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”
