Last week on Glee, Santana (Naya Rivera) was in a funk trying to figure out where her life will take her. Cue a little inspiration from roommates Rachel (Emmy nominee Lea Michelle) and Kurt (Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer) who were helping Kurt’s boss (Emmy and Golden Globe winner and guest star Sarah Jessica Parker) run a benefit gala for the New York ballet. They enlisted Santana’s help and it sparked her childhood dreams of being a ballerina again. The four also performed a brilliant number from the Tony winning classic musical A Chorus Line. They did the signature “At the Ballet” number and it was so good, I had to share it with you again. Check out Glee going to the ballet below and watch this week’s Glee with guest star Kate Hudson as they take on the songs of Stevie Wonder this Thursday on Fox.
This week, Glee went to the movies covering some of the best songs of all time from the cinema like “Shout” from Animal House, “Unchained Melody” from Ghost, and “Footloose” from Footloose. However, there were two performances that really stood out. First the guys from the Glee club did a Tom Cruise homage with an awesome mashup of “Danger Zone/Old Time Rock n’ Roll” from Top Gun and Risky Business. However, the second was my favorite and it comes from my favorite movie of all time, the brilliant Oscar-winning musical Moulin Rouge. Singing the Golden Globe winning love anthem “Come What May”, Kurt (Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer) and Blaine (Darren Criss) declared their love for each other in a wonderful dream sequence. It was fantastic and is aptly the biggest selling song from the episode on iTunes. Check out both songs below and watch Glee Thursday nights on Fox.
Last night, Gleewent into full on “Diva” mode. There was a sing-off between Kurt (Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer) and Rachel (Emmy nominee Lea Michelle) on the classic Les Miserables lament “Bring Him Home” at NYADA while back at McKinley, all the kids were channelling their inner divas. The best numbers belonged to Naya Rivera‘s Santana returning as she confronted her still lingering love for Brittany and her future and to Jenna Ushkowitz’s Tina who finally got to go center stage with her unrequited love for Blaine and a massive Madonna number. Big props to Glee for finally utilizing Ushkowitz this season. She has waited long enough for the spotlight and just keeps turning it out like a true diva in return. Kudos Tina Cohen Chang!… With that said, take a look at some of my favorite performances from last night’s show and catch Glee Thursday nights on Fox.
Glee “Diva” (Unique, Tina, Blaine, Marley, Brittany and Kitty)
Glee “Girl on Fire” (Santana)
Glee “Nutbush City Limits” (Santana)
Glee “Make No Mistake She’s Mine” (Santana and Sam)
Gleehad another great episode this week which detailed the after math of Marley (the very talented newbie Melissa Benoist) passing out at Sectionals and Rachel (Emmy/Golden Globe nominee Lea Michele) competing in a showcase at NYADA. Predictably the best numbers were the NYADA showcase songs by Rachel and Kurt who was granted an impromptu re-audition at the showcase and a hot dance/sing off with Rachel and her teacher Cassie (the sure to be Emmy nominated Kate Hudson). However, I have to say when the Glee kids reunited on the Crowded House classic ’86 hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over”, I got all misty. Check out the performances below and catch Glee’s holiday episode this Thursday on Fox.
Rachel (Lea Michele) “Being Good isn’t Good Enough“: This performance was simply stunning at Michele tore through the Broadway tune from Hallelujah Baby with fierce vocals. It was the first of four times in “Swan Song” that I was moved to tears.
Rachel (Lea Michele) “O Holy Night”: when given an encore performance, Rachel chose this Christmas classic and had me crying again. Simply stunning.
Kurt (Chris Colfer) “Being Alive”: this Sondheim tune from Company gave Colfer his best moment all season. It was a gorgeous performance that let him dig deep but yet keep it subtle and real. I really loved it and the kleenex came out again.
Glee kids & Finn (Cory Monteith) “Don’t Dream It’s Over”: the final group number had the patented optimism the show is known for and it was a wonderful rendition, that yes, brought me to tears.
To end on a less teary note, please enjoy the fantastic and sexy duet between Rachel & Cassie (Kate Hudson) on “All that Jazz” from Chicago.
While it seems that most viewers are enjoying the newly invigorated season of Glee, I have to say I am loving it for the most part (aside from that Glease debacle)… Anywho, this week was one of the best episodes of the seasons as they Glee kids prepped for Sectionals and Rachel and Kurt celebrated Thanksgiving in New York. Take a look at a couple of my favorite performances from the week.
First up, Rachel (Emmy/Golden Globe nominee Lea Michelle) and Kurt (Emmy nominee/Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer) take on the Scissor Sisters recent # 1 dance hit “Let’s Have a Kiki” mashed up with the classic “Turkey Lurkey Song”. They’re also joined by Emmy/Golden Globe winner Sarah Jessica Parker as Kurt’s mentor and RuPaul’s Drag Rae alum Shangela.
Next we have the Glee club’s fun take on the worldwide # 1 smash phenomena “Gangnam Style” by Psy with solos by Sam (Chord Overstreet) and Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) that has a dramatic ending!
The Warblers were also a big part of the episode performing Flo Rida‘s recent #1 hit “Whistle” and One Directions’s former # 3 hit “Live While We’re Young”. Check out the later featuring Nolan Gerard Funk and Grant Gustin below.
