Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series produced by Fox. It focuses on the glee club New Directions, at the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio. [1] The show was created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, and features many cover versions of songs sung on-screen by the characters. [2] Murphy is responsible for selecting all of the songs used, and strives to maintain a balance between show tunes and chart hits, as he wants there to be "something for everybody in every episode." [3] Once Murphy selects a song, rights are cleared with its publishers by music supervisor P.J. Bloom, and music producer Adam Anders rearranges it for the Glee cast. [4] Numbers are pre-recorded by the cast, while choreographer Zach Woodlee constructs the accompanying dance moves, which are then taught to the cast and filmed. [3] Studio recordings of tracks are then made. The process begins six to eight weeks before each episode is filmed, and can end as late as the day before filming begins. [4] For the first thirteen episodes of Glee's first season, the show averaged five songs per episode, which increased to eight songs for the final nine episodes. In season two, Glee averaged six songs per episode. The list below contains all 138 musical performances of the second season, with each performance delivering an individual song or a mashup of two or more songs in a single performance.
Songs featured on the show are available for digital download through the iTunes Store up to two weeks before new episodes air, and through other digital outlets and mobile carriers a week later. [4] The season has featured three tribute episodes: "Britney/Brittany", showcasing songs by Britney Spears; [5] [6] "The Rocky Horror Glee Show", an episode featuring songs from The Rocky Horror Show ;, [7] and "Rumours", the first episode to pay tribute to an album, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours . [8] Another episode in the season featured original songs. [9] Glee: The Music, The Rocky Horror Glee Show , an extended play (EP) with songs from the fifth episode, was released October 19, 2010. [10] Two soundtrack albums, Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album and Glee: The Music, Volume 4 , were both released in November 2010. [11] The series' sixth soundtrack album, Glee: The Music, Volume 5 , was released in March 2011, and its seventh, Glee: The Music Presents the Warblers , saw its release the following month. [12] [13] An eighth, Glee: The Music, Volume 6 , was released on May 23, 2011.
The majority of songs are performed by New Directions, which is composed of Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale), Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), Mike Chang (Harry Shum, Jr.), Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz), Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet), Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron), Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith), Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley), Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera), Brittany S. Pierce (Heather Morris) and Noah Puckerman (Mark Salling), plus club director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison). At the end of "Furt", however, Kurt enrolls in Dalton Academy and joins the Warblers; McKinley high student Lauren Zizes (Ashley Fink) takes his place, and remains in New Directions even after Kurt returns to McKinley in "Born This Way". [14] During season two, New Directions is joined by transfer student and athlete Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet), and McKinley High foreign exchange student Sunshine Corazon (Charice) tries out for New Directions, but although she is accepted, transfers instead to Carmel High and joins its glee club, Vocal Adrenaline. [15] [16] [17] Jayma Mays performs as school guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury, [18] and guest stars John Stamos, Dot-Marie Jones and Kristin Chenoweth perform as dentist Carl Howell, football coach Shannon Beiste and April Rhodes, respectively. [19] [20] Darren Criss appears as Blaine Anderson, lead singer of rival glee club the Dalton Academy Warblers, and Gwyneth Paltrow guest-stars and performs as Holly Holliday, a substitute teacher. [21] [22] [23] Cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) performs with her mother Doris (Carol Burnett) [24] and once with New Directions. As in the first season, Lynch and Mays are credits with vocals on some soundtrack albums despite not being featured on screen for any of the songs.
Songs included on Glee: The Music, The Rocky Horror Glee Show feature additional vocals by non-cast members Adam Anders, Nikki Anders, Kamari Copeland, Tim Davis, Missi Hale, Tobias Kampe-Flygare, Storm Lee, David Loucks, and Windy Wagner. [25] These performers reappear on Glee: The Music, Volume 4, and are joined by Kala Balch, Colin Benward, Ravaughn Brown, Jon Hall, Samantha Jade, Jeanette Olsson, Zac Poor, Drew Ryan Scott, and Onitsha Shaw. [26] All but Benward, Jade, Kampe-Flygare, Olsson and Poor feature on Glee: The Music, Volume 5, which also includes vocals by Alex Anders. [27] Songs performed by the Dalton Academy Warblers contain vocals by the Beelzebubs, an a cappella group from Tufts University. [21] The members providing these background vocals consist of Sam Cantor, Conor Flynn, Michael Grant, John Kwon, Cailin Mackenzie, Kent McCann, Eric Morrissey, Evan Powell, Penn Rosen, Eli Seidman, and Jack Thomas. [26] Only one of the thirteen songs on Glee: The Music Presents the Warblers did not feature the Beelzebubs: "Blackbird", which was sung by Chris Colfer with other backing vocalists; [28] the album featured additional vocals by Adam Anders, Nikki Anders, Shoshana Bean, Davis, Lee, Loucks, Olsson, Shaw and Wagner. [29] These performers, with the exception of Bean, plus Alex Anders, Bach, Brown, Copeland and Scott, are featured on Glee: The Music, Volume 6. [30] While recurring cast members Shum, Jr. and Fink perform in the group numbers on screen, neither is credited with performing vocally on any soundtrack albums.
Glee is an American jukebox musical comedy drama television series that aired on Fox in the United States from May 19, 2009, to March 20, 2015. It centers on the New Directions, a glee club at the fictional William McKinley High School, that is located in the American state of Ohio. The club competes as a show choir while its disparate members deal with social issues, especially regarding sexuality, race, family, teen relationships and teamwork.
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.
Mercedes Jones is a fictional character from the Fox popular musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Amber Riley, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Mercedes was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. She is a dynamic diva-in-training who refuses to sing back-up, and is a member of the glee club at the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio.
