We Need to Talk About Glee, Part 1

It's so weird now in 2022 thinking back to ten years ago when Glee was one of the most talked about things in pop culture. I watched the show religiously each week, bought the vast majority of the songs featured each season on iTunes, and felt like these characters were my personal friends. When I decided to do a series about Glee, I considered going back and doing a rewatch of the series but I'm honestly not sure I could make it through because I know, as I knew then, that the show itself had plenty of problems. I think that the music is good enough to discuss for sure, especially because I benefited from listening to new music I discovered through the Glee covers, and I never thought it was fair that the music got dumped on the way that it did because everyone in the cast was very musically talented.

The pilot episode of Glee premiered on Fox on May 19th, 2009 with the Season One finale airing on June 8th, 2010. Season One, while admittedly still finding itself, did an okay job setting up these characters and insane world that is William McKinley High School. Well known for spending six seasons trying to address every single possible issue that an adolescent or young adult could ever face, Season One dealt with acceptance, disabilities, homosexuality, relationships, sex, and teen pregnancy.

I've thought a lot about what to talk about in this series, so here's how this is going to go. I have chosen what, in my opinion, is the best song from each episode of the season. I'll be comparing the Glee cover with the original song, talking about which one I personally prefer, and a little bit about the context of why the song was used in the show as well as shoutouts to the cast members who sang the songs. Let's get started!

S1E1: Pilot (May 19th, 2009)

Spotlight Song: Don't Stop Believin' (written by N. Schon, S. Perry, J. Cain)

Original Artist: Journey

EVERYONE knows Don't Stop Believin'. Everyone. End of story. Steve Perry's vocals on this song are so iconic, and it also has one of the most recognizable piano and guitar lines in music history. It was featured on Journey's 1981 album Escape and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #9. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA and is the best selling digital track of the 20th century with over seven million copies sold in the US. Obviously the original is the better one of the two, no contest here.

Glee Artist: New Directions

Don't Stop Believin' became the unofficial theme song of Glee over the six years of the show. It was the first song New Directions sang together as a group, and their voices all blend together so well in every single iteration of this song on this show that it's impossible to not feel emotional as they belt it out. This is also main couple Rachel (played by Lea Michele) and Finn's (played by the late Cory Monteith) first duet in the show, and their chemistry was noticeable right from the get go. Obviously this is an iconic performance and the shining moment of the first ever episode.

S1E2: Showmance (September 9th, 2009)

Spotlight Song: Gold Digger (written by K. West, R. Charles, R. Richard)

Original Artist: Kanye West ft. Jamie Foxx

I was reminded yet again listening to this song this week how much of a banger Gold Digger is. Featured on Kanye West's 2005 album Late Registration, this song peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #1, where it stayed for 10 weeks. Gold Digger is certified 8x Platinum by the RIAA and won Best Rap Solo Performance at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Again, no questions asked, this is the better of the two performances by a mile.

Glee Artist: Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) & New Directions

Don't get me wrong, I loved hearing Will (played by Matthew Morrison) sing. Morrison has an incredible voice, and finding out he was in the boy band who sang twelve-year-old me's favorite song (Juliet by LMNT) was mind-blowing to me, but looking back having him rap as often as he did is cringy af. The shining lights here in this song are 100% Mercedes (played by Amber Riley) and Artie (played by Kevin McHale), showing early on how talented all the members of the Glee Club would end up being. Used by Will in this episode to help motivate his students, I love the energy in this song, and even though it's not as good as the original it's still a super fun listen.

S1E3: Acafellas (September 16th, 2009)

Spotlight Song: Mercy (written by A. Duffy, S. Booker)

Original Artist: Duffy

This song came out my sophomore year of high school and I love listening it to it today as much as I did when I was sixteen. Mercy was featured on Duffy's 2008 album Rockferry and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #27. The song has been certified Platinum by the RIAA and is her best selling single to date. 3-0, original win this round again - this song is still a bop.

