Hear them sing! Songs and voices on Glee

[knaxx]

Mine too. Her version of the song itself is great but the performance and how it tied into the plot is what really makes Don't Rain on My Parade special to me.

Same here. I think apart from that what also got me is that I was blown away by Lea's voice all through the first season and yet she still somehow managed to top herself. Goosebumbs for sure :)

 

My man will also always be a standout for me. I remember how I hated Fichel at the end of s2 and I rolled my eyes so hard when his face appeared during this song. I already had my finger on the fast forward button but I just couldn't tear myself away because it was just that good!

 

Agree on foreworks: Loved the number in the episode, hated how it was all smoke and mirrors in retrospect.

 

What I find interesting is that I think there are hardly any Lea solos post season 3 that I really like the way I did the early ones.

The newer ones are not bad obviously because Lea has a great voice but they are more... bland? I just don't get the same emotions that I got from songs like My Man, DROMP, Fireworks, Taking Chances...

Or maybe I just got a little tired of Lea's voice due to overexposure or it's because Rachel and her storylines got weaker and consequently the songs fell flat as well

[ancslove]

Rachel had less actual solos in season 4 but some of my favorite duets and ensembles. Don't Speak, Give Your Heart a Break, Love Song, All That Jazz.

[Myrna123]

I think I must have fast forwarded through every single song Lea ever sang because I have no memory of almost all of these songs.  Granted, I seem to have no memory of 99.9% of Glee songs (which maybe explains why I was able to come back week after agonizing week.  Also, I don't know the titles of most of the songs, so when they're referenced, unless they're an old-timey classic, I have no clue which song it is).  I've clicked on a couple of the videos in the "Best of" lists that have popped up in the last week and there are a couple of cute performances I missed through the years.

[dizzyizzy01]

What I find interesting is that I think there are hardly any Lea solos post season 3 that I really like the way I did the early ones.

The newer ones are not bad obviously because Lea has a great voice but they are more... bland? I just don't get the same emotions that I got from songs like My Man, DROMP, Fireworks, Taking Chances...

Or maybe I just got a little tired of Lea's voice due to overexposure or it's because Rachel and her storylines got weaker and consequently the songs fell flat as well

 

Lea had relatively few solos after S3, and almost no songs fit the story lines after S3.  It became much more random plot here, insert song, more random plot. Rinse.  Repeat.  I also think the production of the music got super lazy.  Very few interesting arrangements.  I did like the cover of Wake Me Up though, but I hated that whole story line.  I just thought the sequence was interestingly shot and was one of the better covers.

 

Honestly, I didn't like really most of the music for any of the characters after S3.  A lot of it was pleasant, but none of it has the same impact on me as the earlier season stuff.

[Ceeg]

Honestly, I didn't like really most of the music for any of the characters after S3.  A lot of it was pleasant, but none of it has the same impact on me as the earlier season stuff.

 

Probably because the context was really terrible. It's hard to enjoy a musical performance (even if it's great vocally and visually) when the storyline surrounding it is shit.

[Cranberry]

Pretty much all of my favorite songs are from the first couple of seasons. I do really like "Homeward Bound/Home", though, if I can force myself to ignore the Auto-Tune.

[jaytee1812]

Probably because the context was really terrible. It's hard to enjoy a musical performance (even if it's great vocally and visually) when the storyline surrounding it is shit.

Weirdly enough my favourite song comes from a storyline I hate - True Colours.

I think I overplayed and bored myself of a lot of the early stuff. But I'll probably come back to liking some of it.

[KatWay]

I have some irrational love for Without You. Probably because it was the first time I really felt the Finchel chemistry. I mean, I never thought they were a vortex of suck as some others kept claiming during S1 and S2, but for me they always had easy, caring chemistry but not necessarily "epic love". That was the first song where I thought, oh, I get it. Even though the whole thing was ridiculous.

[caracas1914]

" To Sir with Love" gets me every time. The context and the song fit perfectly and the blending of individual voices and paired harmonies was just lovely.

Something about Santana and Kurt singing back to back and Mercedes/Finn harmonizing, it's my go to emotional Glee song.

Sad tearful Santana , she looks so good distraught! And the sailor outfit on Kurt!

