• Catch up on your Glee! You can read my “Music in Glee” mini review of “We Found Love” for episode 10 of season 3, “Yes/No” here.

Usually my favorite song from a Glee episode is to be expected – a really big number, or a popular song choice I’ve been dying to hear from a certain character. But this time, in episode 10 “Yes/No”, my favorite happened to be a bit more of a subtle song choice: “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”.

Mercedes said it all in the bathroom at the finish – it was just so emotional. We’ve heard love songs on Glee before – from Rachel to Finn, Puck to Rachel, Santana about Brittany, and countless others – but never one quite like this.

“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” accomplishes something I haven’t quite felt since Tina/Jenna Ushkowitz’s “True Colors” in season 1 – a sense of glee club camaraderie on a purely emotional level, only this time, it’s just with the girls. It also relates well to the episode. Its raw emotion perfectly accompanies Will’s search for the best love song for his proposal to Emma.

And who saw it coming that Mercedes would picture Sam? Totally called it.

What was your impression of the girls performing “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, and what was your favorite song from “Yes/No”? Share in the comments!

Your ears itching to give “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” another listen? Head on over to Glee The Music to hear your favorites from episode 10 of season 3, “Yes/No” again.

Video credit: VEVO

• Catch up on your Glee! You can read my “Music in Glee” mini review of “Summer Nights” for episode 10 of season 3, “Yes/No” here.

Not a big Rihanna fan, but “We Found Love” is one of my favorites of hers – and it’s one of my favorites that Glee covers as well. But something still felt a bit…off about the way the song was executed in the episode. Parts I liked, parts I didn’t like – so I thought I’d cover my own pros and cons to the number, just for fun.

Why “We Found Love” Left Me Cold:

• How realistic is it, really? I admit the outlandishness of the idea does have romance written all over it, but at the same time the whole thing felt just a tad…awkward and out-of-place (what does a swimming pool have to do with anything, other than Sam’s new involvement in synchronized swimming?).

• The choreography. Numerous accounts from cast members vouched for the intensity of the number, from being in the cold water all day to the rigorous nature of it. Not complaining outright of course and I doubt any fans took it that way, but it left me to wonder…was the scene really worth all the time and energy expended to create it?

How “We Found Love” Was Totally Awesome:

• Everything else aside, you’ve also got to admit that Will’s proposal to Emma was pretty darn romantic. I mean, how many guys would jump in a pool surrounded by synchronized swimmers for you?

• Despite its awkwardness, or silliness, or outlandishness, his proposal to Emma really did suit Will’s character. He’s always going above and beyond for anyone, whether it’s his students or the love of his life.

I encourage you all to either agree or disagree with me, let’s have a discussion! What did you think about the whole pool-proposal to “We Found Love” in “Yes/No”? Head to the comments and add your own pros and cons.

Your ears itching to give “We Found Love” another listen? Head on over to Glee The Music to hear your favorites from episode 10 of season 3, “Yes/No” again.

*And a big thank-you to Wetpaint Entertainment for compiling episode performance videos!

• Catch up on your Glee! You can read my “Music in Glee” review for episode 8 of season 3, “Hold On to Sixteen” here.

Opening the episode with “Summer Nights”? Genius. Was the main reason I’d been looking forward to “Yes/No” musically, and everything about this Grease number exceeded my expectations.

Glee Going Grease
Been a long time coming, right? I love it when Glee tackles Broadway and musical hits because…well, Glee IS a musical. But Grease especially is one of those iconic hits that you just have to see Glee cover a song from, at least once. And including the original bleachers? How perfect is that?

Some Samcedes Summer Lovin’
If the song fits, right? One of my initial disappointments at Sam/Chord Overstreet possibly not continuing on Glee was that we wouldn’t be able to see where he and Mercedes took their summer fling of a relationship. Needless to say, I was more than excited at the idea of exploring their “summer lovin’” in light of Mercedes’ new relationship with Shane.

Rory Needs a Friend!
The fact that the whole cast is present in this number is probably my favorite part about it. We hear nearly everyone’s singular voices in the music mix – even newbies Sugar (Vanessa Lengies) and Rory (Damian McGinty) – and to hear Sam/Chord and Mercedes/Amber take the vocal leads is a pleasantly refreshing change of pace indeed.

The Choreography
Choreographer Zac Woodlee always has his work cut out for him and always manages to do a dynamite job working with the cast. But for unexplained reasons, it’s watching Darren Criss’ (Blaine) and Damian’s (Rory) funky moves that really were the major highlights for me.

What did you think of Glee’s version of Grease’s “Summer Nights”, was it worth the wait? Let me know your favorite musical numbers (and non-musical episode moments!) from “Yes/No” in the comments below!

