DARREN CRISS: InStyle “Man of Style” – October 2011

Glee‘s Darren Criss was featured in InStyle magazine’s as October’s “Man of Style”:

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All I can say is…NICE ARMS there Darren

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Credit:  glee-france.fr

THE GLEE PROJECT: Linsday Interview (TV Line)

One of The Glee Project‘s runner-ups, Lindsay Pearce, did an interview with TV Line.

Some interesting tidbits from the interview:

TVLINE | How did you feel watching the season unfold and realizing there were instances where you were getting the classic, reality TV “villain edit”?
I had no idea what the show was gonna look like, or what my or anybody’s edit was going to portray. But I remember I called my mom after episode 3 [in which contestants had to reveal their biggest vulnerabilities], when they didn’t really give the full [story] for a lot of people. On my end and with a few others, it wasn’t actually what we had shared, and I called my mom and was like “Why are they doing this? I don’t understand!” [Laughs] I was just so upset. And she was like, “It’s gonna be okay. There’s a reason. You’re gonna get redeemed.” The people that know me and love me know that’s not who I am or what I’m like. It was a rough go at the beginning. And I had no idea it was going to be that way, but it all turned out okay in the end.

TVLINE | What was the vulnerability you actually revealed that we didn’t get to see?
I had shared — and it’s on the Oxygen blog and on my fan page — that I was abused by a boyfriend in the past. So it kind of gave me a fear of men, and that kind of fear caused me to put on that mask of “I’m okay, I’m okay, I’m okay,” when I’d never really addressed the issue. And I wasn’t okay, I just pretended like I was, ’cause that’s how I am. You be tough, you be strong, and you get through things when sometimes it’s not the best way to handle any kind of trauma. You have to get the skeleton out of the closet, and then keep it out.

TVLINE | Talk to me about the experience of a “sing for your life” performance.
I remember Samuel and I talking and saying, “God I wish I was in the Bottom 3 more often, because it would’ve given us some sort of insight on what the heck to do.” We had similar journeys in the sense that we had to be tough, and were always trying to please depending on the role. We’ve been auditioning for a long time and that’s what you do: You go into an audition saying “I’m this character! This is me, and I’m the best at this character.” But while I wish I’d been in the Bottom 3 a lot more, I can’t say I look back and say I regret any of the Bottom 3 performances, because they helped me grow. In the moment, “Maybe This Time,” I remember walking off that stage and I bawled my eyes out. I was like, “That’s it for me.” They didn’t show half the stuff Ryan said to us, but I was like, “And I’m defeated. And that’s it for me. This has been great. I love you guys and I’ll miss you.” But looking back on it, I’m glad it went the way it did, because they brought me to where I was and helped me personally grow.

TVLINE  | I wanted to ask you about the video shoot for “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” where you spontaneously decided to kiss Cameron at the end, and he went into something of an existential and moral tailspin.
It’s so funny the amount of near death threats and negative feedback I got, when that moment was directed. They didn’t show it, but you can read our blogs or talk to both of us: [Director Erik White asked] for it. I didn’t want to kiss him. It was one of those things where we didn’t discuss it [beforehand] because we didn’t know it was going to be asked of us. And had I known he would be even a little uncomfortable… Erik was like “I just need you to kiss him, but don’t tell him.” I was so nervous, and I remember pulling away and seeing his face and being like, “Oh, God! Oh, God! This sucks.” He had my red lipstick all over his mouth, and then the poor kid gets told by Erik in the next take, it’s his turn to kiss me, and he was just shaking. I had a boyfriend, too. It wasn’t one of those “Marissa did it so I have to do it!” moments. I don’t enjoy kissing boys I’m not dating. We walked off the set and were like “That sucked!”

TVLINE | So you’re not a kissing bandit?
I’m not a kissing fiend. I’m not the quote-unquote slut of the show.

TVLINE | So you have not seen a script or been told who or what you’ll be playing?
I can neither confirm nor deny, unfortunately. It’s one of those situations. I can say when the season starts, you will be pleasantly surprised. Hopefully pleasantly!
Click HERE for the full interview.

