picspam time!
I haven't done one of these in a long time! This time, I put together a picspam of my top 20 Glee performances of season 1. I also posted these over at my tumblr, so if you wanna reblog 'em over there, please do that instead of reposting :)
So without any further ado...
#20 - Papa Don’t Preach
This was one of the first times I really liked Quinn and really appreciated Dianna’s voice. I still don’t think any of her performances have ever compared, vocally or visually. (Marry You was a really awesome vocal for her too, but that was a fabulous song for everyone, IMO.) It was just cute and fun and set up a lot of interesting stuff for Quinn and Puck that never really got explored.
#19 - Dancing With Myself
I was pretty disappointed that Artie never got a real solo till Wheels, other than his brief solo in Vitamin D. At first, I actually didn’t care for this song when it came out before the episode. But actually watching it completely sold me on the song. It was completely perfect for Artie and I love how they actually changed up the original song - Glee needs to do this more often, instead of just singing songs straight up. No more karaoke and more interpretations, plz.
#18 - Thong Song
Yeah, I know. It’s the Thong Song. But, for the longest time it was my favorite performance of the entire first 13. It was cheesy, ridiculous, over the top, and kinda hot. Mattyfresh totally sold it, and Emma’s expressions were pretty much what I looked like watching the scene. I will always love the thong song.
#17 - U Can’t Touch This
Proooobably another weird pick from me, but come ON. It was fucking AWESOME. Bad Reputation was a pretty fabulous episode altogether, out of a pretty lame back 9, and this performance was the highlight of the episode for me. What else do you need when you’ve got Glee clubbers in hammer pants while dancing on tables in the library? Nothing. That’s what.
#16 - Don’t Stand So Close To Me/Young Girl
Ballad was a hilarious episode and this performance just topped it off. Nothing like performing a hotass mashup for the student who’s gone all psycho on you and the counselor who wants to jump your bones. A+ job, Will Schuester. He really doesn’t do the brightest things, but at least we get stellar performances like this.
#15 - Keep Holding On
This performance always gets me ridiculously teary-eyed and sniffly. There’s just so much raw emotion here and it’s beautifully acted and sung. From Finn grabbing both Quinn and Rachel’s hands, to Kurt tearing up as he dances with Quinn, to the last shot of Quinn crying. UGH BREAK MY HEART MORE, WOULD YOU.
#14 - Jump
f you didn’t like this performance, I question your enjoyment of life. I mean, what’s not to like? There’s JUMPING. ON. MATTRESSES. AND. SINGING. It’s really the epitome of glee (lol pun). But really, it’s just so ridiculously FUN and when you look at the episode as a whole (Will finding out about Terri, Finn ditching Rachel at the yearbook pictures) and see just how bright of a spot in the episode this performance is, it makes it even better.
#13 - Safety Dance
This is another one of those “HOW COULD YOU NOT LIKE THIS” performances for me. I was giddy the moment I read the spoiler for Dream On and saw that we’d get to see Artie dance. Yeah, it sucks that it’s a dream sequence and that we don’t get to see Kevin’s ridic dance moves every week, but at least we got a taste, and one hell of a taste at that. I also wanna point out how I love that most of the Glee club is hanging out there too - Brittany, Mike, Matt, Kurt, Tina, and Mercedes all jump in there at some point and it’s just ridiculously adorable to me.
#12 - A House Is Not A Home
I didn’t initially love this performance, but after a couple of listens, I realllllly fell for it. A lot of it had to do with the fact that I was still kind of on the fence about how much I liked Kurt. But this was definitely one of the more powerful solo performances, especially in the back 9. Plus, I actually really liked the Kurt/Finn development over the back 9 - I had a soft spot for all of Finn’s storylines in the back 9, really.
#11 - Hate On Me
Pretty much one of the only Mercedes performances I really love. All of her other performances turn out somewhat generic for me, but this one always sticks out in my mind. I love how much fun they all seem to be having with it and Mercedes totally OWNS the room. Plus, Kurt’s dance moves are pretty fabulous and lolarious.
#10 - 4 Minutes
This was THE performance of the Madonna episode, idc. All of the other performances fell just short for me (Express Yourself would probably be a close second in this episode). But this has Kurt and Mercedes as CHEERIOS with a band, being FIERCE. AS. HELL. It’s just plain WRONG how Chris can work that Cheerios uniform (speaking of, did he ever leave the Cheerios? Or was that just assumed?). But anyway, brilliant performance was really fucking brilliant.