Your ears itching to give “Summer Nights” another listen? Head on over to Glee The Music to hear your favorites from episode 10 of season 3, “Yes/No” again.

*And a big thank-you to Wetpaint Entertainment for compiling episode performance videos!

Those lucky girls.

A Happy Christmahanukkwanza to all my fellow Gleeks out there! To celebrate, I thought I’d give the gift of Santana. Check out the totally awesome “Santa Baby” musical number that got cut from “Extraordinary Merry Christmas” (aw…):

If any of you read my Glee posts at Spoilers Guide, you might remember the one spoiler for this really fun Finn-and-Santana scene in “Extraordinary Merry Christmas”, where she helps him pick out his jewelry gift for Rachel.

My favorite Sectionals performance of New Directions was back in season 1, and this season’s Sectionals song choices weren’t exactly my favorite either (although their Jackson tribute was pretty fun). But “Hold on to Sixteen” pleasantly surprised me with its well written multi-plots, memorable character moments (I’m quickly but surely falling in love with Grant Gustin as Sebastian), and a couple musical gems that really were highlights of the entire episode, and possibly all of season 3.

“Red Solo Cup”
My sister and I were especially enthused to have Sam return to New Directions this episode. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed guitar-swinging Chord Overstreet’s voice until this episode, and “Red Solo Cup” was just the right song choice to kick off the “Sam is back” party (not sure if Bieber counts as country though – sorry, Sam). If you missed it, re-watch and be sure to catch the hilarious faces Kurt/Chris keeps making.

“Buenos Aires”
To quote Kurt, “It’s the Gerber Baby!”. It’s always a blast watching Lindsay Pearce (Harmony) perform, and ironically enough I thought the Unitards’ performance at Sectionals was the best (yes I know, I’m such a traitor). They may not have the best sounding name, but best sounding Sectionals performance. Hey, it’s not like it’s the worst show choir name out there (Aural Itensity, *cough*cough*).

“Survivor/I Will Survive”
It seems mash-ups are becoming the Troubletones’ signature show choir move, but there’s no complaining here because who doesn’t love mash-ups? With the exception of some amazing Brittana dancing thrown in there, the choreography was a little too messy for me personally – but then again, maybe the point was to showcase how awesome New Directions’ was. These were an excellent couple of song choices for a mash-up though, perfect for a Troubletones performance.

“ABC” / “Control” / “Man in the Mirror”
As a Sectionals performance, New Directions didn’t particularly impress me this season. But I did enjoy the Jackson theme, and the fact that every member of the club turned out on the same page in the end (including Quinn) made for a very uniform and dynamic performance overall. I didn’t necessarily care for the storyline with Rachel getting suspended, but the one good thing that came out of it for me was getting to see Tina’s/Jenna’s voice head up Sectionals on “ABC”. And with Mike! Harry Shum, Jr. has one heck of a voice for singing not being his forte.

“We Are Young”
My personal favorite of the episode, I felt this number surpassed all of the Sectionals performances combined. I kind of prefer it that way though, it very much reminds me of New Directions’ singing “My Life Would Suck Without You” to Will in season 1’s Sectionals episode. Not Sectionals quality per se, but memorable in its own right. Plus, it served as the clincher for reuniting Mercedes, Santana, and Brittany (and now Sugar too?) with the rest of the glee club. One of my favorites of the entire season.

Your ears itching to give these songs another listen? Head on over to Glee The Music to hear your favorites from episode 8 of season 3, “Hold On to Sixteen” again.

And a big thank-you to Wetpaint Entertainment for compiling all the performance videos in one place!

Image credit: Glee-France

Today, you can collect the next Glee soundtrack installment with Glee: The Music, Volume 7 hitting stores and iTunes everywhere! Covering season 3 hits and favorites like the Warblers’ rendition of “Uptown Girl” and Troubletones Adele mash-up, “Rumour Has It / Someone Like You”, this album is a musical must for any Gleeks collecting the soundtrack albums.

You can purchase your very own copy of Glee: The Music, Volume 7 here at Amazon and check out the track listing below:

1. You Can’t Stop The Beat (Glee Cast Version)
2. It’s Not Unusual (Glee Cast Version)
3. Somewhere (Glee Cast Version)
4. Run The World (Girls) (Glee Cast Version)
5. Fix You (Glee Cast Version)
6. Last Friday Night (Glee Cast Version)
7. Uptown Girl (Glee Cast Version)
8. Tonight (Glee Cast Version)
9. Hot For Teacher (Glee Cast Version)
10. Rumour Has It / Someone Like You (Glee Cast Version)
11. Girls Just Want To Have Fun (Glee Cast Version)
12. Constant Craving (Glee Cast Version)
13. ABC (Glee Cast Version)
14. Control (Glee Cast Version)
15. Man In The Mirror (Glee Cast Version)

Yesterday Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2 hit stores, iTunes, and Gleeks’ holiday playlists, although you might have already listened to it streaming in full on AOL Music beforehand (shh…don’t tell).

