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Hear them sing! Songs and voices on Glee


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However per the SL Rachel feels her nose is too "Jewish" and envies the looks of Quinn with her perfect nose. So for a SL about a girl insecure about Her looks while contemplating plastic surgery I just don't see why "Unpretty" doesn't apply.

It's one thing to opine Lea Michel is miscast as Rachel, it's another to say the song doesn't match the actual storyline, which IMO it does.

I don't think Lea was miscast, just don't give us a storyline about Rachel being ugly and expect us to believe it when she looks like Lea Michele.

Unpretty is about women accepting how they look. It should've been sung by a character who will be judged negatively by their looks, not two characters who's lives are enhanced by them. It's not like glee didn't have characters like that.*

*thats not to say the women themselves aren't beautiful.

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For me personally I find Lea, Naya, Jenna and Amber more attractive then Dianna. Sure she is pretty but noting interesting or unique about her look.   To each their own.

I feel the same way. Dianna is totally the beauty-prototype society wants to measure every women against.  But I personally find the other girls more attractive than her.

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I don't think Lea was miscast, just don't give us a storyline about Rachel being ugly and expect us to believe it when she looks like Lea Michele.

Unpretty is about women accepting how they look. It should've been sung by a character who will be judged negatively by their looks, not two characters who's lives are enhanced by them. It's not like glee didn't have characters like that.*

*thats not to say the women themselves aren't beautiful.

 

I get what you are saying but I think the writers were going more for self-love and acceptance. Because while Rachel might be beautiful in most people's eyes, she didn't feel like she was. She didn't feel like she was because she didn't fit society's beauty-prototype. She was beautiful despite society telling her that she doesn't fit their standard. Just like Mercedes, Tina, Santana. They are beautiful women, but they don't fit society's beauty-prototype. That's why people are quick to put the title of the most beautiful glee girl on Diana, because she is the one, without question, who fits what society at large claim is the ultimate beauty.

 

The way the Glee fandom react to Diana's beauty compare to the other girls alone should tell you why Rachel had a problem feeling like she wasn't pretty/beautiful, because just like a lot people in the fandom and those in society, she was using Quinn as her measurement of beauty because that is who society use to measure her against. 

 

Rachel needed to realize that even thought she doesn't measure up to what society considers to be beautiful (Quinn), she was still beautiful with her big nose and all. 

 

I actually thought that Rachel was the perfect character to use for this story-line, because she is someone that most people wouldn't think had image issue. She was someone who was so confident in everything about herself, but she had this image problem. All because the measurement society use for beauty, is something that most people can never measure up to because if it's not their weight,  it will be their race ,or their ethnicity etc. This story-line showed how narrow society's beauty-prototype is and how most people, no matter how confident they are in everything about themselves, at one point or another, they will try to reach it and fail. 

Edited by SevenStars
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When I used the term "stunning conventional beauty" for Dianna/Quinn it is because of what is expected to be  the Look that many young  girls (rightly or wrongly)  aspired to: , blond, with a small petite nose and a certain bone structure.  

 

It's no coincidence that most female movie stars in history do NOT look like that, because having some distinctive or physical quirk can make someone more attractive and accessible to the GA. 

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That is the first number of the season I can say I really love.  Good job Glee!  As far as who sings it seems like Rachel does the majority of it with both Artie and Mercedes having smaller parts.  I agree that Kurt should have done some of it.

 

I do have one criticism.  WTH is that sweater Kurt is wearing in the beginning.  Also, while Lea looks terrific, that skirt in the beginning is way to short for someone who is now and adviser at McKinley.

Edited by camussie
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Kurt's sweater looks fine to me. 

 

Haven't they group-run through the MKH hallways and invaded the lunchroom like 100 times before? 

 

I can also hear Tina, Sam and Puck. Basically everyone but Kurt. 

Edited by fakeempress
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Take On Me has been released 

http://www.etonline.com/media/video/glee_sneak_peek_take_on_me-155731/

 

It's a perfect song for Kurt' voice but I can't hear Chis on it, does he even get a line? 

I feel like this can be (and probably has been) said about at least 100 group songs of Glee after we got the audio.