[tom87]

Six songs broke 200 on itunes this season. I included pre show and post show highest rankings  to show how some sold overall.

 

song                                       pre                post

I lived                                     251                46

This Time                              154                71

Home                                     1282              130

Listen 2 ur Heart                  504               153

Let it Go                                 174                164

Rise                                        238                 180

Edited March 23, 2015 by tom87

[jaytee1812]

Wow, it never is about how good the song is. Apart from Listen To Your Heart they were not good... Having said that I bought I Lived because it's the last song, I would've bought anything had it been the last song

[Ceeg]

It's interesting to see any sort of pattern, but is there really much of a sales difference between peaking at #200 and #300? I know you needed a cut-off point somewhere, but I'm not sure that there's still a huge amount of difference between say Rise and whatever the next best-selling one was (the Brittana duet maybe).

[tom87]

It's interesting to see any sort of pattern, but is there really much of a sales difference between peaking at #200 and #300? I know you needed a cut-off point somewhere, but I'm not sure that there's still a huge amount of difference between say Rise and whatever the next best-selling one was (the Brittana duet maybe).

In there are a ton a of variables including what else was released that week. 

 

There were a lot in the 300s I just wanted/needed to limited my search. 

Edited March 23, 2015 by tom87

[dizzyizzy01]

It's interesting to see any sort of pattern, but is there really much of a sales difference between peaking at #200 and #300? I know you needed a cut-off point somewhere, but I'm not sure that there's still a huge amount of difference between say Rise and whatever the next best-selling one was (the Brittana duet maybe).

Not really.  Not in terms of being meaningful in sales.  % shifts were probably huge.  But absolute numbers mean squat at those levels unless they hold steady in sales for several weeks.  

Edited March 23, 2015 by dizzyizzy01

[Ceeg]

Yeah. I didn't think it really started to make a difference until around top 10 on iTunes. Maaaaybe top 20 if it sticks around for a while, but being #200 for a 2-hour period and then drop drop dropping really doesn't mean much.

 

However, I think it's pretty clear that Lea has always consistently been the best seller on the show.

[caracas1914]

We probably need total sales figures for the Gee singles released.  I'm sure all that info will come out eventually now that the series has concluded.

 

However, I think it's pretty clear that Lea has always consistently been the best seller on the show.

 

 To use an overused and misapplied term way too many times, she was a genuine "ITUNES cash cow".

Edited March 23, 2015 by caracas1914

[dizzyizzy01]

We probably need total sales figures for the Gee singles released.  I'm sure all that info will come out eventually now that the series has concluded.

I don't think it will be publicly released unless someone with Nielsen Soundscan access wants to put together a press release/article.   Maybe though.

[caracas1914]

Already there are partial lists of first and second week sales of  many of the Glee singles the first few years.

[tom87]

Right now the glee cast is listed as having the most entries on Billboard top 100.  We know this is a huge stretch cause they are covers and  they got to release songs every week but that said....  I saw on tumblr that if the songs were listed  to the singers and not the glee cast that Lea as a featured  singer (some shared credit of course) would be in the top 10 artist with the most entries on the Billboard top 100.  ( #6 or #7 don't remember)

 

Not to be taken seriously just silly food for thought.      FYI one  of the songs to count was hers not a cover . 

Edited March 23, 2015 by tom87

[dizzyizzy01]

Already there are partial lists of first and second week sales of many of the Glee singles the first few years.

Yea, but a lot of the earlier season stuff where Glee had it's top sellers had a lot of media coverage.  People can find stuff like that in the public domain now if fans wants to put together a list.  They haven't issued press like that for Glee in a long time.  Someone might put the effort out though if there's a slow news day I guess.  I just don't think anyone is going to rank all 500ish (?) songs.  But I guess, never say never.  There are plenty of news articles out there that always have me going someone got paid to write/compile that???  

[Myrna123]

Lea would be in the top 10 artist with the most entries on the Billboard top 100.

Right, but so many of those songs are covers, and not only that, particularly in later Glee seasons, they were karaoke covers of songs that were actually still on the pop charts when they were covered by Glee.  I'm not sure there's anything to be extrapolated from that stat, except the perfect storm of platform-music rights-talented cover artist. 

