Glee cast member Darren Criss made his first appearance The Ellen DeGeneres Show this afternoon. Check out his interview and dressing room tour below!
Tag: Season two
‘Glee’ Music Preview >> “Need You Now” & “Bills, Bills, Bills”
There’s only a few more days til Glee returns on a special night after Super Bowl XLV.
To tide you over, check out a clip of Rachel (Lea Michele) and Puck (Mark Salling) singing Lady Antebellum’s huge hit, “Need You Now”!
Also, here’s a short clip of Dalton Academy’s Warblers performing Destiny’s Child’s hit, “Bills, Bills, Bills”! Blaine (Darren Criss) is featured on lead vocals.
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.
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.
Video: Darren Criss Peforming at The Trevor Project
Here is Darren’s full performance from The Trevor Project benefit from the other night.
Check out his performance of “Not Alone”/”Teenage Dream” below!
Source: 1
Music Review >> Music From ‘Glee,’ Episode 2×9, “Special Education”
Glee headed to Sectionals in the latest episode, and provided an interesting soundtrack for the listening audience.
I have to applaud whoever is in charge of giving Chris Colfer (Kurt) such great songs to sing so far this season. His version of “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” from Evita proved to be one of his best vocals ever on the show. Colfer seems to be really blossoming this season, and I look forward for what’s to come.
In addition to Colfer’s fantastic rendition, there is also a full recording of Lea Michele (Rachel) singing “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.” Michele shows vocal restraint and shows a vulnerability while singing the song, that really makes you take notice. With Glee highlighting the latest pop hits every week, it’s refreshing to hear Michele singing songs that truly capture her talent.
Naya Rivera (Santana) finally takes the lead this week with her rendition of Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie.” He voice is a perfect fit for this type of song. It’s a saucy vocal, and Rivera really captures the attitude and vibe of the song.
Dianna Agron (Quinn) and Chord Overstreet (Sam) duet on the Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes song, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from the popular Dirty Dancing soundtrack. I was happy to hear these two getting their chance in the spotlight again this season, but I know that there has to be a song that compliments their vocals better this one. Agron couldn’t pull off the bigger notes that were noticeably being sung by Amber Riley (Mercedes) on the track. Maybe it was Overstreet’s vocal phrasing, but I didn’t feel like this song showcased him well at all.
It has to be said that the Glee cast has nothing on Florence and the Machine. Their attempt at “Dog Days Are Over” just didn’t capture the essence of the original recording. Riley and Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina) sounded okay on lead vocals, but this song was not the song for them.
Darren Criss made his return this past week with Train’s huge hit, “Hey, Soul Sister” which was performed in the episode by Dalton Academy’s Warblers. The multiple-part harmonies combined with Criss’ voice breathe new life into one of the most over-played songs on the radio.
Overall, I think this was an alright batch of Glee music. I definitely expect more with all the talent in the cast.
Glee airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on FOX.
Originally posted on BlogCritics.
‘Glee’ Music Preview >> “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” & “Merry Christmas Darling”
Two clips from the Christmas episode of Glee have been released. Check them out below!
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” — Darren Criss & Chris Colfer
“Merry Christmas Darling” — Lea Michele
Music Review >> Music From ‘Glee,’ Episode 2×8, “Furt”
The four songs from the unofficial tribute to Bruno Mars episode of Glee continue the trend of great song choices.
Guest star Carol Burnett and Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester) sing “Ohio” from Welcome Home. Carol Burnett sounds pretty good on the track. Lynch sounds alright. She’s definitely not a singer, but I can appreciate that she steps up to bat for the show.
Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester) steps into the spotlight singing Michael Buble’s “Sway.” Morrison’s vocals are a great fit for this song – and really that whole genre of music. He’s got the swagger that really is needed for this vocal, and he pulls it off nicely.
I really like that Morrison is being highlighted musically more this season. He was a relatively untapped resource last season, so it’s nice to hear more from him.
Glee seems to be on quite the Bruno Mars kick this year covering not one, but two of his songs this episode, as well as covering “Billionaire” earlier this season.