 

*sigh*

 

I freakin' would have loved to hear Chris singing that chorus. Or Kevin, for that matter. Instead we get this generic overproduced synthesized mess.

And the chorus isn't even sung by 1 person (going from real low to real high) like Morten Harket of A-Ha did (which makes that chorus so awesome in the first place).

 

Bah, to think this could have been the last group song of the original cast, and this is what they made of it.

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Who's the male voice after Artie when Sue's bashing the kids against the wall? It seems like it should be Kurt since he and Artie are kind of "featured" there, but it doesn't sound like him (or Artie, Puck, or Sam). Yes, I'm surprised Kurt didn't have more to do, but that's par for the course.

Edited by indeed
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Underwhelming, to say the very least. Of course ignore the two singers who could really make this song work (Kevin and Chris) in favor of the same voices that we're going to hear over and over this season. No updating or revamping a song that is now 30 years old (and man, does this date me), right down to copying the music video. It was all flash and no heart or soul. I have a feeling that this is really indicative of what we can expect for the coming season.

 

LOL at Chris's total lack of enthusiasm for the intro.

Edited by Hana Chan
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The singing may not be particularly interesting (although I'm thinking that everyone got a least a line somewhere) - but personally I love the visual aspects and staging.  The kids flipping in and out of the mirror is a ton of fun.  Plus that's a nice addition to the A-Ha version, since in the original video they're either in the black and white version OR in the real world, not flipping in between.  I will grant you that my love for the original song/video may be influencing my enjoyment, but I'm okay with that.  :)  Not a HUGE fan of the pastels, but overall I think it's a entertaining homage.  If I like the rest of the songs for the season as much as this one, I'll be in good shape.  I'm actually almost sorry I watched it, because I think I would have enjoyed being surprised. 

 

Also:  given that they're back in McKinley - I'm not sure how much novelty we can expect in staging.  I mean - they sing in the choir room, they sing in the auditorium, they sing around the school.  This seemed like a fun way to add a little spice.

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Who's the male voice after Artie when Sue's bashing the kids against the wall? It seems like it should be Kurt since he and Artie are kind of "featured" there, but it doesn't sound like him (or Artie, Puck, or Sam). Yes, I'm surprised Kurt didn't have more to do, but that's par for the course.

I think that's Sam after Artie's lines.

 

And yeah I heard everyone besides Kurt/Chris. Well, actually I didn't hear Puck or Quinn either.

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I asked this in the episode thread, but this seems like a better place for it:  

 

Apparently they allowed Darren Criss to sing the intro to Suddenly Seymour live (maybe the whole song?  Don't know), while Lea Michele/the rest of the song was the usual prerecorded format.  My question is:  WHY would they let Darren do that?

 

To the untrained ear (ie, mine) the effect was merely to make Darren's intro sound worse than the rest of the song.  At the time, all I thought was, 'Wow, Darren sounds weak in this intro'.   Because *of course* compared to the way they've trained us to expect the songs (produced and smooth), it does.  I'm not saying Darren is a fundamentally bad singer - though I don't think he showed us anything that great - I'm just saying pretty all of them would sound weaker 'live' than produced. So why would he get to do that?  It's not even like it served a plot point.

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Apparently they allowed Darren Criss to sing the intro to Suddenly Seymour live (maybe the whole song?  Don't know), while Lea Michele/the rest of the song was the usual prerecorded format.  My question is:  WHY would they let Darren do that?

Because they like to torture us.

 

On a more serious note: I think Glee want to sell Darren/Blaine as some extremely talented live performer, worthy of all the songs (and focus) he's getting on Glee. It's no coincidence that whenever there is need for a Glee singer at some award show or other fancy party it is often Darren who gets pushed to the foreground, sometimes with Lea as an extra bonus.

Maybe they think it helps with the iTunes sales, idk, but the rub is that letting Darren sing live only emphasizes how weak his voice is, so I don't think it's helping much.

 

It's probably also partly actor's bleed, as Darren sees himself mainly as a live performer, and his fans love it when he sings live on the show (and they are very vocal with letting RIB/Fox know what they want for Blaine).