#9 - Hello, I Love You
Not only did I have this song stuck in my head for days after Hell-o, but I had the actual performance stuck in my head. It was really the only memorable part of the episode for me - I loved how it set up Finn’s arc for the back 9, really. And plus, what’s more awesome than Finn being all rockstar with a bunch of dancing Cheerios?
#8 - It’s My Life/Confessions Pt. II
Okay, this performance was all kinds of awesome. The boys blew the girls out of the water, by FAAAAAAAAR (I have to argue they did in season 2 as well, but whatever, this is a s1 picspam). With Finn’s ridiculous flailing, Mike’s badass moves, Artie’s first solo, and Kurt’s fierce I’m-hopped-up-on-drugs-oh-my-god-I’m-going-to-kill-you-through-song face, and THE LEATHER JACKETS, it’s definitely one of the best performances of the first 13.
#7 - Defying Gravity
I’m a self-admitted musical hater, okay, but I love this performance. I even prefer the duet version of the single that was released - I just love Lea and Chris’ voices together, okay? I loved all of the emotion that Chris poured into this one - I certainly didn’t see it coming that Kurt was really going to throw the song. Ahh, CONTINUE TO BREAK MY HEART, PLEASE, I DON’T NEED IT.
#6 - Journey Medley
It sucks that New Directions lost at Regionals - I really thought their performance was a hell of a lot better than Vocal Adrenaline. Faithfully was kind of really fucking EPIC and Lea nailed pretty much all of it. I still get chills when I listen to it. Any Way You Want It/Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’ is just so much fun - I really love what they did with the mash-up. It’s cheesy and cute and awesome all at once. And Don’t Stop Believing is always good to get me all emotional anyway. The only thing that still bugs me is that Kurt’s solo was cut from the actual performance on the show. Lame. (Oh and on a random note, this was my favorite graphic out of all 20, tbh. PRETTY COLORS ON THE CAPS ALREADY OK)
#5 - Rose’s Turn
Oh boy, TOP FIVE! This is another one that got me all teary-eyed when I watched it, and it still does when I watch now. I just rewatched it last night and I got all weird-verklempt when the curtain went up and BAM KURT and LIGHTS and JAZZ HANDS and KURT BEING AWESOME and this performance single-handedly shows off how fucking BRILLIANT Chris Colfer is in like EVERY SINGLE WAY.
#4 - Don’t Rain On My Parade
Again, I KNOW, I hate musicals, but this performance gave me CHILLS. Lea Michele does have a fabulous voice, it just gets frustrating when she does the same broadway thing on every song when it doesn’t really need it. This song was absolute PERFECTION for her and it was no wonder that New Directions won Sectionals with her coming out of the gate with this song. Plus, it’s really fucking fun to sing along with this one in the car.
#3 - Jessie’s Girl
I know some people are gonna be disappointed that I didn’t put this song as #1, lol. But I have my reasons for putting it here - for one, it doesn’t have quite as much emotional impact for me as my top 2 picks do. But, I have to say that this song is one of the best that Glee has EVER done. The song choice was absolutely PERFECT and Cory sang it so fucking fabulously that I can’t even HANDLE HIM. To this day, it’s my top played Glee song from season 1 and my second played overall. It gets stuck in my head on a regular basis. It’s just. It’s perfect. That is all.
#2 - Don’t Stop Believing
The song that started it ALL. One of my most favorite songs ever, for a LOT of reasons. There’s only one reason it’s not my number one song and I’ll get into that when I get there. But this performance was what made me fall in love with Glee and I’m sure it’s what made a lot of people fall in love with it. It was just so simple and so heartfelt - knowing now what this little group of six ragtag students is going to become is just… kind of awesome to think about when you watch this. Honestly, I hope that when Glee ends, we get another rendition of this. It wouldn’t feel right with anything else, tbh.
#1 - Somebody To Love
There are a lot of reasons that this is my top song. For one, it’s the very first time that we have the entire Glee club performing together. The club that we’ve grown to love, the original members that are going to always stick with us, regardless of the Sams and Blaines and Sunshines and Karofskys. This performance is just GORGEOUS to watch, with all of the blue and the lighting and the HANDS at the end and the ease with which they all move together. And the song is just WONDERFULLY sang. Lea, Cory, Kevin, and Amber all do AMAZING jobs on this song. With the epic build up in the middle, Mercedes’ epic note, Finn’s perfect line about having no rhythm, and Lea’s notes at the end always give me chills. The performance always gets me teary-eyed and the last time I watched, I even cried a little. Oops. If we don’t get to see another performance of DSB near the end, I hope we get this at least. Also, I don’t believe that any performance on the show has YET to live up to the power and emotion of this one. I miss the show stopping numbers that Glee used to put on on a regular basis. Hopefully, we get another one of these numbers, some day. <3
So without any further ado...