The first of Mars’ songs that the cast takes on is “Marry You.” It’s a fun ensemble number which is reminiscent of the Journey To Regionals version of “Don’t Stop Believing” where all the couples within Glee Club were the highlighted singers. Cory Monteith (Finn) and Lea Michele (Rachel) kick off the song strong. Dianna Agron (Quinn) and Chord Overstreet (Sam) then take the lead with their part of the song. Their vocals together sound pretty decent.
I can only imagine that it is quite the task to find a song that the Glee cast will all sound good singing, but whoever did the music selection for “Furt” did a really good job. “Marry You” allows the cast to show that they can sing current songs and make them just as good of a listen as the original.
I had to raise an eyebrow at Monteith covering Mars’ current big hit, “Just The Way You Are.” Monteith’s solos this season have been pretty hit or miss, but “Just The Way You Are” is definitely a hit. I find that Monteith’s voice hits it’s sweet spot when he’s singing pop music, and I hope that Glee realizes that this is his singing genre.
The music from “Furt” is a pretty good listen. Young fans of the show will appreciate the current hits being covered. Glee should probably not cover any more Bruno Mars music for the remainder of the season. Three songs in eight episodes is quite enough.
Glee airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on FOX.
Originally posted on BlogCritics.
Music Review >> Music From ‘Glee,’ Episode 2×6 “Never Been Kissed”
The four songs featured in this week’s episode of Glee pack quite the musical punch.
Diving into the tracks this week, the weakest is definitely the duet between Mark Salling (Puck) and Kevin McHale (Artie) on Bob Marley’s “One Love (People Get Ready).” This song really doesn’t fit Salling’s voice, although when harmonizing with McHale, he sounded pretty good. It definitely wasn’t as good as the other three songs from this week’s episode.
Hands down my favorite track this week was Dalton Academy’s version of Katy Perry’s huge hit, “Teenage Dream.” The song features lead vocals from Glee newcomer, Darren Criss (Blaine). This is a song that I wouldn’t expect to hear covered by a guy, but I thought Glee’s interpretation was wonderful.
The arrangement for this song is great. Replacing instruments with harmonizing does not go unnoticed. The harmonizing is a huge part about what makes Glee’s take on “Teenage Dream” so successful.
I really enjoy Criss’ voice. His voice is a great addition to the cast this season, and I hope that the audience gets to hear more from him.
Onto the mash ups! The Glee girls performed a mash up of the Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up” and Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer.”
Amber Riley (Mercedes) took the lead on “Start Me Up.” Her vocal provided a saucy and provocative interpretation of the song.
Lea Michele (Rachel) was the featured singer on “Livin’ On A Prayer.” Michele is able to adapt her voice nicely to the song. To really pull off that song’s chorus, you need a booming, powerful vocal. Michele pulled it off without a hitch.
Both of these songs made for quite the rockin’ mash up.
It also occurred to me while listening to this week’s music that last season on Glee, the guys incorporated a Bon Jovi song into their mash up. I wonder if it’s just pure coincidence, or luck in Bon Jovi’s case, that their new greatest hits album just happened to come out the same week one of their biggest hits was covered on Glee. I thought that was interesting.
The Glee guys did a mash up of The Supremes “Stop! In The Name of Love” and EnVogue’s “Free Your Mind.”
Now, I really like both of the mash ups, but what gives the guys the edge for me is that almost every single one of them is featured as a lead vocal throughout their mash up. Also, these songs brought the best out of the guys (vocally speaking) and collectively they sounded great.
This mash up is definitely a fun listen. Who knew that two songs that are so different musically and lyrically could fit so well together?
I have to say that whoever is responsible for putting together the arrangements for this week’s crop of songs did an incredible job. Glee definitely had a good music week.
Glee airs Tuesday nights on FOX at 8 p.m.
Originally posted on BlogCritics.
Music Review >> Music From ‘Glee,’ Episode 2 x 04 “Duets”
The music recordings for Glee’s episode “Duets” is probably the best batch of music from the season so far. The vocals from the cast members are fantastic.
