Rumours (Glee)

"Rumours" is the nineteenth episode of the second season of the American musical television series Glee, and the forty-first overall. The episode was written by series co-creator Ryan Murphy, directed by Tim Hunter, first aired on May 3, 2011 on Fox in the United States, and it features the return of guest star Kristin Chenoweth. In "Rumours", the glee club is swept by rumors that strain the friendships and relationships of the members, so director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) has them perform songs from Fleetwood Mac's 1977 album Rumours. The episode is a tribute to that album, and all the songs covered in the episode are from it. This generated strong interest in the album: Rumours reentered the Billboard 200 chart at number eleven the week after the show was aired in the US, and the Australian album charts at number two five days after the show was aired in that country.

The episode received mixed reviews from critics. Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "the episode had its moments that made lovin' Glee fun", but called the Sue Sylvester subplot "tired".^[1] Many critics were impressed with how well the album's music was incorporated into the episode including Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone, who wrote "the songs of Rumours fit the New Directions' drama in an organic way."^[2] The "Fondue for Two" segments were a favorite of reviewers, and were developed from an idea by one of the show's fans.

The musical performances received mostly praise, especially "Never Going Back Again" and "Go Your Own Way". Five of the six Rumours cover versions debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, and four of these were featured on the subsequent Glee: The Music, Volume 6 soundtrack album. Upon its initial airing, the "Rumours" episode was viewed by 8.85 million American viewers and garnered a 3.7/11 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic. The total viewership and ratings for this episode was up slightly from the previous episode, "Born This Way".