Glee Artist: Vocal Adrenaline

Vocal Adrenaline, New Directions' top rivals throughout the entire series, absolutely nails every single song they are given for this show. They perform Mercy in this episode during a rehearsal and it's so high energy and tight and just awesome. I recommend looking the performance up on YouTube actually because a big party of this number is the choreography, which just adds another layer of awesome onto this number.

S1E4: Preggers (September 23rd, 2009)

Spotlight Song: Taking Chances (written by K. DioGuardi, D. Stewart)

Original Artist: Celine Dion

I think this is my favorite Celine Dion song (no, not Titanic, leave me alone). Featured on Dion's 2007 album Taking Chances, the song peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #54. This song is just so powerful, hopeful, and motivational, and say what you will about Celine Dion her vocals are incredible on this song. Therefore, we're giving a fourth point to our originals here.

Glee Artist: Rachel Berry (Lea Michele)

Let's just get this out of the way early: I cannot stand the character of Rachel Berry. I refuse to acknowledge that she is the main character of the show because there are so many other characters more interesting, more sympathetic, and equally as talented as her, so the way that she gets everything that she wants with minimal consequences is disgusting. I've also never been a fan of Lea Michele - she was giving huge diva (in the worst sense of the word) vibes to me from the first episode I ever watched, and any time she sang pop music was obnoxious to me because she just doesn't have a pop voice. Michele's voice is much better suited to musical theatre (since that is where she got her start), but I will give her props for her cover of Taking Chances here because it is actually really good. Rachel uses this song to audition for McKinley High's production of Cabaret, which is great except that Sue (Jane Lynch) and Sandy (Stephen Toblowsky) have created the musical as a tool to get Rachel out of Glee Club and Rachel easily falls for the trap because she throws a fit over not getting a solo and quits New Directions. All that aside, this is a good cover, just not as good as Dion's original.

S1E5: The Rhodes Not Taken (September 30th, 2009)

Spotlight Song: Maybe This Time (written by J. Kander, F. Ebb)

Original Artist: Cabaret Cast

Even if you're unfamiliar with Cabaret, you've probably heard this song before because it's an absolute classic. Maybe This Time was originally written for and performed by Kaye Ballard, but really came into prominence when it was included in the 1972 film adaptation of Cabaret and performed by Liza Minnelli in her iconic role as Sally Bowles. Glee covered the Cabaret version, so I listened to Minnelli's performance and was blown away yet again by how talented that woman is. This song is an incredible listen and a great addition to a musical theatre repertoire.

Glee Artist: April Rhodes (Kristin Chenoweth) & Rachel Berry (Lea Michele)

Kristin Chenoweth's guest appearances as April Rhodes were a HUGE reason why I watched this show in the first place. April uses this song as her audition for New Directions and is a bright spot in an otherwise questionable and cringy episode with a grown ass woman coming back to attend high school and be a soloist in a Glee Club. Chenoweth and Michele duetting this song in this episode is one of my favorite moments of the show's entire run, so to be honest I'm going to give this performance a tie with Liza Minnelli's because all three Broadway legends here deserve tthe shoutout.

S1E6: Vitamin D (October 7th, 2009)

Spotlight Song: Halo/Walking on Sunshine (written by R. Tedder, E. Bogart, B. Knowles, K. Rew)

Original Artist(s): Beyoncé/Katrina and the Waves

Halo was featured on Beyoncé's 2008 album I Am... Sasha Fierce and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #5. It's been certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA and won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2010 Grammy Awards. Walking on Sunshine was featured on Katrina and the Waves' 1983 album of the same name and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #9. Both of these songs are great in their own rights and have become classics in their own genres, but who would ever have had the mindset to mash them together?