 

I guess I scratch my head a little bit at why Lea and her management are all that keen on releasing another album.  There's little financial gain for recording artists who just release music--most of the performers' revenues come from touring.  The record company gets the lion's share of the album proceeds.  How much time could Michele afford to devote to touring and for how much money?  I can't imagine the proceeds would be worth the time unless she does a few huge venues.  The genre for Michele is hard to peg as well.  She's not really a pop singer, but her audience is, I presume, predominately younger fans who may not be all that excited about an album of standards or Broadway tunes.  And who tend to glom onto the next shiny thing when it comes to music.  Michele has a beautiful voice, so I can absolutely see her singing in roles on Broadway and in film, I just don't know how much her career benefits from adding recording artist to her resume.

Edited March 23, 2015 by Myrna123

[mwk89]

Here's my list of the top 50 musical performances on Glee http://matthewkitson.blogspot.com/2015/03/glee-top-50-performances.html, what were some of your all-time favorites? 

[tom87]

Right, but so many of those songs are covers, and not only that, particularly in later Glee seasons, they were karaoke covers of songs that were actually still on the pop charts when they were covered by Glee.  I'm not sure there's anything to be extrapolated from that stat, except the perfect storm of platform-music rights-talented cover artist. 

Thanks for reiterating  everything I mentioned in my post as to how it was a huge stretch.   Don't need to extrapolate anything it was just a silly note  I saw on tumblr.

 

I always felt them being added to the list was odd and Billboard even changed the way they calculated the top 100 in part due to glee. That is also why mid season 3 they stopped charting on  Billboard so easily.

 

Again for anyone who thought   anyone would think this was to be taken seriously.  

 

Not to be taken seriously just silly food for thought.

 

Edited March 23, 2015 by tom87

[Myrna123]

Again for anyone who thought   anyone would think this was to be taken seriously.

I wasn't trying to offend you, I was just continuing on the conversation. I understood perfectly what you said.

[tom87]

I wasn't trying to offend you, I was just continuing on the conversation. I understood perfectly what you said.

Sorry but it just seems like you were taking it as a serious comment.   Like I said it was  just a silly foot note.

 

 

As far as touring/music, Matt Morrsion does touring dates as does Cheno etc. Not a lot of dates and  mid size venues.   Even Jane Lynch is doing a night club act tour.   So there must be some money to it.  

Edited March 23, 2015 by tom87

[dizzyizzy01]

I guess I scratch my head a little bit at why Lea and her management are all that keen on releasing another album.  There's little financial gain for recording artists who just release music--most of the performers' revenues come from touring.  The record company gets the lion's share of the album proceeds.  How much time could Michele afford to devote to touring and for how much money?  I can't imagine the proceeds would be worth the time unless she does a few huge venues.  The genre for Michele is hard to peg as well.  She's not really a pop singer, but her audience is, I presume, predominately younger fans who may not be all that excited about an album of standards or Broadway tunes.  And who tend to glom onto the next shiny thing when it comes to music.  Michele has a beautiful voice, so I can absolutely see her singing in roles on Broadway and in film, I just don't know how much her career benefits from adding recording artist to her resume.

I don't think Lea's ever going to be come solely focused on music, but music is clearly important to her.  And really, it's part of her brand and appeal.  She's a singer/actress.  Not everything  has to be some huge splash to be considered a successful venture.  Some decent sales, selling a few venues here and there, and that's certainly a respectable music career to supplement her acting.

[Ceeg]

If Lea releases some kind of Broadway standards album, and she wants to promote it with a small tour, it's not that difficult for Broadway actresses to do that. She wouldn't have to book huge arenas, all she'd have to do is go to a few big cities with orchestras and be their guest for a night. There are tons of Broadway singers/actresses who put out albums and tour around that way. Even the ones without big names and awards.

[jaytee1812]

If Lea releases some kind of Broadway standards album, and she wants to promote it with a small tour, it's not that difficult for Broadway actresses to do that. She wouldn't have to book huge arenas, all she'd have to do is go to a few big cities with orchestras and be their guest for a night. There are tons of Broadway singers/actresses who put out albums and tour around that way. Even the ones without big names and awards.