#20 - Papa Don’t Preach
This was one of the first times I really liked Quinn and really appreciated Dianna’s voice. I still don’t think any of her performances have ever compared, vocally or visually. (Marry You was a really awesome vocal for her too, but that was a fabulous song for everyone, IMO.) It was just cute and fun and set up a lot of interesting stuff for Quinn and Puck that never really got explored.
#19 - Dancing With Myself
I was pretty disappointed that Artie never got a real solo till Wheels, other than his brief solo in Vitamin D. At first, I actually didn’t care for this song when it came out before the episode. But actually watching it completely sold me on the song. It was completely perfect for Artie and I love how they actually changed up the original song - Glee needs to do this more often, instead of just singing songs straight up. No more karaoke and more interpretations, plz.
#18 - Thong Song
Yeah, I know. It’s the Thong Song. But, for the longest time it was my favorite performance of the entire first 13. It was cheesy, ridiculous, over the top, and kinda hot. Mattyfresh totally sold it, and Emma’s expressions were pretty much what I looked like watching the scene. I will always love the thong song.
#17 - U Can’t Touch This
Proooobably another weird pick from me, but come ON. It was fucking AWESOME. Bad Reputation was a pretty fabulous episode altogether, out of a pretty lame back 9, and this performance was the highlight of the episode for me. What else do you need when you’ve got Glee clubbers in hammer pants while dancing on tables in the library? Nothing. That’s what.
#16 - Don’t Stand So Close To Me/Young Girl
Ballad was a hilarious episode and this performance just topped it off. Nothing like performing a hotass mashup for the student who’s gone all psycho on you and the counselor who wants to jump your bones. A+ job, Will Schuester. He really doesn’t do the brightest things, but at least we get stellar performances like this.
#15 - Keep Holding On
This performance always gets me ridiculously teary-eyed and sniffly. There’s just so much raw emotion here and it’s beautifully acted and sung. From Finn grabbing both Quinn and Rachel’s hands, to Kurt tearing up as he dances with Quinn, to the last shot of Quinn crying. UGH BREAK MY HEART MORE, WOULD YOU.
#14 - Jump
f you didn’t like this performance, I question your enjoyment of life. I mean, what’s not to like? There’s JUMPING. ON. MATTRESSES. AND. SINGING. It’s really the epitome of glee (lol pun). But really, it’s just so ridiculously FUN and when you look at the episode as a whole (Will finding out about Terri, Finn ditching Rachel at the yearbook pictures) and see just how bright of a spot in the episode this performance is, it makes it even better.
#13 - Safety Dance
This is another one of those “HOW COULD YOU NOT LIKE THIS” performances for me. I was giddy the moment I read the spoiler for Dream On and saw that we’d get to see Artie dance. Yeah, it sucks that it’s a dream sequence and that we don’t get to see Kevin’s ridic dance moves every week, but at least we got a taste, and one hell of a taste at that. I also wanna point out how I love that most of the Glee club is hanging out there too - Brittany, Mike, Matt, Kurt, Tina, and Mercedes all jump in there at some point and it’s just ridiculously adorable to me.
#12 - A House Is Not A Home
I didn’t initially love this performance, but after a couple of listens, I realllllly fell for it. A lot of it had to do with the fact that I was still kind of on the fence about how much I liked Kurt. But this was definitely one of the more powerful solo performances, especially in the back 9. Plus, I actually really liked the Kurt/Finn development over the back 9 - I had a soft spot for all of Finn’s storylines in the back 9, really.
#11 - Hate On Me
Pretty much one of the only Mercedes performances I really love. All of her other performances turn out somewhat generic for me, but this one always sticks out in my mind. I love how much fun they all seem to be having with it and Mercedes totally OWNS the room. Plus, Kurt’s dance moves are pretty fabulous and lolarious.
#10 - 4 Minutes
This was THE performance of the Madonna episode, idc. All of the other performances fell just short for me (Express Yourself would probably be a close second in this episode). But this has Kurt and Mercedes as CHEERIOS with a band, being FIERCE. AS. HELL. It’s just plain WRONG how Chris can work that Cheerios uniform (speaking of, did he ever leave the Cheerios? Or was that just assumed?). But anyway, brilliant performance was really fucking brilliant.
#9 - Hello, I Love You
Not only did I have this song stuck in my head for days after Hell-o, but I had the actual performance stuck in my head. It was really the only memorable part of the episode for me - I loved how it set up Finn’s arc for the back 9, really. And plus, what’s more awesome than Finn being all rockstar with a bunch of dancing Cheerios?