RYAN MURPHY: Deadline Interview

After all the HOOPLA about the Glee kids leaving/not leaving, Ryan Murphy finally did an interview with Deadline to set the record straight (altho some would argue whether or not it really IS settled yet…):

Allison Hope Weiner: So what is accurate and inaccurate about Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, and Cory Monteith staying, leaving, what they claim, and what you told them?

Ryan Murphy: I said two things in an interview: I said, yes, they are graduating and they will not be back on the show for Season Four. And when I did that interview, what was happening was we were asked to investigate doing a spin-off and it was a spin-off specifically for three of them, Chris, Cory and Lea. In March, Brad Falchuk and I started talking to all three of those actors about it because you can’t make people do spin-offs. So, we went to them and asked, ‘What do you think about this? Are you interested? If you are interested, what would you want your character to do? Where do you think we should shoot it?’ So, it was a discussion with all three of those actors about it. At the time, all three of them expressed interest. ‘Yeah, that sounds good. It’s good to graduate. It’s good to grow the characters. It’s good to not have to sit in that choir room. It’s good to sort of expand and continue the evolution of these people.’ They were involved in the process for 3 to 4 months to the point where we were even talking about cities and relocations and we called Julliard and what would that mean and how would we do it. So, for any of those actors to say, ‘I found out that I was fired off the show from Twitter,’ is absolutely 100% not true. None of them were fired. It was never about that. We were going to do a spin-off where the three of them were going to go on.  They all knew what was happening, they all had approved it, they all said they wanted to do it. Some of them had different caveats. Some of them, to be honest, were not thrilled about moving to a different city. Some had families here and some had families elsewhere. I feel sensitive about that. So then what happened was it blew up and a lot of articles were written about it. Some people were writing they’re not on the show so that means they must be fired. Well, no. That was 100% incorrect.

Weiner: How did it get so wrong?

Murphy: I think that some of those actors’ representatives spun it in a certain way, to be quite honest, I don’t understand. We weren’t allowed to talk about a spin-off. It was too premature. We didn’t want to do it then. The idea was to do it this fall when Glee gets back on the air.  Then, to pick up and read the actors saying, “We found out we were fired from Twitter.” All of us, the studio, the network, were like, ‘OK, that isn’t exactly cool,’ because we involved all three of them in that decision. So then what happened is that we decided, ‘OK, let’s not do it.’ So that’s where we are today. Maybe we’ll talk about it in April or May, but for now let’s just concentrate on making Season 3 the best that we can do. When I say they’re seniors and they’re not coming back to the show, what I did not say is they’re not coming back to the show because there will be another show. What Brad [Falchuk] said this weekend at Comic-Con is now correct: they’re graduating. What we wanted is to get people away from this idea that the actors were fired which is ludicrous. Nobody was fired. They were talked to for months about the show.

Weiner: So is anyone getting things ready for a spin-off?

Murphy: We were. Not now.

Weiner: You’re just putting it on hold in terms of sending them to a place like Julliard?

Murphy: That was the original place. That was what [last season's] whole New York Episode was about, the finale. But to be honest, since then because of the press and because of the perception and because Brad and I have had another show picked up, we have simply stopped with everyone’s understanding. You know, I had dinner with Lea last night where we talked about it. We don’t know what we’re going to do. We were going to start talking about it in September and now we’re not. We’re going to talk about it in April. The thing that I really wanted to reiterate was that no one was ever going to be fired. And the actors were very involved in the idea. Cory was discussed. Chris was discussed. We talked to Naya. We talked to the kids. And I think that the media has glommed on to this idea that we were graduating them and firing them and bringing in like Glee Project kids.

Weiner: I don’t think that’s fair about the media. These kids said things.

