Category Archives: glee countdown

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Song of the Day #1,064: ‘Loser Like Me’ – ‘Glee’ Cast

Top Ten ‘Glee’ Performances – Season 2
#6 – ‘Loser Like Me’ – ‘Glee’ Cast

When Mr. Schuester announced that the glee club would be writing and performing its own songs for the regional competition, I groaned.

I love the way ‘Glee’ re-imagines existing songs — their biggest successes are almost always tunes I recognize instantly. Wouldn’t original songs, simply by virtue of being new, lack that ability to grab me at first listen? And would whatever songwriters the producers hired to pen these songs really be a match for the tunesmiths ‘Glee’ usually covers?

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Song of the Day #1,063: ‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ – Heather Morris

Top Ten ‘Glee’ Performances – Season 2
#7 – ‘I’m a Slave 4 U’ – Brittany

Most great ‘Glee’ performances start off as great songs, with the cast putting its unique twist on some old classic or new hit.

But sometimes even a crappy song can turn into a great ‘Glee’ moment. A performance of Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’ in the prom episode comes to mind… somehow they turned that joke of a song into an ironic, infectious party anthem.

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Song of the Day #1,062: ‘Rolling in the Deep’ – Lea Michele & Jonathan Groff

Top Ten ‘Glee’ Performances – Season 2
#8 – ‘Rolling in the Deep’ – Rachel & Jesse

Jonathan Groff’s Jesse St. James played a key role in ‘Glee’s first season, starting a romance with Rachel at the request of her birth mother (his Vocal Adrenaline coach, played by Idina Menzel) before breaking both her heart and an egg on her head.

Groff is best friends with Lea Michele, having starred alongside her in the Broadway production of Spring Awakening, and their chemistry has been apparent in the several duets they’ve performed on ‘Glee.’

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Song of the Day #1,061: ‘Forget You’ – Gwyneth Paltrow

Top Ten ‘Glee’ Performances – Season 2
#9 – ‘Forget You’ – Holly Holiday

It wasn’t Country Strong but Glee that started Gwyneth Paltrow down the path of a career in music. I don’t know whether that’s worthy of thanks or blame.

Paltrow doesn’t have much of a voice… unlike, say, Zooey Deschanel, there’s no way she would have landed a recording contract without her previous fame as an actress. But the joy with which she tackles this unlikely career turn is infectious. I find myself wanting her to do well.

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Song of the Day #1,060: ‘Never Going Back Again’ – Kevin McHale

Top Ten ‘Glee’ Performances – Season 2
#10 – ‘Never Going Back Again’ – Artie

Welcome to my second annual ‘Glee’ countdown, in which I list my ten favorite performances from the most recent season of the hit TV show.

I once read a description of ‘Glee’ as the best worst show on TV, and I kind of see what was meant by that. It is wildly uneven, sometimes downright bad, the characterizations are all over the place, the plotlines are inconsistent… and yet, it features some truly sublime moments. And it has been brave in tackling such sensitive topics as sexuality and religion without being too safe or too preachy.

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