Tag: Cory Monteith

Video: Bonnie Dune Live at Bottom of the Hill

I headed out to San Francisco last night with one of my friends to check out the band Bonnie Dune at Bottom of the Hill. Cory Monteith, who plays Finn Hudson on Glee, plays the drums in the band!

I had heard a handful of their songs prior to the show and really dug their sound. After seeing Bonnie Dune perform live, I can attest that they are pretty awesome! I strongly urge you to check them out if they ever roll through your town!

As always, I brought something back from the show to share with the class! Enjoy Bonnie Dune performing, “Haunting”!

Awesome, right?

For more info on Bonnie Dune, check out their Facebook & Twitter pages.

New ‘Glee’ Promo!

After last night’s repeat episode of “Grilled Cheesus,” Glee unveiled a new promo for what’s to come starting April 19, including a quick shot of New Directions performing Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.”

Watch the latest promo below!

I cannot wait for Glee to return!

Music Review >> Glee Cast – “Original Song”

In this week’s mix of music, Glee offered up three full-length original tracks, as well as three tracks from Dalton Academy’s Warblers, and a solo from Chris Colfer. To be honest, this was probably one of the best weeks for Glee, musically speaking.

Let’s talk about the original songs, shall we? Both “Get It Right” and “Loser Like  Me” debuted after the announcement that there would be original songs on Glee this season a few weeks ago.

Upon first listen, I was semi-horrified at “Loser Like Me.” It’s co-written by the master writer of all pop songs, Max Martin, so I felt like I had to give the song another chance. It’s definitely a Max Martin song. It has a good beat and cheesy, yet catchy lyrics.

I think that it should not have been sung by Lea Michele (Rachel) and Cory Monteith (Finn). I am assuming they were showcased in the song, since it was being used for Regionals, and neither of them were featured in the songs used for Sectionals. I think that Mark Salling (Puck) and Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina) would have been a better fit for the song. Ushkowitz is a wasted talent on the show and deserves her turn in the spotlight.

Michele’s voice on “Get It Right” is phenomenal. I love how her vocals are reined in, and then build up to that wonderful glory note. I seriously got chills while listening to it. I also love how the song related to Michele’s character’s storyline.

The thing with both “Get It Right” and “Loser Like Me” is that they work much better within context of the episode, which is definitely a good thing. I think both songs are pretty good anthems, and hopefully they do speak to the audience. But for me, I probably won’t be singing along to them in my car anytime soon.

“Hell To The No” was the third original song included in with this week’s song releases. Amber Riley (Mercedes) takes the lead on this very much ridiculous track. I just can’t take this song seriously when there’s a line about the previous tots storyline. Also, this is probably Riley’s weakest vocal performance to date. She sounded as if she was shouting throughout the length of the song.
Continue reading Music Review >> Glee Cast – “Original Song”

‘Glee’ to Debut Original Songs On Latest Compilation Album

Glee: The Music Volume 5 is due out March 8 and will include fan favorite tracks like “Don’t You Want Me,” “Need You Now,” and “Take Me or Leave Me.” The compilation album will also feature Gwyneth Paltrow on three tracks.

In a Glee first, there are two original songs to be found on this latest volume of music. The song “Loser Like Me” was co-written by the one and only Max Martin. The song is described as “an energetic ensemble track.” The song “Get It Right” is a ballad sung by Lea Michele. These two tracks will be featured during the March 15 episode of Glee.

This past week was the show’s biggest sales week since it began, with 880,000 songs downloaded. As a result, seven Glee songs found their way to the iTunes Top Songs chart.

Over 24 million Glee songs have been downloaded to date, and Glee has sold over 9 million albums worldwide. Glee: The Music Volume 1 has been certified Platinum, recognizing sales of over 1 million copies sold.

Glee: The Music Volume 5 will be available a couple of Tuesdays from now (March 8). For more information on music from Glee, check out the official music website.

Glee: The Music Volume 5 Track listing:

1. “Thriller”/”Heads Will Roll”
2. “Need You Now”
3. “She’s Not There”
4. “Fat Bottomed Girls”
5. “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)”
6. “Firework”
7. “Baby”
8. “Somebody To Love”
9. “Take Me or Leave Me”
10. “Sing”
11. “Don’t You Want Me”
12. “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)”
13. “Kiss”
14. “Landslide”
15. “Get It Right”
16. “Loser Like Me”

Originally posted on BlogCritics.

Music Review >> Glee Cast – “Comeback”

I currently have the lyrics to Justin Bieber’s hit song, “Baby” playing on a loop in my head.

“Baby, baby, baby ooh…baby, baby, baby ooh…baby, baby, baby ooh…”

Not cool, Glee. Not cool at all.