The first season of the musical comedy-drama television series Glee originally aired on Fox in the United States. The pilot episode was broadcast as an advanced preview of the series on May 19, 2009, with the remainder of the season airing between September 9, 2009, and June 8, 2010. The season consisted of 22 episodes; the first 13 aired on Wednesdays at 9 pm (ET) and the final 9 aired on Tuesdays at 9 pm (ET). The season was executive produced by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Dante Di Loreto; Murphy's production company helped co-produce the series alongside 20th Century Fox.
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.
"Dream On" is the nineteenth episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on May 18, 2010. It was directed by Joss Whedon and written by series creator Brad Falchuk. Neil Patrick Harris guest-stars as former glee club star Bryan Ryan. Working as a school board auditor, he threatens to cut the glee club out of the budget, bitter at never having attained his own show-business dreams. Rachel attempts to find her birth mother, and Artie struggles with his desire to walk. The episode title is a reference to Aerosmith's song "Dream On", also performed during the episode.
The second season of the musical comedy-drama television series Glee originally aired between September 21, 2010, and May 24, 2011, on Fox in the United States. The 22-episode season was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Ryan Murphy Television, with executive producers Dante Di Loreto and series co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, with the other series co-creator, Ian Brennan, as co-executive producer.
"Britney/Brittany" is the second episode of the second season of the American television series Glee, and the twenty-fourth episode overall. Written and directed by series creator Ryan Murphy, it premiered on the Fox network on September 28, 2010, and pays tribute to Britney Spears. Glee club member Brittany S. Pierce experiences an anesthesia-induced hallucination in which she recreates iconic Spears moments, and comes to self-realization, and several club members follow suit. Co-captains Rachel and Finn experience difficulties in their relationship, and club director Will Schuester becomes jealous of guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury's new boyfriend, Dr. Carl Howell.
Chord Paul Overstreet is an American actor and musician. He is best known for his role as Sam Evans on the Fox television series Glee (2009–2015). He has starred in the Apple TV+ comedy series Acapulco since 2021.
"The Rocky Horror Glee Show" is the fifth episode of the second season of the American television series Glee, and the twenty-seventh episode overall. It was written by series creator Ryan Murphy, from a story by Murphy and Tim Wollaston, directed by Adam Shankman, and premiered on Fox on October 26, 2010. The episode features the glee club paying tribute to the 1973 musical The Rocky Horror Show, with elements of its 1975 film adaptation The Rocky Horror Picture Show, by staging it as a school musical. While cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester attempts to sabotage the production, glee club director Will Schuester dwells on his feelings for guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury, and club members Finn and Sam deal with body image issues. Barry Bostwick and Meat Loaf, who star in the original film, appear in cameo roles in this episode.
"Never Been Kissed" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American television series Glee, and the twenty-eighth episode overall. It was written by Brad Falchuk, directed by Bradley Buecker and premiered on Fox on November 9, 2010. In "Never Been Kissed", the glee club members are assigned a boys against girls singing competition. The bullying of club member Kurt Hummel intensifies, but he meets a new ally in Blaine Anderson, the lead singer of a rival glee club. Puck is released from juvenile detention and forms a friendship with Artie Abrams, and football coach Shannon Beiste is hurt when she learns that several of the students are visualizing her to quell their amorous moods.
The American television series Glee has generated a range of merchandise including soundtracks, DVD and Blu-ray sets, young adult novels and apparel. The show's musical releases have been a commercial success, including several number one, platinum-selling albums. A Glee karaoke game based on the series by Karaoke Revolution was released in November 2009 only on Wii, as well as the fictional autobiography of the character Sue Sylvester.
Glee: The Music, Volume 4 is the fifth soundtrack album by the cast of the musical television series Glee, which airs on Fox in the United States. It was released on November 26, 2010, by Columbia Records and features cover version performances from the first half of the second season. Executive production was handled by Dante Di Loreto and Brad Falchuk and all tracks were released as singles. It was nominated for a Grammy Award (2011) in the Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media category.
"The Sue Sylvester Shuffle" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the American musical television series Glee, and the thirty-third episode overall. It was written by Ian Brennan, directed by Brad Falchuk, and was broadcast immediately following Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011 on Fox. In the episode, an effort to dispel student rivalry forces the McKinley High football team and glee club to unite. When cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester withdraws her squad from the halftime show of a championship football game, the disparate groups must come together to perform a routine and win the game.
Glee: The Music Presents the Warblers is the seventh soundtrack album by the cast of Glee, a musical comedy-drama television series that aired on Fox in the United States. Released through Columbia Records on April 19, 2011, it contains thirteen covers: eleven accompanying performances from the series' second season and two exclusive to the album. Performers are portrayed on Glee as the fictional Dalton Academy Warblers, an all-male high school glee club from Westerville, Ohio. Darren Criss serves as lead vocalist, with Chris Colfer singing lead on one track and co-lead on a couple of others, while the Beelzebubs, an all-male a cappella group from Tufts University, provide background vocals. Dante Di Loreto and Brad Falchuk serve as the album's executive producers, and its tracks have collectively sold over 1.3 million copies.
The third season of the musical comedy-drama television series Glee was commissioned on May 23, 2010, by Fox while the first season aired. It aired between September 20, 2011, and May 22, 2012, and was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Ryan Murphy Television, with executive producers Dante Di Loreto and series co-creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan.
The fourth season of the Fox musical comedy-drama television series Glee was commissioned on April 9, 2012. It premiered on September 13, 2012, and is produced by 20th Century Fox Television, Ryan Murphy Television and Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision with executive producers Dante Di Loreto and series co-creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan.