| "The Power of Madonna" | |
|---|---|
| Glee episode | |
 | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 15 |
| Directed by | Ryan Murphy |
| Written by | Ryan Murphy |
| Featured music | "Ray of Light" "Express Yourself" "Borderline" / "Open Your Heart" "Frozen" "Vogue" "Like a Virgin" "Justify My Love" "4 Minutes" "What It Feels Like for a Girl" "Like a Prayer" |
| Production code | 1ARC14 |
| Original air date | April 20, 2010 |
| Guest appearances | |
"The Power of Madonna" is the fifteenth episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on April 20, 2010. When cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) demands that Madonna's music be played over the school intercom system, glee club director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) sets the club a Madonna-themed assignment, hoping to empower the female club members. "The Power of Madonna" was written and directed by series creator Ryan Murphy, and serves as a musical tribute to Madonna, featuring cover versions of eight of her songs, with the singer having granted Glee the rights to her entire catalogue of music. Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna, an album containing studio recordings of songs performed in the episode, was released on April 20, 2010.
The episode was watched by 12.98 million American viewers, and was generally well received by critics. Tim Stack of Entertainment Weekly and Aly Semigran of MTV both deemed it the best episode of the show thus far, and the Houston Chronicle's Bobby Hankinson called it potentially "the most-enjoyable hour of television of all time."[1] Other reviews were more mixed, with Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club criticizing the increasing number of musical performances for disrupting the tonal balance of the show, and IGN's Eric Goldman questioning the series' writing. Madonna herself approved of the episode, calling it "brilliant on every level".[2]
The episode won "Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (One Hour)" at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, while Jane Lynch won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in this episode.