Murphy: Maybe they did. If they did, I think that I can say on behalf on Brad and myself that if they tried to spin it that they were under the thumb of the evil showrunners who were trying to manipulate them, I say, ‘Well, I’m sorry about that. They know that’s not true.’ But I don’t think that they think that. I don’t think Chris and Corey and Lea think that. I think it was a story that, because the truth couldn’t come out, blossomed into a thing.  I’ve learned a lesson from this experience. I’ve learned to really really monitor what I say. Before I didn’t do that. My bad. Stupid. Particularly what has happened with Glee. I just read an article that Glee is one of the most discussed shows on the Internet between the blogs and the recap. Fans are excited. If I don’t keep them excited and involved, that’s my job. Glee is not Super 8 trying to keep something secret. The monster here was the spin-off and now it’s enough.

Weiner: I want to be clear about this: it’s still going forward or it’s not?

Murphy: We were actively talking to actors, we were actively writing, we were actively getting ready to pitch. OK, here’s the three actors, and they want to do it, so here’s the story for them. Now that that has collapsed. We’re not talking about it, we’re not pitching it. We’re not doing anything for the next several months except for this third season. I would prefer and I know Brad would prefer and I think the actors will prefer to roll up our sleeves and do a really good season and if there is a spin-off, talk about it in April. Could we do a spin-off? To be quite honest with you, maybe. Some of the actors that we discussed doing spin-offs do not want to do a spin-off. It’s hard to do a spin-off on a show where an actor says no. And if there’s no spin-off, then we’ll announce that there’s not. But as of now, I can tell you I’m not working on it.

Hmm…so there WAS a spin-off being discussed.  Interesting.  That would explain Lea Michele’s tweet when the news of them leaving first broke out:

@msleamichele:  “We always knew we’d graduate in real time. It’s all part of the plan and it’s all good! It’s going to make Season 3 amazing!!!”

I guess I should be happy about this news…but the way that the story keeps “changing,” I’m still not totally confident in what’s really going to happen.  But at least this is giving me a lot more hope that I will still be able to watch this show after Season 3!

THOUGHTS?

Source

DIANNA AGRON: Flaunt – August 2011

Dianna Agron had a feature in the current issue of Flaunt magazine.

The photoshoot is very different from anything Dianna has done in a while…The pictures came out quite nice tho.  Sorry the article is in such small print.  Couldn’t find one that was more magnified.

Enjoy!

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Source:  Dianna Agron Source

AMERICAN IDOL: Forbes AI Top Earners

Forbes has published its list of the 2010 Top Earners for the past year.  Would you like to guess who was #1?

1. CARRIE UNDERWOOD ($20 million)

Buoyed by 83 concert dates in 12 months, the Season Four winner made as much as the rest of the TOP 5 IDOL EARNERS COMBINED.
GO CARRIE!



Here's the rest of the list:

2. DAUGHTRY ($6 million, tie)

Though he only finished fourth in Season Five, Chris Daughtry ’s eponymous band earned big with 53 dates in support of album Leave This Town.


3. ADAM LAMBERT ($6 million, tie)

Lambert was edged by Kris Allen in Season Eight, but he easily out-earned his rival thanks largely to 116 shows around the world in 12 months.
Go Adam!

4. FANTASIA ($4 million)

Season Three’s champ cashed in on new album Back to Me and 38 shows; will star in film Mahalia! later this year.
I think as long as you "tour" and do live shows, your number increase significantly...


5. JORDIN SPARKS ($3 million)

The youngest winner in the show’s history, Sparks debuted at age 17 and broke out with “No Air,” a duet with Chris Brown that has sold 4 million digital copies to date – making it the best-selling single ever by any American Idol contestant.
Jordin has always done well because of her singles...Great job Jordin!


6. KELLY CLARKSON ($2.5 million)

The first-ever American Idol continues to be a household name, though Clarkson’s earnings dipped from last year’s tour-fueled $11.7 million. Look for a comeback: her fifth album is set for release this fall.


7. JENNIFER HUDSON ($2 million)

Hudson’s yearly take is a bit low due to a paucity of tour dates, but she remains one of Idol’s greatest successes, winning an Oscar in 2006 for her role in Dreamgirls. She recently signed on as spokeswoman for Weight Watchers.


