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”
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.
Gleeis back after its brief holiday break with an all new episode tomorrow night. This one will give us an homage to Grease as the kids perform “Summer Nights” and we get the backstory of Sam (Chord Overstreet) and Mercedes (Amber Riley) brief fling last summer. We will also get a treat with another Glee mashup of Maroon 5‘s and Christina Aguilera‘s recent # 1 “Moves Like Jagger” and the Rolling Stones‘ classic “Jumpin Jack Flash”, and I have it for you below. Check out Artie (Kevin McHale) tearing it up on the song below.
To bring awareness to National Suicide Prevention Week, Glee’sKevin McHale (Artie) is banding together with The Trevor Project to start a conversation about helping prevent suicide. Check out his great PSA below for this important cause and head to the links below for more information.
Katy Perry has finally out done Madonna, Whitney, Celine and Janet in the record books. She just landed her fifth # 1 single from her Teenage Dream album with “Last Friday Night”. Bolstered by a ridiculously huge amount of airplay and added sales from a remix by Missy Elliott, the song makes it five in a row for Perry as she becomes the first female artist and second singer in history to land five # 1′s on the Hot 100 from a single album. She follows Michael Jackson who did it with his Bad album and the chart toppers “Bad”, “The Way You Make Me Feel”, “Dirty Diana” Man in the Mirror” and “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” with Siedah Garrett. Katy’s chart leaders were “California Gurls” with Snoop Dogg, “Teenage Dream”, “Firework”, “E.T.” with Kanye West and now “Last Friday Night”. Congrats Katy! … In case you’re wondering the artists with four # 1′s from one album are Whitney Houston (Whtiney), George Michael (Faith), Janet Jackson (Rhythm Nation 1814), Mariah Carey (Mariah Carey) and Paula Abdul (Forever Your Girl)… Madonna has had three chart toppers from an album, True Blue, while Celine has actually never had more than one # 1 single per album strangely enough. For more on the singles and Katy’s record head to Billboardhere. And check out the new top ten below.
Billboard Hot 100 Top Ten Singles:
1. “Last Friday Night”- Katy Perry (last week~ 2)
2. “Party Rock Anthem”- LMFAO (lw~ 1)
3. “Moves Like Jagger”- Maroon 5 w/Christina Aguilera (lw~8)
4. “Super Bass”- Nicki Minaj (lw~ 5)
5. “Lighters”- Bad Meets Evil w/Bruno Mars (lw~ 5)
6. “How to Love”- Lil Wayne (lw~ 6)
7. “Give Me Everything Tonight”- Pitbull w/NeYo, Nayer & Afrojack (lw~ 4)
8. “Pumped Up Kicks”- Foster the People (lw~ 13)
9. “I Wanna Go”- Britney Spears (lw~ 7)
10. “Good Life”- OneRepublic (lw~ 11)
Over on the Album chats, Jay Z & Kanye West make a huge debut on top with their collaboration album, Watch the Throne. It sold 436,000 copies for the second biggest bow of 2011 after Lady Gaga’s Born This Way. The rappers lead three other debuts in the top ten including country singer Luke Bryan who gets his biggest sales week ever with his latest, Tailgates & Tanlines, which also tops the Country charts. Check out the new top ten albums below.
Billboard 200 Top 10 Albums:
1. Watch the Throne- Jay Z & Kanye West (debut)
2. Tailgates & Tanlines- Luke Bryan (debut)
3. Now 39 Compilation- Various Artists (debut)
4. 21- Adele (last week~ 1)
5. Chief- Eric Church (lw~ 2)
6. My Kinda Party- Jason Aldean (lw~ 6)
7. 4- Beyonce (lw~8)
8. Dream with Me- Jackie Evancho (lw~ 22)
9. Blood Sweat + Tears- Ace Hood (debut)
10. Kidz Bop 10- Various Artists (lw~ 7)
And here’s Katy Perry’s brand new # 1 single “Last Friday Night”. (Please enjoy the cameos by Debbie Gibson, Rebecca Black, Corey Feldman, Kevin McHale, Kenny G and more as well. High-larious)
After months of women holding court on top of the Billboard Album charts, all it took was two really angry rappers to steal away the top spot. It also helps that one of them was megastar Eminem whose new side project Bad Meets Evil, comprised of Em and Royce da 5’9″ , hit # 1 with Hell: the Sequel selling 171,000 units. That album led five debuts in the top ten including America’s Got Talent tween Jackie Evancho, plus Owl City, Ledisi and Barry Manilow. For the full top ten scroll down… Now, take heart you Adele fans. She may be out of the top spot on the Albums chart, but she does land a 7th week at # 1 on the Hot 100 with “Rolling in the Deep”. She may lose out next week though as the latest singles from Pitbull and Katy Perry are gaining fast. In fact, with Perry’s “Last Friday Night” flying into the top five, she now joins an elite group of artists like Madonna, George Michael and Michael Jackson who have had five consecutive top five singles from one album. Well done Katy! Check out the new top ten singles below as well and for more on the charts, head to Billboard here.