I have seen The Biebs perform on TV a couple of times, but never bothered to sit down and listen to his music. I had my own Justin Bieber when I was 16, but his name was Brian Littrell and he was a Backstreet Boy.

When I initially heard that Glee would be getting Bieber-friendly, I must admit that I cringed. Upon remembering that this show is set in high school, and that Bieber is pretty much “the dude” right now, it then made sense that the kids in glee club would like his music.

So, how was Glee’s take on Bieber? Not bad, actually. I can’t even believe I’m about to say this, but after taking a listen to the lyrics and the melody, I have come to realize that Bieber has well-written and catchy tunes. This would be why the chorus to “Baby” has not left my brain.

Chord Overstreet (Sam) sings The Bieb’s enormous hit, “Baby,” and I think pop music is definitely his niche. He isn’t the strongest male singer in the cast, but Glee’s “Blond Bieber” does quite well for himself on this song.

I wasn’t surprised at all to hear Kevin McHale (Artie) doing the rap breakdown in the song. He proves again that he can flow pretty well.

Overstreet, McHale, Mark Salling (Puck), and Harry Shum Jr. (Mike) perform Bieber’s “Somebody To Love.” I have come to the conclusion that when the Glee guys are rocking a pop song, they sound at the top of their game.
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Music Review >> Glee Cast – “The Sue Sylvester Bowl Shuffle”

Glee returns this Sunday for a special episode that’s airing right after Super Bowl XLV. This new episode contains four brand new tracks from the Glee Cast.

Lea Michele (Rachel) and Mark Salling (Puck) duet on the popular Lady Antebellum song, “Need You Now.” I have always wanted to hear these two sing a duet together, so it is such a treat to have it happen. The two singers were given a great track to sing, that fits pretty perfectly with their ongoing storyline.

I really liked that Michele and Salling didn’t try to do carbon copies of the original vocals for this track. Michele has a beautiful voice for ballads. I feel like sometimes she does struggle with the more contemporary tracks, but “Need You Now” fits her voice like a glove. Salling really adapts his voice well for this track, and really shows a softer side of his vocals that the audience doesn’t hear too often from him. Singing together on the chorus, both singers sound fantastic. The singers’ vocals compliment each other, and have personally left me wanting another duet from them.

I think Cory Monteith sounds good on lead vocals on the Glee version of The Zombies’ “She’s Not There.” The tone of his voice was really nice. However, during the chorus with all the guys from New Directions singing together, I felt like I was being yelled at. That doesn’t work for me. I don’t want to sing-a-long when I feel that I am being yelled at.

In the upcoming episode, we once again hear from Dalton Academy’s Warblers who sing Destiny’s Child hit song, “Bills, Bills, Bills.” The song features cast member Darren Criss (Blaine) on lead vocals.

Criss is showing some vocal versatility on his part with this track. If you’ve listened to his EP, you kind have the idea that he’s more of a folk-pop singer. He really embraced the spirit of this track and infused the attitude of the lyrics into his vocal. I really liked hearing Criss on an R&B track, because it allowed him to show a more soulful side to his voice.
Continue reading Music Review >> Glee Cast – “The Sue Sylvester Bowl Shuffle”

Best of ‘Glee’ Music in 2010

After reviewing the music from Glee for a good part of the year, I have compiled what I believe to be the 10 best tracks recorded by the Glee cast in 2010.

10. “Faithfully”

The duet between Lea Michele and Cory Monteith of Journey’s “Faithfully” was New Directions lead in song during Regionals. I am a huge fan of both of their singing voices. Michele and Monteith seem to compliment each other very well. This song is what I thought to be their shining moment singing together during the last part of season one.

9. “Beautiful”

Amber Riley has had some amazing vocal performances this year, but it was her rendition of Christina Aguilera’s huge hit song, “Beautiful” that really blew me away. The song allowed for Riley to show off multiple facets of her vocal range, as well as sing a powerful message.

8. “Stop! In The Name of Love/Free Your Mind”

This mash-up from season two features all the Glee guys from New Directions. I really enjoyed this track, and the guys sounded great. I have to add that Chord Overstreet sounds really charming during his verse. I thought the track was well-produced, and who would have ever thought that Diana Ross and EnVogue would meld well together into one song?

7. “Toxic”

It was a toss-up decision between this and “Me Against the Music,’ which I thought was another great track from the Britney Spears themed episode at the beginning of season two. I picked this track, because I really liked what they did with using the harmonies in place of instruments. Plus, it was nice to hear Matthew Morrison singing with the rest of the cast.

6. “Bad Romance”

The Glee ladies, along with Chris Colfer really nailed the essence of this song on the head. This track is infused with a lot of personality, which is what makes it just as much fun to listen to as the original Lady Gaga version.

Continue reading Best of ‘Glee’ Music in 2010