Seriously, I have about twenty albums of that type from people a lot less famous than Lea Michele. And that is genuinely no exaggeration.

[jjjmoss]

Out of curiosity, I looked up on Glee Wiki how many duets Rachel's had with everyone:

Finn 13 (7/5/1)
Santana/Kurt 8
Blaine 6
Shelby 4
Brody 4 in same season
Mercedes, Jesse 3 in 3 seasons
Sam 3 in same season
Artie, Sue, Elliot, Paolo, Will, Puck, Marley, Cassandra, Tina, Quinn, April, Sunshine, Holly 1

 

Wish she had more with Will, Quinn, and Jesse. Shelby and Kurt were also worthy duet partners for her.

[jaytee1812]

Who was Paolo?

[dizzyizzy01]

Who was Paolo?

Funny Girl co-star.

Edited March 23, 2015 by dizzyizzy01

[caracas1914]

Still kicking myself that a couple of years ago Audra MacDonald did a small venue gig in Visalia, Ca, obviously because it's just a stone's throw away from her hometown Fresno and I didn't go!

Point being that singer/performers do these type of modest tours for a myriad of reasons, one being the rush of performing live. And doing an album has to be another Feeling of professional accomplishment/legacy for these people also.

Doubt if it gets old for them.

[Snow Apple]

While Lea has an amazing voice, I like when she sings softer sweet songs or peppy happy songs. Her power ballads and "angst" songs turn me off for some reason.

 

I wish Jenna sang more since her style is more to my taste. Sad that Tina keep getting screwed over in favor of Lea and then to two sets of newbies. Still, she had a few solos in the later seasons so there's that.

[Mnem]

Forever scratching my head over only one Matt/Lea duet. It's like they didn't want my money. I always dreamed of somehow Will and Rachel getting cast in a community theater production of The King and I and having to perform a wildly inappropriate but gorgeously sung "We Kiss in a Shadow". LOL!

[phoenixrising]

I've also never been into her angst ballads. I just tend to find those songs...boring. Although I felt that way a lot about Amber's songs too. Guess I just hate ballads.

[Higgs]

... music is clearly important to her. And really, it's part of her brand and appeal. She's a singer/actress. ... a respectable music career to supplement her acting.

Her singing and acting careers are synergistic. If I understand her public statements and career choices correctly, these days, If she had an elliptical in her bedroom, the poster on the wall would read "Oscars", not "Grammys" or "Tonys". But to have a chance at the best film roles, it helps to be as widely recognized as possible, and albums can serve that purpose, over and above everything else. And it can work both ways, as can be seen from the sales of Paltrow's songs on Glee. Idina will be doing a TV pilot with Ellen's backing, due undoubtedly to the huge success of "Frozen". (Lea will be the lead in a 2017 animated musical, this time from a major studio.) It's all good, even when it's not. Edited March 23, 2015 by Higgs

[Ceeg]

I see a lot of people that loved Rachel's My Man performance (I did too, Lea was so good), but it always cracks me up because of the Finchel of it. That song is so tragic and problematic. The beginning of the song, which is usually cut completely and was for Glee too, has lyrics about the man beating her and cheating on her, but she loves him anyway. This is not a love song, Glee writers.

[jaytee1812]

I see a lot of people that loved Rachel's My Man performance (I did too, Lea was so good), but it always cracks me up because of the Finchel of it. That song is so tragic and problematic. The beginning of the song, which is usually cut completely and was for Glee too, has lyrics about the man beating her and cheating on her, but she loves him anyway. This is not a love song, Glee writers.

I was never a fan, but I was never a fan of Streisand either. But also it just never sounded like a song that a seventeen year old should be singing about her boyfriend (well at that time ex-boyfriend).

[tom87]

I see a lot of people that loved Rachel's My Man performance (I did too, Lea was so good), but it always cracks me up because of the Finchel of it. That song is so tragic and problematic. The beginning of the song, which is usually cut completely and was for Glee too, has lyrics about the man beating her and cheating on her, but she loves him anyway. This is not a love song, Glee writers.