Kicking off this week’s bundle of music is Lea Michele (Rachel) and Cory Monteith (Finn) singing “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” by Elton John and Kiki Dee. These two always sound fantastic together, especially on the more upbeat songs. You get a sense from the recordings that they were having fun singing. Monteith is definitely coming into his own as a singer, and Michele’s voice compliments his voice very much.
Chris Colfer (Kurt) sings “Le Jazz Hot” from Victor Victoria. This is hands down the best Colfer has ever sounded while on the show. The last note during this song is phenomenal.
Newcomer Chord Overstreet (Sam) and Dianna Agron (Quinn) sing the popular Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat track, “Lucky.” This is a really sweet duet between the two, their voices sound well together. Agron is pretty limited vocally compared to the other female Glee cast mates, but pop songs like this she pulls off quite nicely. Overstreet is definitely poised to give the rest of the Glee guys a run for their money, as he has one of the strongest male voices on the show.
The best duet from this week came from Michele and Colfer, who sing “Happy Days Are Here/Get Happy” by Barbara Streisand and Judy Garland. Glee pretty much struck gold, when they decided to pair these two up for a duet. They both have excellent vocal control, that allowed for a vulnerable, yet stunning duet.
As much as it was wonderful that we got to here from Harry Shum Jr. (Mike) on his a Chorus Line duet “Sing!” with Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina), it was definitely the weakest duet of this week’s recording. Shum isn’t even singing, he’s rapping, which is fine, because it allowed for Ushkowitz to shine that much more in their duet.
Naya Rivera (Santana) and Amber Riley (Mercedes) paired up for Ike and Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High.” Rivera really is no match for Riley’s vocal, she’s easily overpowered. Riley really just brings it, and once again contributes a fantastic vocal to the week’s recordings.
Glee airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on FOX.
Originally posted on BlogCritics.
Review >> Music From ‘Glee,’ Episode 2×03 “Grilled Cheesus”
In this week’s bundle of Glee music from “Grilled Cheesus,” the audience gets to hear the first solos of the season from Glee’s most beloved characters who are not Rachel Berry.
Mark Salling (Puck) has his first big solo of the season with “Only The Good Die Young” by Billy Joel.
It’s great to hear from Salling so early in the season. However, the Glee vocal coaches should work with him on his vocal vibrato while holding longer notes and try to smooth them out.
Amber Riley (Mercedes) sounds absolutely beautiful singing Whitney Houston’s “I Look To You.” If any of the Glee cast can pull off Whitney, it’s Amber.
Her vocal runs at times felt unnecessary, but overall it’s a very strong vocal from Riley. This song is so much better than anything she sang during season one.
Lea Michele (Rachel) contributes this this week’s recordings with “Papa, Can You Hear Me” from Yentl.
What really can be said about Michele’s voice that hasn’t already been said? This is an absolute stellar recording. Michele has a voice to be reckoned with.
Chris Colfer (Kurt) sings “I Want To Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles in this week’s recordings.
I absolutely love how Glee chose to rearrange this song. It had such a dramatic feel that really captured the emotions that Colfer’s character was feeling.
Colfer has a really great vocal. I really hope he is featured more this season.
R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” was a great song choice for Cory Monteith (Finn). However, what was not great was having him record it as an attempt to sound like Michael Stipe. Monteith has a great voice, there was no need for the sound-a-like vocal phrasing.
I loved that Amber Riley had two solos this week, but there was so much auto-tune used in her rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” I couldn’t tell if it was Riley or Naya Rivera (Santana) singing the song at first.
The big group number of the week was a rendition of Joan Osbourne’s “One Of Us.”
Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina), Monteith, Michele and Colfer are the featured vocals on this track. I was really surprised that Salling was not featured on this track, because the song would have fit his voice perfectly.
The cast of Glee sound great altogether. It seems like every week their group numbers are getting better and better.
Glee airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on FOX.
Originally posted at BlogCritics.
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