Edited by Glorfindel
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I think it's ridiculous that RIB let Darren sing live, but they won't let Matt, Lea, and Amber do the same. IMO Matt sounds much better live than he does on recordings, and I wouldn 't be surprised to find out that the other 2 are the same. They're live performers.

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I agree - I don't know Matt's voice well enough, but certainly Amber and Lea seem like good candidates.   Honestly, I was starting to concoct a conspiracy theory in my head in which the producers actually DON'T like Darren Criss, and so letting him sing live (and sound not so great) and giving him the awful Blainofsky story were subtle attacks.  However I'm sure fan demand and terrible writing, respectively, are more reasonable answers.

Edited by tab19
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I agree - I don't know Matt's voice well enough, but certainly Amber and Lea seem like good candidates. Honestly, I was starting to concoct a conspiracy theory in my head in which the

producers actually DON'T like Darren Criss, and

so letting him sing live (and sound not so great)

and giving him the awful Blainofsky story were

subtle attacks. However I'm sure fan demand

and terrible writing, respectively, are more

reasonable answers.

Well Matt is a Tony-nominated performer, which speaks for itself IMO.

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Darren was bad on the song but I also thought it was a bad fit for Lea or perhaps more accurately how they produced Lea's part.  They had her going full out power throughout when it really isn't that type of song.  There is more of a build in it.  

Edited by camussie
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I think it's ridiculous that RIB let Darren sing live, but they won't let Matt, Lea, and Amber do the same. IMO Matt sounds much better live than he does on recordings, and I wouldn 't be surprised to find out that the other 2 are the same. They're live performers.

Maybe the others don't want to sing live? I really don't think Darren has any power over RIB. I'm sure if Lea wanted to she could sing live on the show. They even let Matt perform his terrible song that one time.

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Not sure there is much reason to sing live unless it is some short tidbit they aren't going to sell on itunes anyway.

 

I am pretty sure What a girl wants and when your smiling stuff like that  were not recorded.

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Maybe the others don't want to sing live? I really don't think Darren has any power over RIB. I'm sure if Lea wanted to she could sing live on the show. They even let Matt perform his terrible

song that one time.

Matt didn't perform his song live.

I didn't think it was terrible either just sort of bland.

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I wonder how Glee's Itune sales are going? I suspect they released "Let It Go" before Christmas so some could download possibly as a Christmas gift. Really curious how the music this season will stack up against previous seasons, hmmm.

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Maybe the others don't want to sing live? I really don't think Darren has any power over RIB. I'm sure if Lea wanted to she could sing live on the show. They even let Matt perform his terrible song that one time.

This is the fourth (!) time Darren sings live on the show: Teenage Dream in The Breakup, Against All Odds, Not While I'm Around, and this. I'm not sure about All of Me last season?

I'm starting to think it's in his contract to sing at least once live per season or something, tied to his performing career image -- or tptb are convinced he's some awesome live singer and his character is this super emotive prodigy.

 

Glee Wiki gives these other performances as sung live on the show: Le Freak, Ride wit Me, The First Noel, At the Ballet

Edited by fakeempress
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"Ride Wit Me" was great because you could tell that everyone involved was just having fun. It was something you'd expect to see from a group of show choir/theater-type kids (and is it true that it wasn't originally scripted but was inspired by the kids just playing around on set?). I miss Season One.

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This is the fourth (!) time Darren sings live on the show: Teenage Dream in The Breakup, Against All Odds, Not While I'm Around, and this. I'm not sure about All of Me last season?

I'm starting to think it's in his contract to sing at least once live per season or something, tied to his performing career image -- or tptb are convinced he's some awesome live singer and his character is this super emotive prodigy.

 

Glee Wiki gives these other performances as sung live on the show: Le Freak, Ride with Me, The First Noel, At the Ballet

 

 

I remember when people would say it was in Lea's contract to sing a solo every episode....and then Rachel got less than a handful of solos in season four.