Glee Artist: New Directions Girls

The Glee show runners, that's who had the mindset to mash them together. And the craziest tthing is that IT WORKED. Vitamin D is the original Mash-Up episode the all of us fans looked forward to every single year, and Team Girl seriously kicked ass with this number. I wish Amber Riley had more to do on this song, but she really shines when her solo parts come up and matches Lea Michele note for note. There will be better mashups that come along as the show progresses, but this was definitely a good start.

S1E7: Throwdown (October 14th, 2009)

Spotlight Song: No Air (written by J. Fauntleroy, E. Griggs, D. Thomas, S. Russell)

Original Artist: Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown

No Air was featured on Jordin Sparks' 2007 self-titled album. It peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #3 and is certified Platinum by the RIAA. I struggle hard with Chris Brown because there are a few songs of his I like even though I think he's a trash person, but there's no denying that he and Sparks sound great together on his song. Giving this original the win.

Glee Artist: Will's New Directions

Throwdown is a super cringy episode of Glee where Sue purposefully creates a divide between the kids in New Directions and creates her own factiton of the Glee Club featuring only the minority students in the group while Will is left with the white kids...yikes. Luckily the kids really how stupid this is by the episode's end and get back together, but it begins a lot of really questionable things that Sue and Will do in their rivalry that probably should've gotten both of them fired from the school. Anyway, this cover features Lea Michele and Cory Monteith as soloists with Quinn (Dianna Agron), Puck (Mark Salling), and Brittany (Heather Morris) providing backing vocals in a performance rife with romantic tension (if you're unfamiliar, a pregnant Quinn is lying to everyone that boyfriend Finn is the father of her baby when it's actually Finn's best friend Puck from the one night stand they had and Rachel is hopelessly in love with Finn and Finn is starting to have feelings for Rachel...yeah it's a lot). It's a good cover, just not as good as the original.

S1E8: Mash-Up (October 21st, 2009)

Spotlight Song: Sweet Caroline (written by N. Diamond)

Original Artist: Neil Diamond

One of the most iconic songs in musical history, Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline was released as a single in 1969. It peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #4 and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. I don't know how much more I need to say - I know and love the song, you know and love the song, Neil Diamond wins this round no contest.

Glee Artist: Noah Puckerman (Mark Salling) & New Directions

Oooooh boy. I had a huge crush on Puck when the show was on and loved Mark Salling's voice because, in truth, he was a talented musician. Please know I felt very yucky typing that sentence out knowing what we all know now since the show has ended about Salling's arrest (I'm not going to go into the details because it's just really bad, you either know what happened or you can go look it up) and his death in 2018. His cover of Sweet Caroline, which was his first solo in the show and dedicated to Rachel during that weird relationship arc, is well done and I like the more acoustic feel at the beginning, but it is a lot more difficult to listen to now for sure.

S1E9: Wheels (November 11th, 2009)

Spotlight Song: Dancing With Myself (written by B. Idol, T. James)

Original Artist: Nouvelle Vague

Dancing With Myself was originally featured on Generation X's 1981 album Kiss Me Deadly. Glee actually covered the version by Nouvelle Vague ft. Phoebe Killdeer, featured on their 2006 album Bande à Part. Both versions are great - I love the manic energy of Billy Idol and Gen X, but the more stripped down jazzy version of Nouvelle Vogue's has a great energy to it as well.

Glee Artist: Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale)

I loved the character of Artie on the show because he was so funny, but also largely because of what incredible talent Kevin McHale is. This guy has an awesome voice and is probably the best dancer on the show, which makes it even sillier that the show runners had him play the character in the wheelchair instead of, you know, hiring an actual disabled actor. Nonetheless, this is a great song, it's Artie's first solo, and I'm giving it a tie with the original because of how well McHale did.

S1E10: Ballad (November 18th, 2009)

Spotlight Song: Don't Stand So Close to Me/Young Girl (written by G. Sumner, J. Fuller)

Original Artist(s): The Police/Gary Puckett & The Union Gap

Don't Stand So Close to Me was featured on The Police's 1980 album Zenyatta Mondatta. It peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #10 and won Best Rock Peformance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 1982 Grammy Awards. Young Girl was featured on Gary Puckett & The Union Gap's 1968 album of the same name and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #2. I'll give it to Don't Stand that it's catchy as hell and has a great beat, but damn ya'll these songs are so CREEPY! Seriously, big yikes on the lyrics here. They're practically made to be mashed together.

