Born This Way to Stay Gleeful!

It’s about damn time that Glee got back to tying in great music (that most people might not have heard before, or haven’t heard in a while) and really do a great job tying it into the storyline.

Tonight’s episode dealt with the great dilemma of accepting the things about yourself that you might get ridiculed for, because after all, that’s what makes you one in a million! And after episode after episode solely dedicated to the guest star (yes, Ms. Paltrow) or how many current songs they can throw in (Adele’s “Turning Tables” and Katy Perry’s “Firework”), it was so refreshing to see Glee tonight get back to what really made it amazing in the first place.

The Good

First of all, I’m SOOOOO happy that Kurt is back at McKinley! And as randomly spontaneous as it was, The Warblers’ rendition of Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know” was precious and beautiful. Hopefully we’ll be seeing Blaine at McKinley soon!

I was very happy that they brought Karofsky’s storyline back to the forefront too. And who didn’t love his talk with Santana?!! You go girl and all your bitchiness! And thank you for starting to show your true colors!

Aside from all of that, the humor was spot on, the music fit right in, the characters developed even more, and the storylines were beautiful and poignant, especially with Emma’s acceptance of her OCD. It was great that such a mainstream show like this (which has already earned its place by sponsoring acceptance and what makes us all different and unique) bring that to a new extreme and really focus in on insecurities and accepting who we all are.

But no moment can compare to my two favorite ones of the night. First: the mash-up of TLC’s “Unpretty” and “I Feel Pretty” from West Side Story! I saw that they were covering this and really got confused as to how they would fit these two together, but they pulled off another great mashup.

And Two: Kurt’s shirt at the end that simply said “I like boys” (something I know everyone can relate too). But in all seriousness though, it was a proud moment to see that on at 8:30 primetime on FOX!

Might not be the actual shirt, but this is the closest I could get to :)



The Bad

While I do admire that Quinn has a big flaw and skeleton in her closet, at first glance her ugly picture seemed like a joke. And even though I did like Santana’s little quirks with Karofsky (the gay humor and all) I don’t like the fact that it built up all my hope that he was going to finally come out tonight! Those were both tiny moments in the episode, only two that I had to really think about and find because everything else was just about perfect!

But one thing that has been bothering me throughout the season that needs to be addressed…can Ashley Fink (who plays Lauren Zizes) please learn to annunciate and clearly speak her lines? She has amazing one-liners, but you can never understand her!

What to Look Forward To

I can’t help but spoil the surprise for myself. I know what’s happening in the next upcoming episodes. Best of all, I know who is going to be Prom King and Queen (but I won’t spoil it for any of you just yet). But I’m really looking forward to how all these little angles in the storylines play out and come together.
And best of all…I’M SO EXCITED KRISTIN CHENOWETH IS BACK NEXT WEEK!!!


Hallelujah



Happy Glee to you all!

Jessie J Knows Best!

Jessie J is here to stay, that’s all there is to it!

The Set-Up:

I had heard very little about her to begin with, but getting the free download of her music video “Price Tag” on iTunes was one of the best decisions I made! She was crazy-looking and very punkish in the video, but there was something so magical about her. Then came her appearance on SNL and my heart just fluttered. She went miles above the recording of her first single and sounded amazing live, but what stuck with me was her second performance of “Mama Knows Best”, going all out with that insane voice of hers (watch a live version below to see what I’m talking about, OK?!) I’ve been waiting for her album to get here for so long, I can’t even tell you how happy I was that for my birthday I was given an iTunes gift card, and I didn’t even hesitate buying the album yesterday.

The Play-by-Play:

The album opens up with the bubbly first single “Price Tag” which is a great look into this kooky singer and what her style is all about. From there, we start to get the attitude with “Nobody’s Perfect”, then switching gears into a sweet little love crush with “Abracadabra”. That’s when we start to hear her big vocal aerobics, going up and down and all around. The girl can saaaaanng!  Then things get stripped down for a live version of “Big White Room”, showing off a little vulnerable side, but quickly stepping it up with her signature little stutter-like quality with certain phrases. She’s a dynamite performer, and you can hear it well on this track. Afterwards, she takes a little throwback to doo-wop, R&Bish music with the sophisticated “Casualty of Love”. “Rainbow” follows that, but there’s not too much to comment on, it’s ok, but not much of a stand out compared to the rest of the material. “Who’s Laughing Now” is her slap in the face to all the haters she’s had to deal with, but rather then getting angry with it, she laughs it off in this kiddish-style song. Thing really start to pick up with her full swagger on in “Do It Like A Dude”. Then comes the highlight for me: “Mama Knows Best” where that big booming voice I became a fan of in the first place finally takes centerstage throughout the entire song! The pop side of her really comes through with the next two tracks: “L.O.V.E.” and “Stand Up”. Soon enough, powerhouse starts to wind down with “I Need This” before going out with a bang for “Who You Are”, the studio version. If it ended there, I know I’d be satisfied, but instead she adds on a second version of “Who You Are” as a stripped down acoustic version she played for a show. It’s a true showcase of an artist who of course sounds great on the recording, but the true talent is portraying that same voice and style in a live setting, even more powerful and meaningful. It’s a beautiful ending with a positive message to never lose track of who you are, always being yourself and living your life for the bett-uh (as she exclaims in her lovely accent).

