Tag: the warblers

Darren Criss Appreciation Post

I know I cover Darren Criss quite a bit here at Wait…WHAT?, but I have to show love for my Bay Area favorites!

Darren has done quite a bit of press for the Glee: The Music presents The Warblers album in the past week, and I just wanted to highlight some of it! I figured individual posts mights get overwhelming and possibly obnoxious.

I am including performances/interviews from Ellen, Rolling Stone, MTV’s The Seven & a couple other favorite videos I have come across from the past week!

That said, enjoy the Darren Criss Appreciation post!

More interview & performance videos after the cut! Continue reading Darren Criss Appreciation Post

Music Review >> ‘Glee: The Music Presents The Warblers’

If you follow my blog here, then you know that I have already reviewed every Dalton Academy Warbler track that has been released up until this new Glee: The Music presents The Warblers album. Basically, this is going to a scrapbook of a review post, because all reviews from “Teenage Dream” to “Raise Your Glass” are coming from my previous Glee Cast reviews. Just a friendly FYI.

Track 1 – “Teenage Dream“

Hands down my favorite track from “Never Been Kissed” was Dalton Academy Warblers’ 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.

Track 2 – “Hey, Soul Sister”

The multiple-part harmonies combined with Criss’ voice breathe new life into one of the most over-played songs on the radio.

Track 3 – “Bills, Bills, Bills”

In “The Sue Sylvester Bowl Shuffle” 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.

I also have to give mention to the very talented singers, the Beelzebubs from Tufts University, who play The Warblers. Their a cappella skills are like none other that I’ve heard in a while. I think they did a phenomenal job on the backing vocals for “Bills, Bills, Bills.”

Continue reading Music Review >> ‘Glee: The Music Presents The Warblers’

‘Glee’ Music Preview >> “Somewhere Only We Know”

Hey Gleeks!

Check out a performance clip of Blaine (Darren Criss) and the Dalton Academy Warblers singing Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know” from tomorrow night’s 90-minute long Glee episode, “Born This Way”!

What do y’all think? And are you excited for the super-sized episode of Glee?

‘Glee’ Music Preview >> “What Kind of Fool”

We’re just about a week away from the release of Glee: The Music presents The Warblers, the latest album from the hit FOX series Glee.

One of the Warblers’ previously unreleased tracks, Barbra Streisand’s “What Kind of Fool” found it’s way to the internet over the weekend. Take a listen below!

I’m fairly convinced now that Darren Criss can pretty much sing anything. He’s such an immense talent, and I’m looking forward to seeing him perform on the Glee tour this summer.

Glee: The Music presents The Warblers will be released April 19.

‘Glee’ Music Preview >> “Somewhere Only We Know”

Earlier this weekend, another track from the highly anticipated Glee: The Music presents The Warblers album appeared on the internet.

Take a listen to the Warblers’ take on Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know,” which will be featured on an upcoming episode of Glee.

I am a huge fan of this song. I tip my hat to the Glee music producers; they did a great job with this track.

I think Darren Criss sounds fantastic on everything he’s recorded for Glee this season, and this track is no exception. He really is able to utilize his voice to connect emotionally with the audience, and I think that’s part of why people just adore him.

Glee: The Music presents The Warblers is out April 19.

Glee Music Premiere: “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?”

Glee: The Music presents The Warblers is available for pre-order on iTunes now!

One of the exclusive tracks, “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” is currently available for download.

Take a listen below!

Glee: The Music presents The Warblers will be available on April 19. Check out Glee’s official music site for more information.

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”

Music Review >> Glee Cast – “Sexy”

You know that phrase, “catching lightning in a bottle”? I think that is what Glee accomplished the first time with guest star, Gwyneth Paltrow (Holly Holiday). Her rendition of Cee-Lo’s “Forget You” is one of season two’s better tracks. Paltrow even went on to perform the hit with alongside Cee-Lo at this year’s Grammy Awards.

This time around, I felt like the magic was mostly missing from the three tracks Paltrow is featured on this week. That could be because she is not one of those singers that can sing the phone book. She’s good, but she’s not Lea Michele.

To kick things off on a positive note, Paltrow’s take on the Joan Jett song, “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)” is pretty good. I think Paltrow sounds best when she’s able to infuse some personality into the songs she’s singing. I think that is part of why “Forget You” became fairly popular, that she sounded pretty sassy while she was singing it. This was my favorite of the three Paltrow-dominated tracks this week.

Dalton Academy’s Warblers took on Neon Tree’s hit, “Animal,” this week. I would just like to say that it’s about time that Chris Colfer (Kurt) is featured on a Warblers’ track. Although, both his and Darren Criss’(Blaine) vocals were slightly attacked by the monster known as auto-tune. Colfer and Criss have fantastic singing voices, I don’t completely understand the need to overdo it with the studio magic. Shout out to Tuft University’s Beelzebubs for another job well done with the backing vocals.
Continue reading Music Review >> Glee Cast – “Sexy”

Music Review >> Glee Cast – “Silly Love Songs”

Glee is getting lovey-dovey this week with the song selections from their Valentines’ Day-themed episode, “Silly Love Songs.”

For the second episode in a row Kevin McHale (Artie) takes a Michael Jackson hit. In his episode, he’s singing “P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing).” Out of all the males, I think McHale was definitely the right choice to sing this song. His voice has the right tone and flavor to pull this song off. I think it was important for him and the show to not have a carbon-copy vocal, but still manage to keep the essence of the song intact, and I think they succeeded on both levels.

This week Mark Salling (Puck) is singing Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls.” I know this song fits in with Puck’s storyline for the episode, but I feel like the song was in the wrong key for him. At times it sounded like he was straining to hit the higher notes. Because of this, I have to wonder if the backing vocals are purposely drowning his voice out. It seems depending on the song selection for him, Salling’s vocal performances continue to be very hit or miss this season.

We’re treated to two songs from Dalton Academy’s Warblers during the episode. Per usual, the vocal stylings of Darren Criss (Blaine) are featured on both tracks. First up with Robin Thicke’s “When I Get You Alone,” Criss continues to impress. His vocal performance is flirty and has some swagger to it, which really adds to the song overall. There’s a big note that he hits at the end of the song which is absolutely fantastic. I really like that the Warblers sing songs that are more pop/R&B, because it distinguishes their style from New Directions.
Continue reading Music Review >> Glee Cast – “Silly Love Songs”

‘Glee’ Music Preview >> “When I Get You Alone”

Apparently it’s “Darren Criss Week,” and we’re being spoiled with interviews and Glee clips. I’m definitely not complaining!

Check out Darren as Blaine with the Warblers performing Robin Thicke’s “When I Get You Alone” in a clip from Tuesday night’s upcoming Glee episode, “Silly Love Songs.”

I absolutely love this! Probably my favorite song the Warblers have done this season!

Video source: 1