Glee Artist: Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison)

Ok, it is pretty funny that Will sings this song to Rachel to try and dissuade her from having a crush on him since he's her teacher because of how badly it fails. Seriously, what did he think was going to happen? LISTEN TO THE LYRICS, SCHUE, SHE THINKS YOU'RE ENCOURAGING HER. As always, Morrison's vocals are on point and as cringy as they are apart, this is actually a really good mashup so props for that.

S1E11: Hairography (November 25th, 2009)

Spotlight Song: Papa Don't Preach (written by B. Elliot, M. Ciccone)

Original Artist: Madonna

Papa Don't Preach was featured on Madonna's 1986 album True Blue. It peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #1, where it stayed for two weeks, and has been certified Gold by the RIAA. This is a pretty mid-tier Madonna song for me, but it's still a bop over the serious lyrics about an unexpected pregnancy.

Glee Artist: Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron)

Dianna Agron, in my opinion, had the weakest vocals of the main Glee cast. In spite of that, she played Quinn beautifully, making you really hate her when she was being horrible and also making you really feel for her and care about her when she decides to be a decent human being. She and Puck perform an acoustic version of Papa Don't Preach while babysitting Terri's (Will's wife, played by Jessalyn Gilsig) triplet nieces. It's only the first verse and chorus of the song, but I really like just her vocals with the guitar and I think I would like this style for this song better than the original.

S1E12: Mattress (December 2nd, 2009)

Spotlight Song: Smile (written by C. Chaplin, J. Turner, G. Parsons)

Original Artist: Charlie Chaplin

Smile was originally featured in the 1936 film Modern Times, where it served as the wordless romantic theme composed by Charlie Chaplin. Lyricists John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons gave the song its words and its name eighteen years later, where it was originally covered by Nat King Cole. The song is now a jazz and pop standard, and it's still an absolutely beautiful song both with and without its lyrics.

Glee Artist: New Directions

This is another great group song for New Directions, with Michele, Riley, and McHale particularly standing out with their solos. The group isn't actually shown performing the song, but rather sung underneath a montage of them getting ready for their yearbook photo and then having the photo defaced by members of the football team that we've seen harassing them all season long. I really like their version of the song, but as for whether or no it's my favorite cover of I'm not exactly sure.

S1E13: Sectionals (December 9th, 2009)

Spotlight Song: Don't Rain on My Parade (written by J. Styne, B. Merrill)

Orignal Artist: Funny Girl Cast

Don't Rain on My Parade was originally featured in Act 1 of the 1964 Broadway production Funny Girl, with Barbra Streisand performing the number in the lead role of Fanny Brice. This is an incredibly memorable and popular musical theatre moment, and it's a fairly difficult song to sing even though Streisand makes it sound like she's barely even trying.

Glee Artist: Rachel Berry (Lea Michele)

Rachel opens up New Directions' Sectionals set with this song after their previous songs had been leaked to and stolen by the other glee clubs in the area. As much as she annoys me, this is probably Rachel's most iconic solo in the show. It's hard to stack up against Streisand, but Michelle definitely does it and I'd put this at an even tie with which version I like best.

S1E14: Hell-O (April 13th, 2010)

Spotlight Song: Gives You Hell (written by N. Wheeler, T. Ritter)

Original Artist: The All-American Rejects

Gives You Hell was featured on The all-American Rejects' 2008 album When the World Comes Down. The song peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #4 and has been certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA. This has been one of my all time favorite songs since I was 16, so obviously I am going to give the win to the original here.