Top Ten Albums:
1. Hell: the Sequel- Bad Meets Evil (debut)
2. Dream With Me- Jackie Evancho (debut)
3. 21- Adele (last week~ 1)
4. Born This Way- Lady Gaga (lw~ 2)
5. My Kinda Party- Jason Aldean (lw~ 7)
6. All Things Bright and Beautiful- Owl City (debut)
7. 15 Minutes- Barry Manilow (debut)
8. Pieces of Me- Ledisi (debut)
9. This is Country Music- Brad Paisley (lw~8)
10. The Book of Mormon- Original Broadway Cast Recording (lw~ 3)
Top Ten Singles on the Hot 100:
1. “Rolling in the Deep”- Adele (last week~ 1)
2. “Give Me Everything”- Pitbull w/NeYo, Nayer & Afrojack (lw~ 2)
3. “Party Rock Anthem”- LMFAO (lw~ 3)
4. “Last Friday Night”- Katy Perry (lw~ 31)
5. “E.T.”- Katy Perry w/Kanye West (lw~ 4)
6. “The Edge of Glory”- Lady Gaga (lw~ 6)
7. “Dirt Road Anthem”- Jason Aldean (lw~ 9)
8. “Super Bass”- Nicki Minaj (lw~ 10)
9. “The Lazy Song”- Bruno Mars (lw~ 5)
10. “The Show Must Go On”- Lupe Fiasco (lw~ 11)
And here’s a little treat~ Enjoy the new cameo-tastic fun clip from Katy Perry for “Last Friday Night”. Watch for Glee‘s Darren Criss and Kevin McHale to appear alongside Rebecca Black, Kenny G and 80′s stalwarts Debbie Gibson and Corey Feldman.
With all the news of Lady Gaga grabbing the # 1 spot on the new Hot 100 with a record-breaking debut, I totally forgot to mention the rest of this week’s new top ten… and what a naughty top ten it is! … Take a look at the filthy titled hits ranked # 5-8 below. The “F” word is all over it and then Rihanna is bringin’ us some S&M! I love it! What’s even more exciting, for me at least, is that I really like 8 of the songs. (Yes, I could do without the Black Eyed Peas and Wiz Khalifa~ who?)… Anywho, well done America for enjoying songs I’m currently enjoying too. Now, if Pink can just make it to # 1 next week, I’ll be thrilled. Check out the new top ten below and head to Billboard for more chart news.
New Top Ten Singles
1. “Born This Way”- Lady Gaga (debut)
2. “Firework”- Katy Perry (lw~ 3)
3. “Grenade”- Bruno Mars (lw~ 2)
4. “Black and Yellow”- Wiz Khalifa (lw~ 1)
5. “Fuckin’ Perfect”- Pink (lw~ 4)
6. “Tonight I’m Fucking You”- Enrique Iglesias w/Ludacris (lw~6)
7. “Fuck You”- Cee Lo Green (lw~ 17)
8. “S & M”- Rihanna (lw~ 33)
9. “The Time (Dirty Bit)”- Black Eyed Peas (lw~ 19)
10. “Hold it Against Me”- Britney Spears (lw~ 10)
Oh, and before I go, I mentioned in my last post that the Glee cast just broke the record for most Hot 100 chart entries with 113 charted songs beating Elvis Presley. Well, they also chart more singles in one week than they’ve ever done before with 9 songs. Here they are below.
