Idina Menzel – Wait…WHAT?

I must admit that this week’s Glee tracks are possibly the best collection of songs they’ve put together for a single episode in awhile. The running theme of the songs is “by ladies and for ladies,” as declared by Cory Monteith’s character Finn Hudson during this week’s episode.

You can’t have an episode called, “I Kissed a Girl,” without having one of the tracks this week be Katy Perry’s hit, “I Kissed a Girl.” I mean, I guess you could, but Glee loves them some Katy Perry music, so it was kind of inevitable. Taking the lead on this track is Naya Rivera (Santana) and Lea Michele (Rachel). Granted, Glee didn’t do anything particularly special with the arrangement, but the song is just as much fun to listen to as Perry’s original.

Rivera really gets to show off her vocal prowess alongside Idina Menzel (Shelby) on KD Lang’s “Constant Craving.” I feel like with each episode that Rivera gets pushed a little more to show how talented she is, and what better way to prove it than pairing her up with Menzel. Both individual vocal performances were impressive and when combined, the two singers sound just stunning.

Continue reading Music Review >> Glee Cast – “I Kissed a Girl”

Among my favorite moments in each season of Glee have been the episodes that highlight song mash-ups. This season’s mash-ups for the most part lived up to their predecessors and one particular track stood out as probably the best mash-up Glee has ever done.

In an episode chock full of medleys, Mark Salling’s (Puck) take on Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher” was the only solo track. I don’t think Salling gets enough credit for his vocal versatility. He showed a more vulnerable side of his voice earlier this season on a Foreigner track and, this week, we got to hear more depth and fullness in his singing. I think this was one of the better vocal performances we’ve gotten from him, actually. Cory Monteith (Finn) could also be heard on the track, and his voice pairs nicely with Salling’s.

On to the mash-ups, Idina Menzel (Shelby) and Matthew Morrison (Will) sang a medley Lady Gaga’s “You And I” and the Eddie Rabbitt/Crystal Gayle duet “You And I.” On paper, one wouldn’t think this could work, but surprisingly it does. I’m not sure that I’m quite sold on the pairing of Menzel and Morrison as duet partners, however. That said, I liked that Menzel had the bulk of the mash-up, because she really redeemed herself from season one’s recording of Gaga’s “Poker Face,” of which I was never a huge fan. Overall, I found the double dose of “You And I” to be a success.

Continue reading Music Review >> Glee Cast – “Mash Off”