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I don't really have a problem with Darren's voice. I usually enjoy his songs because I think his voice is pleasant enough (although there are some songs I do wish they did not give to him), but I thought the beginning of "Suddenly Seymour" was REALLY bad. And again, I'm not too harsh a critic on anyone's singing on this show, but that intro threw me because I was genuinely taken aback by how bad I thought it was, heh.

 

I will say though that I still think the worst decision was letting Chris Colfer sing "I Have Nothing". Chris Colfer is a great singer. "I Have Nothing" is a great song. Chris Colfer singing "I Have Nothing" is nails on a chalkboard, IMO.

 

That was one of the other few times that I was like "WHOA why did they do that?"

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Ride Wit Me" was great because you could tell that everyone involved was just having fun. It was something you'd expect to see from a group of show choir/theater-type kids (and is it true that it wasn't originally scripted but was inspired by the kids just playing around on set?). I miss Season One.

Yes! They said that, they were just goofing around in the choir room and filmed them. It was so natural and organic. Of course Cory was playing the drums! Of course Mark was playing along on his guitar! I loved that scene.

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Glee Wiki gives these other performances as sung live on the show: Le Freak, Ride wit Me, The First Noel, At the Ballet

I just rewatched At the Ballet (thank you Netflix!), and that performance is certainly an argument that stronger voices can pull off singing live.  If no one had told me, I wouldn't have known.  I recall thinking at the time it wasn't as 'rich' a sound as I was used to hearing, but I never thought it was bad.  Knowing it's live also explains the very static choreography for the four of them; with that song, I could certainly see them wanting to focus on all the singing.  I'm more impressed with that song now than I was before, that's for sure.  

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Same way they kept " how will I know" relatively stripped down, still one of their best group numbers.

I thought everything about that song was great. The arrangement, the staging, the choreography (minimal). Probably one of my very favorites. 

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I think Darren is the only one of the cast that has sung live. I give him props for that although I do agree he did sound a little wonky at the start of Seymour but it got better as it went along.

I was just thinking You Oughtta know/it's too late would have made a stupendous mash up.

Edited by MizStaken
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I think Darren is the only one of the cast that has sung live. I give him props for that although I do agree he did sound a little wonky at the start of Seymour but it got better as it went along.

I was just thinking You Oughtta know/it's too late would have made a stupendous mash up.

As is obvious from the Ride wit Me discussion, no, he isn't.. Le Freak is also definitely live, and is in the second episode of the first season. The auditions they showed in the Pilot were live too, just the songs weren't recorded and/or released. Glee existed before Darren joined, you know. 

 

But they sure indulged him with the live solos when they should have left them at the second TD. Suddenly Seymour is the worst he has sounded live on the show. Reminds me of the fail at that Today Show when he sang with the Warblers.

Edited by fakeempress
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(edited)

Anders just tweeted that his fave Glee song : the "Bridge over Troubled WaterS" from Grilled Cheezuz was from Amber's first take of the song when she was warming up, and didn't even know the arrangement yet!

That woman is a vocal freak of nature.

Edited by caracas1914
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She really is talented which is why I wish Mercedes had performed one solo in competitions and also why I wish the Glee producers didn't add so many vocal runs to a lot of the arrangements she did

 

Also that is amazing she did Bridge Over Troubled Waters in one take.  

Edited by camussie
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As is obvious from the Ride wit Me discussion, no, he isn't.. Le Freak is also definitely live, and is in the second episode of the first season. The auditions they showed in the Pilot were live too, just the songs weren't recorded and/or released. Glee existed before Darren joined, you know.

So then he's the only one who's sung an entire solo live. Semantics. Although I think they stopped the live snips even for non-recorded songs after S1 - for example the original songs etc in S2 definitely felt recorded to me.

 

My guess is that if the others wanted to sing live, they could. Especially Lea, Matt etc. Personally I'd love to hear Amber live.

Darren's live songs have been hit or miss with me for the most part. I thought the slow version of Teenage Dream worked better live than pre-recorded, especially with the breaking down in the middle of it.

Don't stop me now was not ideal for his voice, period, Against all odds was okay but weak.

I honestly didn't even notice the live singing in Suddenly Seymour. I didn't like the song overall, but I didn't think he sounded notably bad on it. But I was only half-listening to it.

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