Blaine Devon Anderson is a fictional character from the American musical comedy-drama television series Glee. Played by Darren Criss, Blaine was introduced in the sixth episode of the second season as the openly gay lead singer of the Dalton Academy Warblers, a rival show choir to New Directions, the show's primary musical group. Blaine initially served as a mentor for New Directions member Kurt Hummel. Chemistry between the two, combined with fan support for the couple, led series co-creator Ryan Murphy to pair them romantically. Their relationship has been well received by critics, and they have been named "the most beloved TV couples of the millennium" by Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post. At the beginning of the third season, Blaine transfers to McKinley High and joins New Directions; concurrently, Criss was promoted from recurring guest star to the show's main cast.
The Glee cast has released sixteen soundtrack albums, six compilation albums and eleven extended plays (EPs), containing 754 different performances of an individual song or a mashup of two or more songs in a single performance. Of the performances on the various albums and EPs, 460 were also released as singles. Glee features on-screen performance-based musical numbers, most of which are cover versions of popular songs, with genres ranging from R&B and pop to country and show tunes. The cast consists of fifteen main characters; some actors were cast following Broadway theatre experience while others were required to audition to prove singing and dancing capabilities. Recordings of performances on the show are sold as singles the week of broadcast, available for download.
Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna is the debut extended play (EP) by the cast of the musical television series Glee. It contains eight songs from the season one Glee episode, "The Power of Madonna", which was a tribute episode dedicated to American recording artist Madonna. She had sold the rights to her entire catalog of music to Glee in 2009, and producers of the show developed the episode called "The Power of Madonna"; the show featured a number of cover versions of Madonna's songs by the cast. The accompanying EP released with the airing of the show was called Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna.
StarKid Productions, also known as Team StarKid, is an American musical theatre company founded in 2009 at the University of Michigan by Darren Criss, Brian Holden, Matt Lang, and Nick Lang. Originally known for the viral success of their first musical, A Very Potter Musical, a parody of the Harry Potter series, the troupe primarily produces musical comedies inspired by pop culture, with original scripts, songs, and music. StarKid distributes their musicals for free on YouTube, with recent projects being funded by Kickstarter and physical ticket sales.
Darren Everett Criss is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series Glee (2010–2015) and received Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role as spree killer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018). He has also appeared on Broadway and in film and has released several musical albums.
The A Very Potter Musical album contains the songs from the Harry Potter parody musical A Very Potter Musical, produced by StarKid Productions with music and lyrics by Darren Criss and A.J. Holmes, and book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, and Brian Holden. It was recorded by the musical's cast and was released digitally through the group's official site in 2009 and later on their Bandcamp site on July 29, 2010.
The A Very Potter Sequel cast extended play (EP) contains songs from the musical A Very Potter Sequel, sequel to the Harry Potter parody musical A Very Potter Musical, produced by StarKid Productions with music and lyrics by Darren Criss and book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, and Brian Holden, that were not released on A Very StarKid Album. The EP was released digitally on July 31, 2010, through the group's Bandcamp site.
Me and My Dick (A New Musical) contains the songs from the musical Me and My Dick, produced by StarKid Productions with music and lyrics by A.J. Holmes, Carlos Valdes, and Darren Criss, and book by Eric Kahn Gale, Brian Holden, Matt Lang, and Nick Lang. It was recorded by the musical's cast and was released digitally on January 6, 2010, through iTunes. The soundtrack became the first-ever student-produced college musical to reach Billboard, debuting at No. 11 on the Top Cast Albums chart.
The Starship album contains the songs from the musical of the same name produced by StarKid Productions, with music and lyrics by Darren Criss, and book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, Brian Holden, and Joe Walker. It was recorded by the musical's cast and was released digitally on April 30, 2011, through iTunes and Amazon.com. The album debuted at No. 134 on Billboard 200 and No. 1 for Top Cast Albums. The album also reached No. 4 on iTunes.
Starship is a musical with music and lyrics by Darren Criss, and a book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, Brian Holden, and Joe Walker.
A Very Potter Sequel is a musical with music and lyrics by Darren Criss and a book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, and Brian Holden. The story is a parody, based on several of the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling, as well as their film counterparts.
A Very Potter Musical is a musical with music and lyrics by Darren Criss and A. J. Holmes and a book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang and Brian Holden. The story is a parody, based on several of the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling, as well as their film adaptations.
Me and My Dick is a musical with music and lyrics by A.J. Holmes, Carlos Valdes, and Darren Criss, and a book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, Brian Holden and Eric Kahn Gale.
Human is the debut EP released by singer-songwriter Darren Criss. Criss independently produced the EP and it was released digitally on July 20, 2010. The EP reached No. 17 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart. As of April 2013, the EP has sold 27,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielson SoundScan.
The SPACE Tour live album contains the songs from the tour of the same name by StarKid Productions. It was recorded at the tour's last concert at the Gramercy Theatre, New York City on November 27, 2011. The album features live performances of songs from the group's previous productions, and was released digitally on March 13, 2012 through iTunes and Amazon.com. A physical compact disc was later released on March 23, 2012.
The Apocalyptour live album contains the songs from the tour of the same name by StarKid Productions. It was recorded at one of three concerts at the House of Blues, Los Angeles in May 2012. The album features live performances of songs from the group's previous productions, and was released digitally on October 2, 2012 through iTunes and Amazon.com. A physical compact disc was released on the same day via the Ann Arbor T-shirt Company.
A Very Potter Senior Year is a musical written by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, and Brian Holden with songs by Clark Baxtresser, Pierce Siebers, A. J. Holmes, and additional songs by Darren Criss. It is the conclusion of the Very Potter trilogy of Harry Potter-inspired musicals produced over four years by StarKid Productions. Rather than a full musical, as with its previous installments, the production took the form of a live staged reading of the script with performances of the songs at LeakyCon in Chicago, Illinois, on August 11, 2012. It featured nearly all of the StarKid actors and actresses who had starred in previous StarKid shows to date, including actor Darren Criss, who returned to the company to reprise his role as Harry Potter, and Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood, who played the character in the original film series.
"A Katy or a Gaga" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the ninety-second episode overall. It was written by executive producers Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner, and directed by co-creator Ian Brennan, and it aired on Fox in the United States on November 7, 2013. The episode features the music of Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, the debut of guest star Adam Lambert as Elliott "Starchild" Gilbert, and the return of special guest star Demi Lovato as Dani, Santana's girlfriend.
