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5 Best — and Worst! — Glee Performances

As on all momentous occasions in life, we find ourselves reflective and nostalgic as the Glee season-one finale fast approaches. So much was great: singing Puck! Kurt and Mercedes as cheerleaders! Jonathan Groff, all too briefly! And then, well, even we must admit there were duds — anyone remember “Hairography” and the mash-ups that should never have been? As we prepare for season two — when Glee will be high on success and either pleasantly surprise us or, egads, go off the rails — we took a look back on what Ryan Murphy and Co. have done exceptionally well, and which songs would have been better left unsung. Let the arguments begin!

In an all-over-the-place episode that literally gave us a headache, we suppose the Anthem of Peace was supposed to ground things. Instead, the entire deaf choir plotline felt like a detour from actual character development and too far a foray into After-School Special mode (Love everyone! Learn sign language!). We have nothing against either of those ideas, but the kids in New Directions do not need to be paragons of moral certitude (this goes for “One” also) — in fact, we love them a whole lot more when their flaws are exposed. And not one of those flaws is hating on the hearing-impaired.
We tried to embrace Finn singing to a sonogram, really, we did, and at first it was hilarious! But when he stood up at the dinner table in front of Quinn’s parents, we began to feel queasy, and not in the fun way that “Run, Joey, Run” inspired. And when discomfort outweighs cuteness … sorry, Paul Anka. Finn’s earnestness saves it from ranking all-around worst.
This novelty number killed an episode with an already weakly developed premise (we still don’t get how the Glist was presumed to be the fault of the glee kids). With too many scary close-ups of Olivia Newton-John’s face, a little too far a stretch of the imagination, and coming so soon after “Vogue,” it all felt like outright pandering to the Sue fans of the world. We don’t need crazy stunt numbers, Ryan Murphy! We love Sue no matter what!
We’re okay with Glee trotting out the occasional talented guest performer; in fact, it did so quite gracefully with Neil Patrick Harris, Idina Menzel, and La Chenoweth in the fifth episode. This time around, though, it wasn’t so cool. The kids seemed like nicely groomed backup singers, and the whole closing number felt insincere: the beatific white gown, the schmancy backdrop, the lyrics cleanly tying up the episode. An example par excellence of a major Glee problem: the warm and fuzzy, yet ultimately empty, grand closing number.
We know it’s tantamount to making a small child cry to claim this was anything less than faaabulous. And we did like how the Gaga spirit informed the episode: the kids in costume at all times, embracing their weirdness. But with karaoke-esque singing and the distinct feeling that the show was about three months too late on the Gaga train, we were left cold.
It’s often difficult to tell the difference between fantasy and reality on Glee, but this number made Artie’s dream abundantly clear — and it was both exhilarating and heartbreaking. Reinventing the “Safety Dance” as quasi-rap was a gamble, but it worked: Artie got to work his style, and Kevin McHale proved himself an amazing performer in the process. The creators could easily have left us in Artie’s dream world; instead, we were left to see him alone in his wheelchair, watching the bustle of the mall go by, a lasting and sad image. We need more numbers like this next season, because they show Glee’s potential for greatness: mixing the whimsical, the frivolous, and pathos in a believable, touching way.
There are so many Lea Michele solos to choose from, and yet this one always comes back to us as the moment we caught our breath and realized she may actually be, as Ryan Murphy likes to say so often, the next Barbra. Like any great musical number, on Glee or otherwise, it made us forget the outside world, and, for a moment, we were as absorbed in Rachel’s, as, well, Rachel herself.
In the back nine, Chris Colfer emerged as a force to be reckoned with, and while we loved his “Defying Gravity” with Lea Michele, it didn’t knock us cold like this soliloquy from Gypsy. Colfer may still be finding the middle ground between his chest and head voices, but he’s one of the, if not the, best dramatic singer in the bunch, and he squeezed every bit of anger and hurt out of this number. This one wins for best integration into plot, too: The seamless transition from Kurt’s hall encounter with his dad to lyrics was truly impressive.
We love when Glee shows us that the members of New Directions are just kids who, despite their troubles in school, can let loose and have fun. Among many worthy contenders (“Gives You Hell,” “Four Minutes,” and “My Life Would Suck Without You” among them), this rocker has always stood out: It’s impossible not to see that the actors are really having fun, the vocals are great, and Artie’s “Jump” sign is classic. And it’s not just meaningless froth: While we watched the mattress antics, could we have imagined Mr. Schue’s frightening dramatic scene with Terri would follow?
Most of the group showstoppers on Glee feel tacked on as feel-good episode enders, and while this one wasn’t exactly an exception, we give it a lot of credit for trying. It allowed us to see Rachel swallow her pride for one of the first times ever, and we started to believe that New Directions could band together as a successful group. Unlike “Don’t Stop Believing,” this mercifully didn’t rely on out-of-nowhere rock-guitar solos, instead showcasing the group’s actual voices and harmonizing talents — and at this point, it’s been performed enough live for us to believe both are real.
5 Best — and Worst! — Glee Performances