Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that aired on the Fox network in the United States. It focuses on the William McKinley High School glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues. The show was created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, and features many cover versions of songs performed on-screen by the characters.[1] Murphy is responsible for selecting all of the songs used, and strives to maintain a balance between show tunes and chart hits, as he wants there to be "something for everybody in every episode".[2] Once Murphy selects a song, rights are cleared with its publishers by music supervisor P.J. Bloom, and music producer Adam Anders rearranges it for the Glee cast.[3] Numbers are pre-recorded by the cast, while choreographer Zach Woodlee constructs the accompanying dance moves, which are then taught to the cast and filmed.[2] Studio recordings of tracks are then made. The process begins six to eight weeks before each episode is filmed, and can end as late as the day before filming begins.[3]
At the beginning of the season, Murphy intended for the performances to remain reality-based, as opposed to having the characters spontaneously burst into song.[4] As the season progressed, however, Glee began to utilize fantasy sequences, with paraplegic character Artie imagining himself dancing to "The Safety Dance", and six separate characters performing a fantasy version of "Like a Virgin".[5] The first thirteen episodes of the season averaged five songs per episode.[6] For the final nine episodes, the number of performances increased to eight.[6] The list below contains all 132 musical performances of the first season, with each performance delivering an individual song or a mashup of two or more songs in a single performance.
Murphy was surprised at the ease with which use of songs was approved by the record labels approached.[4] Recording artist Rihanna offered her single "Take a Bow" for use at a reduced licensing rate, and other artists offered use of their songs free.[7] Madonna granted the show rights to her entire catalog, and the 2010 episode "The Power of Madonna" featured cover versions of eight of her songs.[8] A series of Glee albums were released through Columbia Records. Accompanying the first season were the studio albums Glee: The Music, Volume 1, Glee: The Music, Volume 2 and Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers, extended plays (EP) Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna and Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals, and the compilation album Glee: The Music, The Complete Season One, featuring 100 recordings from the season. Songs featured on the show are available for digital download through the iTunes Store up to two weeks before new episodes air, and through other digital outlets and mobile carriers a week later.[3]
- ^ Keveney, Bill (May 18, 2009). "After 'Idol' there's 'Glee,' a comedy with cool music". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
- ^ a b Fernandez, Maria Elena (April 26, 2009). "Will TV audiences watch with 'Glee'?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
- ^ a b c Herrera, Monica (October 23, 2009). "Glee Rewrites the Script on TV Music". Billboard. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
- ^ a b Kinon, Cristina (May 18, 2009). "'Glee' puts edgy spin on Top 40 tunes". The Daily News. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
- ^ Zoller Seitz, Matt (June 8, 2010). "Why Glee is this century's Twin Peaks". Salon. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
- ^ a b Wightman, Catriona (July 14, 2010). "'Glee' episodes 'to feature fewer songs'". Digital Spy. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
- ^ Frankel, Daniel (January 13, 2009). "'Glee' gets songs for free". Variety. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
- ^ Stack, Tim (October 21, 2009). "'Glee' Exclusive: Madonna is on board! Is Adam Lambert next?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 19, 2021.