Glee Artist: Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) & New Directions

Rachel vindictively singing this song towards Finn after he dumps her is admittedly quite fun, but I do not like his song in this key at all. It's too high, even sounding too high for Michele's vocal range, and kind of gives the song a whiny feel. Yeah, the original is definitely better.

S1E15: The Power of Madonna (April 20th, 2010)

Spotlight Song: Vogue (written by M. Ciccone, S. Pettibone)

Original Artist: Madonna

Vogue was originally featured on Madonna's 1990 album I'm Breathless. The song peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #1, where it remained for three weeks, and has been certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA. This is for sure a top tier Madonna song, from its catchy beat to its iconic music video.

Glee Artist: Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch)

I honestly had a really difficult time picking a favorite song from this episode, but ultimately had to go with Vogue because of Jane Lynch's recreation of the music video. Go look it up on YouTube, it's fantastic, and Lynch's vocals are really excellent as well. Sue Sylvester may be an over the top supervillain, but damn if she isn't one of the best characters on the show. You never want her to win, but you also don't ever really want her to lose either. Add in Mercedes and Kurt (played by Chris Colfer) with their backing vocals while also featuring in the video montage and it's a classic, ridiculous, fun Glee scene from start to finish.

S1E16: Home (April 27th, 2010)

Spotlight Song: One Less Bell to Answer/A House Is Not a Home (written by B. Bacharach, H. David)

Original Artist: Barbra Streisand

One Less Bell to Answer was originally featured on The 5th Dimension's 1970 album Portrait and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #2. A House Is Not a Home was originally featured on Dionne Warwick's 1964 album Make Way for Dionne Warwick and has been certified Gold by the RIAA. This particular mashup wasn't created especially for Glee, but instead was featured on Barbra Streisand's 1971 album Barbra Joan Streisand. Obviously it's Barbra Streisand, so the orginial is naturally going to be good.

Glee Artist: April Rhodes (Kristin Chenoweth) & Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison)

Kristin is back as April Rhodes, and this duet she sings with Will as they get ready for bed when she's staying with him and they're dealing with their failed relationships is a really sweet and vulnerable moment for both characters. Chenoweth was actually in the middle of her run of Promises, Promises on Broadway at this time so she was singing A House is Not a Home multiple times a week, and I honestly like this version better than the original because she pours so much emotion into these few minutes.

S1E17: Bad Reputation (May 4th, 2010)

Spotlight Song: Ice Ice Baby (written by F. Brown, M. Johnson, R. Van Winkle, B. May, D. Bowie, F. Mercury, J. Deacon, R. Taylor)

Original Artist: Vanilla Ice

Ice Ice Baby was originally featured on Vanilla Ice's 1990 album To the Extreme. It peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #1, becoming the first hip hop song to hit #1 on that chart, and is certified Platinum by the RIAA. From the sampling of Under Pressure to the catchy lyrics, this song is iconic even if there are better rap songs out there. Vanilla Ice wins this round in terms of favorite version here.

Glee Artist: Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) & New Directions

Again, we have Matthew Morrison rapping and again, it's not the best but it's not the worst either. Will is basically challenged by Jesse (played by Jonathan Groff) to prove that this song isn't the worst song ever created, and Will manages to change New Directions' mind by...getting them to dance to it? I don't know, it's a weird episode all around, but the energy is good and it's still cachy.

S1E18: Laryngitis (May 11th, 2010)

Spotlight Song: Rose's Turn (written by J. Styne, S. Sondheim)

Original Artist: Gypsy Cast

Rose's Turn was originally seen in Act 2 of the 1959 Broadway musical Gypsy: A Musical Fable where it was preformed by Ethel Merman in the role of Rose. Gypsy is a classic Broadway musical, and Merman's performance in this song is really powerful and strong.