Glee songs charting this week~
34. “Firework”- Rachel (Lea Michelle)
38. “Thriller/Heads Will Roll”- The Cast
44. “Bills Bills Bills”- Blaine (Darren Criss) & the Warblers
45. “Silly Love Songs”- Blaine & the Warblers
47. “When I Get You Alone”- Blaine & the Warblers
56. “Fat Bottomed Girls”- Puck (Mark Salling)
58. “P.Y.T.”- Artie (Kevin McHale)
62. “Need You Now”- Rachel & Puck
87. “She’s Not There”- Finn (Cory Monteith) & the Boys
It’s almost time for the return of Glee. Following what seems like an eternity, but has actually only been about 2 months, the Golden Globe winning pop phenom Glee will be back with two new episodes next week. Things start off with the supersized Super Bowl episode on Sunday 2/6 following that big game, and then we’ll get another all new Valentine’s Day episode on the 8th. I, naturally, can’t wait. We’ve already heard there will be songs by Michael Jackson and Lady Antebellum in Sunday’s episode and there will be a lot of love songs for the 8th. So, that got me thinking… Just what have been the best songs the show has delivered so far this season? Well, I have gone over the tracks again and I’ve ranked the top 15 for you. Interestingly, newcomers Charice and Darren Criss and guest Gwyneth Paltrow all made appearances on my list outshining some of the shows stars like Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison and Amber Riley. It’s also interesting to note that Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer is all over the list. It’s no doubt due to his great material with the bullying storyline and his father’s heart attack story arc…. Take a look at my list and let me know which songs have been the standouts so far for you this season.
First some honorable mentions songs:
“Valerie”- Santana (Naya Rivera) and the Cast
“Toucha Toucha Toucha Touch Me”- Will (Matthew Morrison) & Emma (Jayma Mays)
“Stronger”- Artie (Kevin McHale)
“Le Jazz Hot”- Kurt (Colfer)
“The Only Exception”- Rachel (Lea Michele) & cast
“I Look to You”- Mercedes (Amber Riley)
“One Love”- Artie & Puck (Mark Salling)
And here’s my Top 15 for the first half of season 2:
15. “Sweet Transvestite Mercedes & Cast
14. “Lucky”- Quinn (Diana Agron) & Sam (Chord Overstreet)
13. “Telephone”- Rachel & Sunshine (Charice)
12. “One of Us”- Cast
11. “Livin’ on a Prayer/Start Me Up” – The Girls
10. “Umbrella/Singin’ in the Rain”- Holly (Gwyneth Paltrow) & the Cast
9. “Happy Days are Here Again/Get Happy”- Rachel & Kurt
8. “River Deep Mountain Hight”- Mercedes & Santana
7. “Baby It’s Cold Outside”- Kurt & Blaine (Darren Criss)
6. “What I Did for Love”- Rachel
5. “Toxic”- Rachel, Brittany (Heather Morris), Mr. Shu & the Cast
“It’s a Britney Spears sex riot!” That was just one of the brilliant one liners uttered by Emmy winner Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester on a night where Glee let the zingers fly fast and furious (especially from Heather Morris’s Brittany) as the show celebrated pop phenom Britney Spears. It was a hilarious and entertaining hour that saw the glee clubbers have hallucinations while under dental anesthesia (administered by new guest star John Stamos lookin’ sexy as ever) where they sang Britney songs. While the storytelling was a bit scatter-shot and convoluted, the show was still incredibly fun and the musical numbers were great. We got the solo singing debut of Morris’s Brittany on “I’m a Slave 4 U”, plus Artie (Kevin McHale) doing “Stronger”, Rachel (Lea Michelle) offering up “Baby One More Time” and a duet from Santana (Naya Rivera) and Brittany on “Me Against the Music”. However, my favorite number was the entire Glee club’s rendition of “Toxic” that also featured Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison). It was a fantastic reworking of Spears’ Grammy winning hit. The star of the hour was clearly Morris whose amazing dancing skills were on display (can you believe she just missed making the top 20 on So You Think You Can Dance two season ago?) along with her vocals and laugh out line readings. Some of her best quotes from the night: “It looks like a big Jewish cloud…”, “wait, Finn can fly?”, “I’m more talented than all of you. I see that clearly now. It’s Brittany… bitch”. and on and on. We also learned her character has lived under Britney Spears shadow all her life because her real name is Brittany S. Pierce. BRILLIANT! … Ok, enough of me babbling. It’s time for you to enjoy some Brittany from last night’s Glee. Check out the full episode below, plus a few performance clips and Heather Morris performing with Beyonce (she was on tour with her prior to joining Glee).
The full Glee “Brittany/Britney” episode
Brittany “I’m a Slave 4 U”
Glee cast “Toxic”
Heather Morris performing with Beyonce on the American Music Awards “Single Ladies”