#8 - It’s My Life/Confessions Pt. II
Okay, this performance was all kinds of awesome. The boys blew the girls out of the water, by FAAAAAAAAR (I have to argue they did in season 2 as well, but whatever, this is a s1 picspam). With Finn’s ridiculous flailing, Mike’s badass moves, Artie’s first solo, and Kurt’s fierce I’m-hopped-up-on-drugs-oh-my-god-I’m-going-to-kill-you-through-song face, and THE LEATHER JACKETS, it’s definitely one of the best performances of the first 13.
#7 - Defying Gravity
I’m a self-admitted musical hater, okay, but I love this performance. I even prefer the duet version of the single that was released - I just love Lea and Chris’ voices together, okay? I loved all of the emotion that Chris poured into this one - I certainly didn’t see it coming that Kurt was really going to throw the song. Ahh, CONTINUE TO BREAK MY HEART, PLEASE, I DON’T NEED IT.
#6 - Journey Medley
It sucks that New Directions lost at Regionals - I really thought their performance was a hell of a lot better than Vocal Adrenaline. Faithfully was kind of really fucking EPIC and Lea nailed pretty much all of it. I still get chills when I listen to it. Any Way You Want It/Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’ is just so much fun - I really love what they did with the mash-up. It’s cheesy and cute and awesome all at once. And Don’t Stop Believing is always good to get me all emotional anyway. The only thing that still bugs me is that Kurt’s solo was cut from the actual performance on the show. Lame. (Oh and on a random note, this was my favorite graphic out of all 20, tbh. PRETTY COLORS ON THE CAPS ALREADY OK)
#5 - Rose’s Turn
Oh boy, TOP FIVE! This is another one that got me all teary-eyed when I watched it, and it still does when I watch now. I just rewatched it last night and I got all weird-verklempt when the curtain went up and BAM KURT and LIGHTS and JAZZ HANDS and KURT BEING AWESOME and this performance single-handedly shows off how fucking BRILLIANT Chris Colfer is in like EVERY SINGLE WAY.
#4 - Don’t Rain On My Parade
Again, I KNOW, I hate musicals, but this performance gave me CHILLS. Lea Michele does have a fabulous voice, it just gets frustrating when she does the same broadway thing on every song when it doesn’t really need it. This song was absolute PERFECTION for her and it was no wonder that New Directions won Sectionals with her coming out of the gate with this song. Plus, it’s really fucking fun to sing along with this one in the car.
#3 - Jessie’s Girl
I know some people are gonna be disappointed that I didn’t put this song as #1, lol. But I have my reasons for putting it here - for one, it doesn’t have quite as much emotional impact for me as my top 2 picks do. But, I have to say that this song is one of the best that Glee has EVER done. The song choice was absolutely PERFECT and Cory sang it so fucking fabulously that I can’t even HANDLE HIM. To this day, it’s my top played Glee song from season 1 and my second played overall. It gets stuck in my head on a regular basis. It’s just. It’s perfect. That is all.
#2 - Don’t Stop Believing
The song that started it ALL. One of my most favorite songs ever, for a LOT of reasons. There’s only one reason it’s not my number one song and I’ll get into that when I get there. But this performance was what made me fall in love with Glee and I’m sure it’s what made a lot of people fall in love with it. It was just so simple and so heartfelt - knowing now what this little group of six ragtag students is going to become is just… kind of awesome to think about when you watch this. Honestly, I hope that when Glee ends, we get another rendition of this. It wouldn’t feel right with anything else, tbh.
#1 - Somebody To Love
There are a lot of reasons that this is my top song. For one, it’s the very first time that we have the entire Glee club performing together. The club that we’ve grown to love, the original members that are going to always stick with us, regardless of the Sams and Blaines and Sunshines and Karofskys. This performance is just GORGEOUS to watch, with all of the blue and the lighting and the HANDS at the end and the ease with which they all move together. And the song is just WONDERFULLY sang. Lea, Cory, Kevin, and Amber all do AMAZING jobs on this song. With the epic build up in the middle, Mercedes’ epic note, Finn’s perfect line about having no rhythm, and Lea’s notes at the end always give me chills. The performance always gets me teary-eyed and the last time I watched, I even cried a little. Oops. If we don’t get to see another performance of DSB near the end, I hope we get this at least. Also, I don’t believe that any performance on the show has YET to live up to the power and emotion of this one. I miss the show stopping numbers that Glee used to put on on a regular basis. Hopefully, we get another one of these numbers, some day. <3