An extra 100,000 tickets have gone on sale as Thriller – Live becomes the highest weekly grossing show in the history of The Lyric Theatre.

Thriller – Live is a spectacular, high-octane concert specially created to celebrate the career of the world’s greatest entertainer and undisputed King of Pop Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5. It opened at the Lyric Theatre in January and instantly wooed audiences. The show is extending its acclaimed run until Sunday 3rd January 2010, the first anniversary of its opening in the West End.

The cast now includes X Factor finalist Maria Lawson. Rejected by Simon Cowell at the ‘boot camp' rounds in 2004, Maria was one of the favourites to win in 2005 under mentor Sharon Osbourne. The talented performer even sang Michael Jackson's “The Way You Make Me Feel” – one of her songs in Thriller – Live – in one of the early rounds.

She was a victim of the ‘Irish Mafia', referring to Irish judge Louis Walsh’s decision to vote her off

Her mentor claimed that she was a victim of the ‘Irish Mafia', referring to Irish judge Louis Walsh’s decision to vote her off in favour of Irish act The Conway Sisters. This caused a media uproar and Walsh threatened to quit the show after days of negative press. Lawson’s elimination was also a shock for bookmakers who had her as a 66/1 outsider to leave the programme.

Lawson did sign to Sony BMG in 2006 which took her to LA to record her debut album with a song written especially for her by Diane Warren. Her self-titled album was released later that year and charted in the top 40 and led to a Top 20 single. Maria was also snapped up as the model for lingerie company Bravissimo. Her second album, ‘Emotional Rollercoaster', is due out later this year.

In a phenomenal, unparalleled career, Michael Jackson has to date sold more than 750 million records, had 13 number one singles – more than any other male artist – and  is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice; once as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and later as a solo artist in 2001.