Finally, here’s my favorite song of the episode “Homeward Bound/Home” a mashup of the Simon & Garfunkel classic and the current top ten hit by American Idol winner Phillip Phillips. It’s a beautiful interpretation featuring our favorite classic Glee characters Finn (Cory Monteith), Quinn (Diana Agron), Puck (Mark Salling), Mercedes (Amber Riley), Mike (Harry Shum Jr.) and Santana (Naya Rivera).
The Emmy winning juggernaut that is Glee returns for season 4 this Thursday night at 9pm in its new time slot following The X Factor. The show is changing quite a bit this season with dual story lines focusing on the kids in Ohio who didn’t graduate (Blaine, Brittany, Artie, Tina, etc) and some new additions to their choir room while the graduates (Rachel, Kurt, Finn, Santana, etc) pursue their dreams in New York and other places. We will also see some big guest stars by the likes of Oscar nominee Kate Hudson as an evil dance teacher at NYADA who faces off with Rachel (Emmy nominee Lea Michelle) and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Sarah Jessica Parker as a fashionista involved with Kurt (Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer)…. And now, we have a little taste of the new season with the first musical number to hit the web with the McKinley high kids taking on Carly Rae Jepsen‘s massive # 1 smash “Call Me Maybe”. Check out Heather Morris,Jenna Ushkowitz, Darren Criss and Alex Newell (The Glee Project finalist who returns to the show as Unique) doing “Maybe” below, and watch the Glee season premiere Thursday Sept. 13th on Fox.
Glee “Call Me Maybe”
And here’s a preview of the first episode of season 4, “The New Rachel”
Outfest, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, turns 30 years old today with the start of its annual festival. As usual they will be presenting a huge number of films, documentaries and shorts over the next week and a half. I have been a member for a few years now and am always thrilled to support independent filmmaking and gay and lesbian cinema. I’ve appeared in films here in the past like Hollywood je T’aime and The Closet and will be submitting a few projects next year including our latest hysterical short Dirty Talk. In the meantime, I will just be enjoying the films that run from today July 12 thru July 22nd’s closing night feature, Struck by Lightning, written by and starring Glee‘s Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer.
Opening the festival tonight is the documentary Vito about gay rights activist Vito Russo while other big premieres include the comedy I Do(by my friend David Ross), Cloudburst starring Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis, and Bearcity 2: The Proposal. There will also be a Hairspray sing-along and a special panel on the hilarious sitcom Happy Endings... For more on all the films and Outfest, head here.
Below is a list of films I will be seeing (and I’m sure I’ll be adding more in the days ahead)…
Any Day Now (starring Alan Cumming and Garrett Dillahaunt) Elliott Loves I Do My Best Day Gayby(a hilarious comedy I saw at the LA FIlm Fest) Joshua Tree 1951: A Portrait of James Dean Beauty(a fascinating and tense foreign drama) Struck by Lightning
And enjoy this preview reel of some of the great films that will be playing this year at the 30th Anniversary of Outfest.
Last night, Glee celebrated with their prom episode, “Promasaurus”. I shared with you the cast’s take on One Direction’s current top ten hit “What Makes You Beautiful” last week, and now I have a few more numbers from the show below. Check out Lea Michelle, Darren Criss and Chris Colfer on Fergie‘s # 1 hit “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, Naya Rivera and Diana Agron on a gorgeous version of Berlin’s 1986 Oscar nominated # 1 hit from Top Gun “Take My Breath Away”, and Naya Rivera’s take on Selena Gomez & the Scene‘s recent hit “Love You Like a Love Song” below. Enjoy them and get ready for next week’s double episode of Glee on Tuesday May 15th with the big Nationals competition!
Last night Glee delivered another strong episode following its delightful Whitney Houston tribute from last week. However, the episode entitled “Choke” dealt with the serious issue of domestic abuse involving Coach Biest (Emmy nominee Dot Marie Jones) coinciding with the dramatic auditions for Kurt (Emmy nominee and Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer) and Rachel (Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Lea Michelle) trying to get into NYADA. Check out my three favorite numbers below and for more on Glee, head here.
Glee- “Shake It Out” by Naya Rivera, Jenna Uskowitz and Amber Riley singing to Coach Biest (originally done by Florence + the Machine)
Glee- “Not the Boy Next Door” by Chris Colfer (originally from The Boy from Oz)
Glee- “Cry” by Lea Michelle (originally done by Kelly Clarkson)
Last week, I shared with you Glee’s amazing a capella version of the late great Grammy winning icon Whitney Houston‘s # 1 smash “How Will I Know”, and last night the episode that featured the song finally aired. Along with that great number, the show tackled six more Whitney classics. They were the # 1′s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)”, “So Emotional”, “Saving All My Love for You” and the # 4 hits “I Have Nothing”, “It’s Not Right but It’s Ok” and “My Love is Your Love”. Here I have a few more highlights for you from the emotional and wonderful episode. Enjoy.
Glee featuring Darren Criss (Blaine) “It’s Not Right But It’s Ok”
Glee featuring Heather Morris (Brittany) and Naya Rivera (Santana) “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)”
Glee featuring Chris Colfer (Kurt) “I Have Nothing”
