ONTD Original: (some of) the best Glee performances
it is ok to admit that the glee version was better than the original
- william (@MelodramaRep) April 4, 2020
• We all know what Glee was. We either loved it, hated it, hated how much we loved it, or loved it and then hated it and then came back around to loving it. To be a Glee fan was to live a confused and tortured existence. It was an undeniable phenomenon its first three seasons, and then it fizzled out and, after six seasons, it quietly went off the air in 2015.
• Recently the show has become a nostalgic fave, so I decided to make a post sharing some of their best performances. Note that I am not saying these performances are better than the original like the tweet says, I'm just saying they are some of the best the show produced over six seasons.
Nasty/Rhythm Nation (S5E9 "The Puppet Master")
Click to viewIn season 4 Glee introduced a number of new characters to replace those that graduated in the previous season. One of them was Puck's half-brother Jake, who was better than Puck in every single possible way. After some mild character assassination, Jake (and the majority of the cast) was written out in the middle of season 5. His last solo performance was this Janet Jackson mash-up. It ruled.
Songbird (S2E19 "Rumours")
It took nearly an entire seasons for the Glee writers to explore Santana's sexuality and treat her journey with respect. Once she was honest with herself and Brittany, she was able to give her most breathtaking performance on the show.
Not The Boy Next Door (S3E18 "Choke")
Eight years later and I'm still bitter that Kurt didn't get into NYADA on the first try, but Rachel choked and got in anyways.
Ain't No Way (S2E17 "A Night of Neglect")
I'm 1000% certain that no one is in character for those reaction shots, and honestly same.
Teenage Dream (S2E6 "Never Been Kissed")
This was lightning in a bottle. For the rest of its run the show tried to replicate a character introduction/ship moment as good as this and they never once came close.
Stronger (S2E2 "Britney/Brittany")
I don't know what Glee wanted to accomplish with the Artie/Tina/Mike love triangle, but at least we got Artie's best solo out of it.
Run Joey Run (S1E17 "Bad Reputation")
This choice is more 'most fun performance' than 'best performance', but this is my list and I can do whatever I want.
Lucky (S2E4 "Duets")
This one is actually better than the original.
It's Too Late (S6E3 "Jagged Little Tapestry")
It should be funny that Kurt and Blaine's best non-holiday duet came from an episode where they were broken up, but it just makes my former-Klaine stan self really sad.
River Deep, Mountain High (S2E4 "Duets")
Every Mercedes and Santana duet is great, but the energy in this number is unbeatable.
Faithfully (S1E22 "Journey to Regionals)
Finn and Rachel's relationship drama was so exhausting that it was easy to scoff at the idea that they ever had any chemistry. But they did. This was Finchel at their best and brightest.
Rumour Has It/Someone Like You (S3E6 "Mash Off")
Troubletones for life.
Somebody To Love (S1E5 "The Rhoes Not Taken")
The first performance of the New Directions in their full season 1 glory, and it was pretty fucking spectacular.
Jump (S1E12 "Mattress")
Glee was so much fun when they went full-tilt ridiculous.
Express Yourself (S1E15 "The Power of Madonna")
New Directions girls >>>>>>> New Directions boys.
Homeward Bound/Home (S4E8 "Thanksgiving")
Perfectly captured that weird, bittersweet feeling you have when you come home from college for the first time and see all your old friends. I cried so hard when Quinn hugged Finn.
Closer (S4E16 "Feud")
New Directions 2.0 were different than the original New Directions. They were more adorable, sweeter, and the characters actually liked each other for longer than the length of one musical number. Seeing them jump around and have fun was refreshing after three seasons of teammates being terrible to each other.
Don't Stop Believin' (S1E22 "Journey to Regionals")
They performed this song six times on the show (technically seven if you want to count the time they reaired the original performance at the end of the penultimate episode of the series)! It was their signature song, but this was definitely their best version. Triumphant and fully realized, it was so good that it made their loss at this competition hurt even more.
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (S5E11 "City of Angels")
After a full season and a half New Directions 2.0 finally made it to Nationals, and their setlist served as a tribute to Finn who had spent most of season 4 as their temporary coach. They end up losing for plot reasons (within the next two episodes Mr. Schue, Sue, McKinley, and every member of the club besides Artie, Sam, and Blaine were written out of the rest of the season. Glee was so messy). This was one of the only times the show used footage of Finn for flashbacks and it made the performance all the more heartfelt.
Bohemian Rhapsody (S1E22 "Journey to Regionals")
Jesse St. James was the best and I miss him every day.
Paradise By The Dashboard Light (S3E21 "Nationals")
The show spent three years building up to this one performance, and it didn't disappoint.
if i didn't include your favorite performance, share yours in the comments!
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