Following in the fa-la-la footsteps of last year’s first Christmas album, you just know Volume 2 is going to be rockin’ and “extraordinary” to say the least. But in case you have a hard time deciding if you want to fork it over for the full CD (as if there was any doubt), I’ve put together a review for you guys of all the songs featured on the album – some holiday favorites from all your favorite cast members, including tracks featuring all four of The Glee Project winners!

1. All I Want For Christmas Is You / Mercedes (Amber Riley)
I remember listening to Mariah Carey’s version of this holiday classic every year off an old family Christmas album. It is the perfect choice for Mercedes’ character and Amber’s voice, the song just silently screams diva. And while no one can of course hold a candle to Mariah, I must say that I much prefer Amber’s version.
2. Extraordinary Merry Christmas / Rachel & Blaine (Lea Michele & Darren Criss)
Nice…. Now that we’re past Glee doing original songs, we get one on the Christmas album! Not as fantastic as I would expect out of the only original song on the album, but it does have a great beat, a good melody – the chorus is definitely the best part. My only complaint is that it should have been the album’s first track.
3. Santa Baby / Santana (Naya Rivera)
This is the Glee holiday song I was looking most forward to this year. It fits Santana to a T. You can just tell that Naya had a real good time singing the song, her voice has a fun presence throughout. I’m just dying to see this season’s Christmas special to see if she performs it in the episode.
4. Christmas Eve With You / Will & Emma (Matthew Morrison & Jayma Mays)
Not a carol, but a very nice addition to the album. I really like holiday songs like this one, they’re so pleasant to listen to – and Matt and Jayma make it all the more enjoyable. I love anything Will/Matt sings, and to finally hear him in a duet with Emma/Jayma is amazing. Hopefully for Wemma fans, there’s a story behind the song. Guess we’ll have to watch the Christmas episode (season 3, episode 9) to find out.
5. Little Drummer Boy / Artie (Kevin McHale)
I might be the only one, but I was a tad disappointed that this song was given to Artie (Kevin) to sing. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Kevin’s voice and this Christmas carol is one of my all-time favorites, I just imagined a different voice for it, I think (though it would fit Finn’s character, lol). All that aside though, Kevin does a dynamite vocal job as always, and it’s still a very enjoyable track. Artie/Kevin fans will definitely be overjoyed with this one.
6. River / Rachel (Lea Michele)
This Joni Mitchell holiday song is just lovely with Lea’s beautiful Broadway voice, it’s one of my favorite tracks to listen to on the album. I prefer it much better to her rendition of “O Holy Night” on last year’s Christmas album. Plus, Finchel fans will love it. The “cutting down trees” lyric keeps reminding me of season 2’s Christmas episode with Finn and Rachel looking at trees.
7. Do You Hear What I Hear? / Alex Newell & Lindsay Pearce
This is where one of my favorite Christmas songs ever meets my not-so-favorite Glee Project contestants ever. So you’ll understand how cool it is when I say that I am positively thrilled with this track. Alex and Lindsay never fail to send chills down my spine every time I listen. Their voices meld beautifully together, and where they do choose to mix up the original a bit, it’s breathtaking. Kudos to Adam Anders for the arrangement on this one, I am so impressed.
8. Let It Snow / Kurt & Blaine (Chris Colfer & Darren Criss)
And what would a Glee Christmas album be without a Klaine duet? For me, it’s extremely hard to beat last year’s “Baby It’s Cold Outside”, so when comparing the two “Let It Snow” makes me go “meh” a little bit. But Kurt (Chris) and Blaine (Darren) together is never a bad thing musically (or otherwise, ha). This song completes the album for sure, but it’s not one I’ll listen to over and over (while “Baby It’s Cold Outside” is).
9. Santa Clause Is Comin’ To Town / Cory Monteith (Finn), Mark Salling (Puck), & Samuel Larsen
Finn (Cory), Puck (Mark), and Glee Project winner, Sam Larsen is a triple-threat combo that will make you want to jump up and do your best holiday jig. Okay, so Sam doesn’t get a solo like his fellow Glee Project winner, Damian McGinty (see track review below of “Blue Christmas”), but that’s totally cool with me because I say he sounds all the better for lumping him with the vocal likes of Cory and Mark. It’s rockin’. Can’t wait to see his character on the show later this season.
10. Christmas Wrapping / Brittany (Heather Morris)
This one’s the fun track. For Brittany/Heather, what other kind of song is there? I’ve never heard the song before now (original done by The Waitresses, remember them?), so I have nothing to compare it to, but I think that’s a good thing. It’s kind of crazy (another good reason for it to be a Brittany S. Pierce song, lol). You’ll want to put it on repeat just to see if you can catch all the lyrics.
11. Blue Christmas / Rory (Damian McGinty)
I think my insides melted a little bit the first time I heard Damian’s voice on this song. The song not only fits his character, Rory (missing his family back home in Ireland, aw…), it fits Damian’s Frank Sinatra-ish style. A lovely choice, as a big Damian fan I couldn’t be happier.
12. Do They Know It’s Christmas / Glee Cast
This song’s melody gets stuck in my head like crazy. A good feature for a lot of the different cast voices, you can pick out not just Lea’s big voice but Naya’s too. A super Christmas anthem ending to a great Christmas album.

