After a four month hiatus, Glee has finally returned to the lives of people everywhere. The award winning television show premiered the second half of its season on April 13. According to Entertainment Weekly, the much anticipated premiere brought in huge ratings with 13.6 million viewers tuning in.
For those unfamiliar with Glee, the hour-long show is about a group of high school misfits that make up the school’s glee club; the show revolves around their drama. In addition to the drama, however, there are jokes, friendship, and lots of singing and dancing. Musical numbers, all are sung by the show’s cast, has featured songs from several genres and time periods, by artists like Neil Diamond, Bon Jovi, Kanye West, Rihanna, and Journey to name a few,.
“I love it because it’s just fun. It’s like nothing else on TV right now,” says SLCC student Lucy LaPutka, “They’re all outcasts. Every character brings something different to the table and it never stops being interesting.”
The most recent episode aired Tuesday April 20, titled “The Power of Madonna,” was a tribute to the Queen of Pop and featured only her songs. The highlight of the episode came from a nearly identical remake of the Vogue music video starring the Madonna-worshipping cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (played by Jane Lynch). After the episode’s premiere, songs from the episode were released on iTunes as an album, and as of Wednesday April 21, that album is number one on the U.S. iTunes sales chart.
Though not everyone is enthused about Glee as a television show, the music seems to be well-liked on its own.
“I don’t like [the show]. I think it epitomizes high school, which I hated, but it has good music,” says SLCC student Elise Bassett.
“I love the music the show chooses and the cast really does well putting their own characters into the music, honestly that’s what makes it feel so real. The music seems to have a personal feel and there’s always a story behind the songs they choose,” says SLCC student Charity Yellowhair.
With the addition of the Madonna album, Glee has released a total of three albums, all of which have had great success. Between the albums and single-song releases, the Glee cast’s iTunes page has over 40 songs for purchase, with the number rising every week. The music has been so successful, that this May the cast is going on a live concert tour to select cities in the U.S.
Entertainment Weekly reports that future episodes of Glee are said to include guest stars Neil Patrick Harris, Olivia Newton-John, and return guest stars Kristin Chenoweth and Josh Groban. Also set to air is a tribute episode to Lady Gaga, complete with the outrageous costumes.
If you want to catch up on Glee, the first half of season one is available now on DVD, and recent episodes can be found online at Hulu or Fox.com.
Glee airs Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. on Fox.