Every few years, the world is reminded just how much it loves Michael Jackson. For the fans packed into Kourakuen Kyuujou in Tokyo, Japan, on September 12, 1987, that love was reciprocated with a night that would go down in history.

Michael Jackson took the stage in Tokyo for the opening night of the Bad World Tour, marking the beginning of his first solo world tour. With a career already filled with era-defining hits, he pulled from nearly every chapter of his catalog for the occasion, opening the show with “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” before moving through songs like “Off the Wall,” “Human Nature” and “Rock With You.”

The night also gave him a chance to look back at the music that helped launch his career. He revisited his days with The Jackson 5 and The Jacksons with a medley of “I Want You Back,” “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There,” along with performances of “Things I Do for You,” “Lovely One” and “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground).” Later in the set, “Beat It” and “Billie Jean” brought the show into the Thriller era with two songs that had already helped cement Jackson as one of the biggest artists in the world.

After a set packed with hits from across his career, Jackson returned to the stage for an encore that would make the opening night even more significant. Rather than closing with familiar favorites, he performed three songs that had never been played live before, beginning with “Thriller.”

Despite being released nearly five years earlier as the title track of Jackson’s record-breaking 1982 album, “Thriller” received its live debut that night in Tokyo. The song had already become one of the defining tracks of his career, making its first-ever appearance in a Michael Jackson setlist a major moment on its own.

Michael then turned toward his newest sound with “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You.” The duet with Siedah Garrett had been released earlier that summer as the first single from Bad, giving fans their first taste of the album before its August 31 release. Just weeks later, fans in Tokyo became the first audience to hear Jackson perform the song live.

The night ended with one more debut as Jackson closed the encore with “Bad.” With the album having arrived less than two weeks earlier, the performance gave fans one of the earliest glimpses of how Jackson’s newest music would translate to the stage. It was a fitting way to close the opening night of a tour that shared the album’s name and would introduce the Bad sound to audiences around the world.

In a matter of three songs, the encore connected two defining eras of Jackson’s career. “Thriller” represented the album that had transformed him into a global phenomenon, while “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” and “Bad” signaled the beginning of his next chapter.

As one of the biggest artists in the world, Jackson’s reach extended far beyond his home country, and the Bad World Tour gave fans across the globe the opportunity to experience his music in person. For those inside Kourakuen Kyuujou that September night, however, the experience was one that could never quite be replicated. They came to see Michael Jackson perform some of the biggest songs of his career and left having witnessed the beginning of his first solo world tour, a new musical era and three songs performed live for the very first time.