The Finn face implant was so unnecessary too.  It was obvious who glee wanted the audience to think she was thinking of...

[Ceeg]

The Billie Holiday version of that song legit makes me cry, just because it's so, so sad.

 

Speaking of Billie Holiday, over the years, Naya said in several interviews that she'd like to do a Billie Holiday song on the show, and that never happened. I would have loved to hear her on an old standard.

[spiritof76]

I adore "My Man". I agree the context of the song within the show is problematic, but it is my absolute favorite Lea Michele solo.

[dizzyizzy01]

The Finn face implant was so unnecessary too.  It was obvious who glee wanted the audience to think she was thinking of...

It was such an oddly framed shot too, like half of Cory's head was cut off.  Also, the cut was very jarring.  Just weird choices all around.

[KatWay]

Most of Glee's songs were wildly-inappropriate, lyrics wise. At best they checked the title of the song and were content if it fit the storyline, or sometimes not even that. I usually just didn't pay attention to the lyrics, because clearly the writers didn't particularly care about them either.

[Mnem]

The Finn face implant was so unnecessary too.  It was obvious who glee wanted the audience to think she was thinking of...

I've never watched the performance again since the first airing because I was that pissed and repulsed by that damn tracking shot. So unnecessary!

[Snow Apple]

I totally don't remember "My Man" so I looked it up on YT. Sorry, but that's exactly the type of song I mentioned in my last post; the type of song I'm not a fan of from Lea (complete with her faces). Oh well. I guess liking different things is what makes the world go round and why there are so many different types of music out there.

[Vanessa1214]

Does anyone besides me love Lea's "To Love You More"? I think she sounds so beautiful on it, and that last note is just... wow.

[Higgs]

Does anyone besides me love Lea's "To Love You More"?

I do, in large part because I can imagine her speaking the words to someone. But as with "My Man", I'm put off a little by songs in which the female is overly submissive. "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" is even better.

Also, in no particular order:

DSB (on Oprah)

Make You Feel My Love

O Holy Night

Argentina

Go Your Own Way

Total Eclipse of the Heart

We've Got Tonight (after filtering out everyone but Cory)

Like A Prayer (after filtering out everyone else and imagining she sings all the rest of it)

And her greatest DROMP: http://vt.tumblr.com/tumblr_n3hjl7aZiP1rohzgv.mp4#_=_

Edited March 24, 2015 by Higgs

[tab19]

For me, context can really influence how I feel about a song.  For instance, I love Amber and Naya's voices together, but a repeat of the episode Reputation came on where they sing 'That Boy Is Mine' and I'm so appalled by the context (two girls fighting over a boy) that I can't watch the duet.  I can listen to it on my iPod out of context, most of the time, but being reminded onscreen how Glee felt about girls just gives me second hand embarassment.  (Yes, I know it's supposed to be mostly for laughs, but...)

 

I feel the same way about the context for Make You Feel My Love.  Either Lea really feels that way, in which case I don't want to see it because it's too personal and awful; or Glee is capitalizing on how people THINK Lea feels, which is just bad (to me).  I turned off that song during the episode, and haven't listened to it since.  I feel the same way about Naya's song - although I usually buy everything Naya sings, and it was a solo, I haven't bought that one, either.

 

On the flip side, I think context is part of what makes both I Feel Pretty/Unpretty and Rumour Has It/Someone LIke You among my favorite songs. They were great choices within the episode, and elevated songs I would have probably enjoyed anyway.

[caracas1914]

Speaking of Billie Holiday, over the years, Naya said in several interviews that she'd like to do a Billie Holiday song on the show, and that never happened. I would have loved to hear her on an old standard.

 

My wish list on Glee  was a stand alone B/W  film noir 30'/40's episode ("Moonlighting" did a memorable one) set in an art deco night club. 

 

Santana channeling Billie Holiday or Lena Horne singing something like "Honey Suckle Rose" or " Lover man".

I could then die happy.

Edited March 24, 2015 by caracas1914

[Ceeg]

Actually looking back, it is kind of weird that Glee never touched any kind of old jazz torch song, except (lol) Trouty Mouth. No Billie or Lena or Ella or Sarah Vaughan or anything like that. At least not that I can remember.