… if this is not enough to convince you, I’ll hand it over to MTV VJs, Utt and Holly, to tell you all about it!

We would like to thank MTV Asia for allowing kourier to cover this event.