Random highlight: 

Honey child can drop the F bomb like it’s no one’s business, but it’s all done in great taste (yes, the F word is tasteful!)

The Point:

Jessie J is another addition to the growing crowd of British singers making their way to the US, making a big splash and becoming a big success. What separates her though from artists like Amy Winehouse, Adele, and even Leona Lewis is her personality and spunk, this special rebelliousness that she puts out there. Nothing at all negative, but it’s all a part of who she is. Her voice is impeccable and the talent can go on for days!

The Essentials:

If you’re not looking for the entire album, there are two signature songs you HAVE to get.

I recommend “Mama Knows Best”,

and the live version of “Who You Are”, both in all of her vocal glory, not to mention just how awesome she is to sing in the middle of the day outside of the subway in NYC!

Where Did Grey's Go Wrong?

When I first heard about the Grey’s Anatomy Music Event, I have to admit that I was really excited and anxious to see how amazing it was going to be. It was a genius idea (not the most original, but genius nonetheless). They weren’t going to simply do a song and dance episode, but rather take songs made famous by the show and perform them in what was supposed to be a dramatic episode, dealing with the life of Callie Torres and her unborn baby. It had classic Grey’s written all over it, and I for one couldn’t wait until it premiered. I even started to get a little emotional seeing the little snippet online of the opening “Chasing Cars” sequence.

Maybe I was so excited about this episode because I think of myself as a very optimistic person (or just a big Grey’s Anatomy fan). Maybe I was so excited because Glee happens to be my favorite show, and if they can pull it off every week, then Grey’s can do it for just one. Sadly though, in my opinion the music event didn’t live up to any of the hype surrounding it.

What makes Glee work is the fact that the show revolves around singing, so of course they have to find actors who can sing (or singers who can act). The writers have the challenge with every episode to tie in the lyrics of a song to the storyline and the characters’ growth. While it may have gotten a little fuzzy in this second season, there’s no denying that Glee still manages to pull of that tough task. What also makes the show work is that when it’s time to get serious, the acting comes through in the singing voice and not just the facial expressions. Only some of the time does it come across as cheesy. The same can definitely not be said for Grey’s musical.

It started off very promising. It was the song that everyone knew they were going to cover: Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars”, and what an emotional opening sequence it was! (You can watch it down below and marvel at it the same way I still do) Starting right where the last episode ended, we see Callie Torres (played by the extremely talented Sara Ramirez) lying out of the windshield, obviously traumatized by the car crash. Arizona (played by Jessica Capshaw) obviously is in shock (after all she did just propose, and then life throws them this curve ball.) From there, they arrive at the hospital and the music softly begins to play. No one can deny that Sara Ramirez has a beautiful voice (winning a Tony award for being in Spamalot and all). She carried the song with great poise, quietly standing in the background of the chaotic mess going on at the same time, trying to bring Callie back to life. And it was one shock right after the next for me. Who knew Dr. Hunt could sing too?!!! And when Callie, Dr. Hunt, and Bailey do the 3-part harmony towards the end of the sequence, it was some very powerful stuff! For me, that was enough alone to call it a musical event, but unfortunately they dragged it out for another 45 minutes.

Every song break turned into a cheesy mess. It doesn’t come across as being very natural when you boldly declare what the name of the next song is, and then go right into singing it (I’m talking to you Lexie Grey!) If you’re going to do a serious episode where singing is involved, make sure that you have voices that blend well together and that can pull of that kind of strong emotion. We’ve all known since the first season that these actors are great at portraying this soap-opera primetime drama. The show has had its fine share of intense, dramatic times. But when people who have never sung before are trying to sing with meaning behind it, it came across as an early April Fool’s joke.

Surely, no one in the Scrubs cast really had a lot of experience singing before, but it was a campy episode where it didn’t matter that they sang well or not. The whole joke was that it was a big, musical production (dance numbers and all) that made their musical episode a hit. But Grey’s wasn’t trying to be campy, they were trying to do something profound. Nothing else in the episode could live up to the opening sequence with “Chasing Cars”, especially with the horrible rendition of Grey’s signature song “How To Save A Life”. I found myself in an awkward state throughout the rest of this episode, constantly in fear for everyone on screen, and it wasn’t fear that Callie or the baby would die, or that Arizona and Dr. Sloan wouldn’t reconcile and come to the same terms. It was fear that this musical risk wouldn’t go over so well with the rest of the die-hard Grey’s fans.

Yes it was different, and I respect creator (and writer of this particular episode) Shonda Rimes for taking a chance on this musical event, but it didn’t have the payoff it should have deserved with a prime show like this. It really only served one purpose: to highlight what a great voice Sara Ramirez has.

What I am proud of is the fact that this season has been one of the best so far. After years of awkward storylines and unnecessary baggage (Izzie who?), it’s great to see Grey’s Anatomy stepping out of their comfort zones and going in unexpected directions. This might not have been the right direction to go towards, but I think it’s safe to say they won’t be taking this musical side any farther than they have already. What did work well in this episode were the moments when there wasn’t singing, it was just the great performances back and forth in the dialogue alone, which is why it’s safe to say that this won’t affect the number of people tuning in to see the drama unfold every week now. After the sneak peek we saw for the next episode, it’s safe to say that Grey’s still has a few shocking tricks up their sleeves.