The Glee Project Finale~ They got it Wrong… Again!

Last year, the inaugural season of Oxygen’s fantastic reality talent show The Glee Project crowned dual winners, Damian McGinty and Samuel Larson who won roles on Glee. And that was a double mistake. Both should’ve lost to the immensely talented Lindsay Pearce. All three landed on Glee with McGinty showing up as the fun but forgettable Rory and Larson as the totally annoying and useless Joe while Pearce had two small but awesome guest spots…
Well, this summer the reality show was back with a fierce competition where the final 6 (Michael, Lily Mae, Shanna, Blake, Ali and Aylin) all would’ve made better winners than last year’s. And unfortunately, with tonight’s finale, it looks like Ryan Murphy and crew messed up and picked the wrong winner again. That’s no offense to Blake Jenner who stole the crown. The guy can act and sing and has lots of star potential, but he’s not really one to root for. That role belongs to wheel bound Broadway diva Ali Stroker who stole your heart week in and week out with her big vocals, beautiful smile and infectious attitude. She is everything that Glee strives to be: showcasing someone who triumphs over adversity by being themselves… and she’s incredibly talented… I would even have preferred that fireball Aylin Bayramoglu winning over Blake as she represents something we haven’t really seen on tv, a Muslim girl who defies tradition. And her voice was pretty amazing too… It’s a shame Blake won when you know the guy will have a career outside of Glee and probably didn’t really need to win the show to succeed in the biz. I don’t know if I can say the same for Ali and Aylin who will have to continue to fight prejudice and narrow-minded people to have their talents showcased for the world. I sure hope Ryan Murphy and co. throw them a bone with a few episodes next season. I guarantee the fans will love them and root for their success even more than they will think Blake is cute.
While I’m sad Ali didn’t land the Gold Medal on Glee, I’m thrilled that The Glee Project gave me a Glee fix over the summer. I will miss it and hope it returns next year. Heck , I hope Emmy voters remember it next year too… .In the meantime, Glee returns in mid September on Fox with big guest stars like Sarah Jessica Parker and Kate Hudson and Blake will debut later in the fall. Til then, enjoy the final Glee Project group video below.

The Glee Project Season 2~ “Tonight Tonight”

Need your Glee Fix? Check out the Glee Project

For those of you obsessed with Glee, like me, you are probably going through some serious withdrawals right now. This summer there is no Glee tour to tide us over, but there is one way to get your Glee fix… Check out season 2 of Oxygen’s The Glee Project. This awesome, heartfelt, and hilarious reality series is everything that Glee aspires to be, week in and week out. The 14 contestants on the show compete each week in singing, acting and dancing exercises filming a music video at the end of the show. Then, three of them are put up for elimination as casting director Robert Ulrich, choreographer Zach Woodlee (who I remember fondly from his stint on Madonna‘s Drowned World tour) and vocal coach Nikki Anders decide who remains in the competition with a shot at a role on Glee. Last season there were two winners, dreadlocked crooner Samuel Larsen and Irish cutie Damian McGinty, who both landed 7 episode stints on the show. (McGinty actually ended up doing 17 episodes!) The runners-up Lindsay Pearce (who should’ve won if you ask me) and Alex Newell each landed 2 episodes of the Emmy winning show. I sure hope both Pierce and Newell show up next season on Glee. They’re pretty phenomenal. I like McGinty and it would be nice to see him again, but Larsen can get the boot if you ask me. He’s a terrible actor and does nothing for the show as Christian rocker Joe. Anywho, we will see who makes it all the way to the finals and a spot on Glee as the show progresses, and boy are there some great and diverse contenders. There’s a girl in a wheelchair, a blind guy, a transgender contestant and more! To see profiles of all the contestants, head here and check out the Glee Project‘s first music video for Lady Gaga‘s “The Edge of Glory” below…. Then watch The Glee Project Tuesday night’s on Oxygen.

The Glee Project “The Edge of Glory”

Glee Goes Boy Band with “What Makes You Beautiful”

Next week, Glee marks its big prom episode, “Proma-asaurus”. There will be the usual hilarity, hijinks, tears and some great musical numbers. The first of those has hit the web, and in it, Glee goes boy band! Check out Sam (Chord Overstreet), Mike (Harry Shum Jr.), Artie (Kevin McHale) and Glee Project dual winners Damian McGinty and Samuel Larsen, as Rory and Joe, doing Brit boy band One Direction‘s current top ten smash “What Makes You Beautiful” below. And watch what else goes down at the prom on Tuesday night on Fox.

Glee “What Makes You Beautiful”

Glee Preview~ “Stereo Hearts”

Glee is gearing up for their big Valentine’s Day episode that will feature a lot of luvin’ going on. It will also introduce Rachel’s gay dads played by Jeff Goldblum and Broadway superstar Brian Stokes Mitchell plus The Glee Project winner Samuel Larsen will finally debut. (a full three months plus after his co-winner Damian McGinty first appeared as Rory). He will be playing a nonconformist student named Joe who joins Sam (Chord Overstreet), Quinn (Diana Agron) and Mercedes (Amber Riley) on a version of the Gym Class Heroes/Adam Levine hit “Stereo Hearts”. We’ll see if he actually gets the 7 episode arc the Glee Project win promised him (I hear they really only have to pay him for 7 episodes) or if he goes past that like the rather winning McGinty. In the meantime, check out the Glee version of “Stereo Hearts” below and watch the show Tuesday night on Fox.

Glee “Stereo Hearts”

Glee Preview~ “I Kissed a Girl”

Santana’s season-long coming out story has been one of the highlights of this much improved season 3 of Glee. Naya Rivera has been brilliant in her portrayal of Santana and this week is the big coming out episode where Santana and the girls of Glee sing a very appropriate coming out song, Katy Perry’s # 1 smash ”I Kissed a Girl”. I’ve got the video for you below. Enjoy. My fave part? Watching new Glee star Damian McGinty (Rory) and his hilarious reactions to the ladies. Check it out and watch Glee Tuesday night on Fox.

Glee “I Kissed a Girl”

Glee’s Pot o’ Gold

Last night, Glee returned from a way too long hiatus (darn you baseball) with a plot heavy episode that moved things along nicely (hello evil Quinn, Sue v. Mr. Hummell, and Puck/Shelby kiss!) and introduced Glee Project winner Damian McGinty as Rory the Irish exchange student. While he’s clearly a little green (pun intended) as an actor, McGinty exuded tons of charm, a lovely voice and is a nice addition to glee club. Check out this behind the scenes clip on his first episode of Glee.

Along with Rory joining the glee club, we had Santana (Naya Rivera who was brilliantly bitchy last night) and Brittany (Heather Morris) defecting to the all girl vocal group led by Mercedes (Amber Riley) and the trio did a great version of Christina Aguilera’s “Candyman”. Here it is.

Glee~ Mercedes, Santana & Brittany “Candyman”

And finally, one of the best numbers of the night had very little to do with anything but it was a lot of fun and gave Darren Criss’s Blaine a chance to shine (albeit, I could’ve done with a little less auto-tuning). Here’s “Last Friday Night” (originally done by Katy Perry).

Glee Cast- “Last Friday Night”

And tune in next week for what is sure to be a great episode “The First Time” which has Rachel (Emmy nominee Lea Michelle) and Kurt (Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer) planning to lose their virginity!