Glee's first tribute episode this season was a long time coming.  It was only a matter of time before they honored the King of Pop with his own episode, and after watching some great tribute episodes in the past, I must say that 'Michael' has been my favorite (sorry Britney!).  A lot of the songs were reworked and sounded so fresh and current, and what I liked about how the music was integrated in the show was that it was a part of the story.  With 'The Power of Madonna', 'Britney/Brittany' and the others the music was mainly there just to honor the artist whereas MJ's music was made a part of the storyline like the normal episodes.  Season 3 has been a smash so far, and 'Michael' was another great episode!

Ah, Blaine.  Everything he sings is golden, and accompanied by the New Directions this one was a smash.  Why they would decide to do all Michael at Regionals is beyond me since they already did it at Sectionals, but nonetheless this was a fun number.

The New Directions taking on the Warblers is always a great show, but I have to say that the whole underground "sing off" was a little cliché and cheesy, but it served its purpose.  The second the Warblers started the song in their signature acapella style a huge grin spread across my face, and it was plastered there throughout the rest of the number.  

The original duet between Michael and Janet was my second favorite performance from the episode.  I loved how Artie finally stood up and said what everyone has been feeling over the past two and a half years.  The duet ended up being between Artie and Mike, and they recreated the video extraordinarily.  Everything was perfect and the dancing was on par.  Loved it!

This was one of the more lulzy parts of the episode.  Quinn sang this after telling Rachel to dump Finn because you can't have your boyfriend holding you back if you want to achieve your dreams.  Quinn has always been a very boring songstress to me and she was no different here.

'Human Nature' is a beautiful MJ song, and to have Mercedes and Sam sing it was great.  Mercedes was amazing as usual, but I'm really frustrated that Sam isn't getting any screen time.  He has one of the best voices on the show but it's not being showcased.  Other than that it was a beautiful rendition of the song.

This was another lulzy moment in the show.  Finchel go to visit Klaine since Blaine is missing school resting because he is wearing an eyepatch (does that make any sense to anyone?).  They all decide to sing 'Ben', and the moment was a cute and sweet one but boring.

And now for the highlight of the show!  Santana and Sebastian decide to do a sing off, and the result is pure epicness.  'Smooth Criminal' takes on a huge string vibe with dueling cellos (who are actually a real group, 2Cellos) and the whole scene is fast paced and a magical yet suspenseful TV moment.  Santana's voice is as amazing as ever, and watching the cellos play their instruments so furiously that the bows were falling to pieces was thrilling.  When it comes to Michael, not much is better than the original, but this is one of the few times when Glee improves on the original.

Ever seen 'This Is It'?  Well, as many times as I have seen it, this is one of the songs that gives me chills and makes me well up as Michael sings it so I was anxiously anticipating the Glee version.  I was severely disappointed.  Finchel's vocals were just too bland for me and it made the song feel flat.  There wasn't nearly enough emotion in the song.  

The finale was 'Black and White' sung by the New Directions as they try to make amends with the Warblers.  In the end, the Warblers jump on stage and sing with the Gleeksters with the exception of Sebastian.  It wasn't anything special, but the head morphing from the original video was a nice homage.  

Overall, the episode was highly entertaining yet a little corny at times, and the music of MJ was well done.  Michael would be proud.  Hopefully the Warblers have seen Sebastian's evil ways, and maybe some sort of character change will come about in him.  Next week we can look forward to Ricky Martin in what's going to be a very spanglish episode.