While I would still love to hear the Glee cast cover all sorts of other Christmas carols and holiday songs, I thoroughly enjoyed Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2. Head on over to Amazon and get your copy today.

While I’m not quite sure if it fit into the whole scope of episode 5, “The First Time”, the Warblers performing “Uptown Girl” was a huge Gleeky highlight for me. I even had the song on repeat hours before watching the episode.

I admit it’s incredibly strange watching “Blaine and the Pips” minus their Blaine, but Curt Mega does an amazing job of filling his Warbler shoes (what’s that? You don’t know who Curt Mega is?? Don’t worry, I had no clue either until I found him here). Seeing Grant Gustin sing as Sebastian was equally fun (anybody else excited about this devilishly handsome fellow? Or maybe just devilish).

Who else enjoyed the Warblers’ rendition of “Uptown Girl”?

• Catch up on your Glee! You can read my “Music in Glee” mini review for episode 4 of season 3, “Pot O’ Gold” here.

Why is it always the Broadway-infused episodes of Glee that are simply the best? Everything about “The First Time” was as magical as Damian McGinty’s Rory the leprechaun in “Pot O’ Gold”. The episode was jam-packed with music and multiple character plots, and yet somehow escaped the common Glee tragedy of being rushed.

The episode’s biggest strength was choosing to weave snippets from the kids’ production of West Side Story throughout the scenes. It really worked well to showcase the musical and the separate sex plot lines with Finchel and Klaine. I just loved it. My particular favorite was “A Boy Like That” cut to Sebastian’s li’l chat with Blaine.

“America” was a definite standout performance too. I love big Glee numbers that feature a bunch of characters, so I really enjoyed watching Santana (Naya Rivera), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Puck (Mark Salling), and Mike (Harry Shum, Jr.) team up for this one (accents!). Oh and Rory. Can’t forget Rory (Damian McGinty).

And of course, “One Hand One Heart”, the climactic moment for the episode (I didn’t intend this pun, I swear), really made all the difference in how the love scenes were portrayed. They were so tastefully done I don’t know if we can even call them love scenes, but the song plus the scenes captured Rachel and Finn’s, and Kurt and Blaine’s, first times to perfection. I can’t imagine any Gleeks being disappointed. I know I wasn’t.

What did you love most about the music? Think we should have seen more of West Side Story than we did? (And on a non-music-related note, what did you guys think of Grant Gustin’s new character, Sebastian?) I want to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Your ears itching to give these songs another listen? Head on over to Glee The Music to hear your favorites from episode 5 of season 3, “The First Time” again.

And a big thank-you to Wetpaint Entertainment for compiling all the performance videos in one place!

Psst…guess what? AOL came up with a holiday present for us Gleeks, and it’s genius! We can listen to Glee The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2 in its entirety before it even comes out. That’s sweeter than getting candy cane slusheed.

Follow this link here so you can listen to the full streaming album on AOL right now! With some traditional and contemporary Christmas tracks from all our favorites, and some Glee Project winners! (Damian sings a “Blue Christmas” that’ll melt your Gleeky heart, I swear.)

You can also check out the track listing below, and pre-order your copy via Amazon (the CD will be released November 15!):

1. All I Want For Christmas Is You
2. Extraordinary Merry Christmas
3. Santa Baby
4. Christmas Eve With You
5. The Little Drummer Boy
6. River
7. Do You Hear What I Hear?
8. Let It Snow
9. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
10. Christmas Wrapping
11. Blue Christmas
12. Do They Know It’s Christmas?