Glee Artist: Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer)

Ugh I cannot believe I have waited this long to talk about one of my favorite Glee characters, Kurt Hummel as portrayed by the incredibly talened Chris Colfer. I love Colfer's voice, and while Kurt can match Rachel in diva levels from top to bottom he is just so much more likable to me because he can keep himself in check and understands how to accept the consequences of his actions. He performs a shortened, modified version of Rose's Turn to express his frustration at his father spending more time with Finn (the son of his dad's girlfriend...yeah, more convoluted relationships is what this show has always needed) than with him. He really gets to show off how powerful his voice can be, and this was the first solo I heard of his that really solidified him as a personal favorite.

S1E19: Dream On (May 18th, 2010)

Spotlight Song: I Dreamed a Dream (written by C. Schönberg, A. Boublil, H. Kretzmer)

Original Artist: Les Misérables Cast

I Dreamed a Dream was originally heard in Act 1 of (personal opinion warning) the world's greatest Broadway Musical Les Misérables in 1980, where it was performred by Randy Graff in the role of Fantine. I have wriitten a lot about thow much this song means to me and how much I love it, so I'll just go ahead and say any version of this song that I hear usually ends up being counted as an equal favorite with all the others.

Glee Artist: Shelby Corcoran (Idina Menzel) & Rachel Berry (Lea Michele)

Stick a fork in me, I was done the minute Idina Menzel showed up on this show. This duet performed by Rachel and Shelby Corcoran (who we find out is Rachel's birth mother) is actually performed as a dream sequence while Rachel is hearing a recording of Shelby singing for the first time, and the harmonies these two create on this song are enough to bring someone to tears. Five stars, two thumbs up, cannot recommend this version enough.

S1E20: Theatricality (May 25th, 2010)

Spotlight Song: Funny Girl (written by J. Styne, B.Merrill)

Original Artist: Funny Girl Cast

Funny Girl was original heard in the 1968 film adaptation of Funny Girl and performed by Barbra Streisand in the role of Fanny Brice. Obviously, again, it's Barbra Streisand so it's incredible.

Glee Artist: Shelby Corcoran (Idina Menzel)

Shelby performs this song to Vocal Adrenaline, of whom she is their director in a surprise twist, to inspire more theatricality in them and she absolutely nails it. This is an incredible cover of ths song, Idina is perfecton, no other notes.

S1E21: Funk (June 1st, 2010)

Spotlight Song: Tell Me Something Good (written by S. Wonder)

Original Artist: Rufus & Chaka Khan

Tell Me Something Good was featured on Rufus' 1974 album Rags to Rufus. It peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #3 and won Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus at the 1975 Grammy Awards. I think both of these versions of this song have their merits, but I'm giving the original the win by a hair because I like the slower tempo with that funk beat more than the slightly faster Glee version.

Glee Artist: Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison)

Will sings this song to Sue in a completely bizarre attempt to seduce her...it's done as a joke but damn is it weird. Again, Morrison's vocals are great and I do like this verson a lot, but as I said before I just llike the slower tempo of the original more.

S1E22: Journey to Regionals (June 8th, 2010)

Spotlight Song: Faithfully/Anyway You Want It/Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'/Don't Stop Believin' (written by J. Cain, S. Perry, N. Schon)

Original Artist: Journey

Faithfully was originally featured on Journey's 1983 album Frontiers and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #12. Anyway You Want It was originally featured on Journey's 1980 album Departure and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #23. Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' was originally from Journey's 1979 album Evolution and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #16, and the information on Don't Stop Believin' can be found in the blurb for the Pilot. All four of these songs are iconic samples of classic rock as well as Journey's repertoire, and they're all excellent in their own rights.

Glee Artist: New Directions

New Directions' Regionals set being a Journey medley is a great way to end their inaugural season by bringing it back to where it all begn for them. All of these songs back to back, each of them showcasing different members of the cast in some really incredible solos, and to finish off with a reworked Don't Stop Believin' makes this an emotional scene to watch every single time.

Feel free to watch this season of Glee for yourself - for all its cringeworthy moments there are some really good scenes, laughs, character development, and music that makes it worth it. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!