Music Review: Glee Cast: “Original Song”

In this week’s mix of music, Glee offered up three full-length original tracks, as well as three tracks from Dalton Academy’s Warblers, and a solo from Chris Colfer. To be honest, this was probably one of the best weeks for Glee, musically speaking.

Let’s talk about the original songs, shall we? Both “Get It Right” and “Loser Like Me” debuted after the announcement that there would be original songs on Glee this season a few weeks ago.

Upon first listen, I was semi-horrified at “Loser Like Me.” It’s co-written by the master writer of all pop songs, Max Martin, so I felt like I had to give the song another chance. It’s definitely a Max Martin song. It has a good beat and cheesy, yet catchy lyrics.

I think that it should not have been sung by Lea Michele (Rachel) and Cory Monteith (Finn). I am assuming they were showcased in the song, since it was being used for Regionals, and neither of them were featured in the songs used for Sectionals. I think that Mark Salling (Puck) and Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina) would have been a better fit for the song. Ushkowitz is a wasted talent on the show and deserves her turn in the spotlight.

Michele’s voice on “Get It Right” is phenomenal. I love how her vocals are reined in, and then build up to that wonderful glory note. I seriously got chills while listening to it. I also love how the song related to Michele’s character’s storyline.

The thing with both “Get It Right” and “Loser Like Me” is that they work much better within context of the episode, which is definitely a good thing. I think both songs are pretty good anthems, and hopefully they do speak to the audience. But for me, I probably won’t be singing along to them in my car anytime soon.

“Hell To The No” was the third original song included in with this week’s song releases. Amber Riley (Mercedes) takes the lead on this very much ridiculous track. I just can’t take this song seriously when there’s a line about the previous tots storyline. Also, this is probably Riley’s weakest vocal performance to date. She sounded as if she was shouting throughout the length of the song.

Switching over to the Dalton Academy Warblers now, I have to say that the three tracks from them this week were all pretty good vocally. That said, I definitely raised an eyebrow at one of the song selections.

I’m a huge Maroon 5 fan, so I was pretty ecstatic to find out that Glee had the Warblers cover “Misery.” Darren Criss (Blaine) was on lead vocal, per usual, and he didn’t disappoint. I like that he kept Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine’s ad-libs in on the track. There was quite a bit of studio magic going on with this track, though, that I could have lived without. I really wish when it came to Criss’ vocals, Glee would lock up the auto-tune monster. I really enjoyed the breakdown of the song; the emphasis on the drum beat really put a unique spin on it.

Hey Monday’s “Candles” is a duet between Criss and Chris Colfer (Kurt). This was probably my least favorite song this week. Singing-wise, both Criss and Colfer sound great. I like their voices together; however, I just wasn’t loving this song. It’s hard to listen to all the way through without wanting to fall asleep. On the plus side, the studio magic was kept to a minimum, which really showcased both Criss and Colfer.

Criss took the lead again on Pink’s “Raise Your Glass.” I’m not a huge fan of the original song, but I really like the Glee version. Criss’ vocals were glossed over a bit again on this track, which is simply not necessary. And did anyone else notice that the Beezlebubs’ backing vocals sound like they were singing, “jenga, jenga, jenga, jenga, je-chicka-jenga?” If not, now you will. You’re welcome.

Quite a mix of songs were thrown at Criss this week, and he’s proven that he’s one hell of a versatile singer. I like that Colfer got a chance to stand out in the Warblers this week. As much as I love Criss’ voice, I’ve missed hearing Colfer sing regularly this season.

My favorite track this week came from Colfer, and he sang “Blackbird” by The Beatles — great song and great vocal performance. His vocals were understated, yet they packed a lot of emotion. Ever since his character switched schools, we haven’t gotten to hear Colfer sing, so for him to have a solo this week is pretty awesome.

Overall, I think the originals were definitely better than I initially expected. I know there is another original in the works for an upcoming episode, but I hope the originals don’t overthrow the cover songs, because that’s one of the reasons people love this show so much.

Glee airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on FOX.