8. KELLIE PICKLER ($1.8 million)

With nearly 80 shows in the past 12 months, mostly as a supporting act or co-headliner, Pickler is one of the hardest-working Idol alums.


9. CLAY AIKEN ($1.5 million)

The Raleigh, N.C., native has sold over 4 million albums, penned a New York Times bestselling memoir and starred in Broadway’s “Spamalot” in the wake of his second-place finish in Season Two; new album Tried and True hit stores last year.
Considering Clay hasn't had an album in a while, it's still pretty impressive.


10. KATHARINE MCPHEE ($1 million, tie)

In addition to releasing three albums, the Season Five runner-up has co-starred in series The House Bunny and is set to co-star in NBC’s Smash.
Now that Kat will be in "Smash," hopefully her numbers will rise next year.


10. DAVID ARCHULETA ($1 million, tie)

Defeated in Season Seven by David Cook, Archuleta went on to release a self-titled album on Jive records that reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts. His memoir, Chords of Strength, debuted last June.


10. DAVID COOK ($1 million, tie)

Cook has come a long way from tending bar in Tulsa, Okla. four years ago. After winning Season Seven, debut album David Cook went platinum. He also boasts an endorsement deal with Sketchers; his second album, This Loud Morning, was released in June.


Near Misses

Recent contestants Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze, Crystal Bowersox and Season Two champ Ruben Studdard narrowly missed the list this year.

Methodology

These numbers are based on estimated pretax income earned from May 2010 to May 2011, before subtracting agent and manager fees. The totals were compiled with the help of data from Pollstar, RIAA and others, as well as extensive interviews with industry insiders including managers, concert promoters, publicists, agents and, in some cases, the musicians themselves. For more on the business of music, check out Zack’s Jay-Z biography, Empire State of Mind.


Source

CARRIE UNDERWOOD: AI’s Top Earner!

The Hollywood Reporter released their annual list of the most successful earners in American Idol history.  Guess who’s #1?!

CARRIE UNDERWOOD!

WOOOHOO!  Not surprising really…but pretty awesome she has surpassed Kelly Clarkson, considering Carrie won 3 YEARS AFTER Kelly did.

Here’s the entire Top 10:

1.    Carrie Underwood

Season 4 winner

Album sales: 12,296,000

Digital track sales: 18,482,000

Concert revenue: $66,762,207

2.    Kelly Clarkson

Season 1 winner

Album sales: 10,674,000

Digital track sales: 17,254,000

Concert revenue: $32,681,389

The singer who started it all, Clarkson’s 18 singles, many of them hits, set the Idol bar high.

3.    Chris Daughtry

Season 5, 4th place

Album sales: 6,104,000

Digital track sales: 11,127,000

Concert revenue: $19,159,287

He turned out to be a winner at rock radio with a string of chart-topping singles.

4.    Clay Aiken

Season 2, runner up

Album sales: 4,990,000

Digital track sales: 581,000

Concert revenue: $17,754,872

His debut was a hit, and while Aiken has kept a low profile of late, public outings like his recent co-headlining trek with Ruben Studdard proved successful.

5.    Fantasia

Season 3 winner

Album sales: 2,809,000

Digital track sales: 1,325,000

Concert revenues: $466,631

After a 2008 stint on Broadway in The Color Purple, she launched a reality show, Fantasia For Real, which became VH1’s No. 1 rated series.

6.    Ruben Studdard

Season 2 winner

Album sales: 2,556,000

Digital track sales: 445,000

Concert revenues: N/A

Four albums, a Grammy nomination and a co-headlining tour with Aiken has kept Studdard on the radar.

7.    Jordin Sparks

Season 6 winner

Album sales: 1,275,000

Digital track sales: 9,547,000

Concert revenue: $1,141,629

Her massive presence on pop radio translates to 9 tracks sold for every album.

8.    Jennifer Hudson

Season 3, 7th place

Album sales: 1,160,000

Digital track sales: 1,964,000

Concert revenues: $1,055,971

After winning an Oscar and Grammy, she lost over 80 pounds and became the spokewoman for Weight Watchers in 2010.

9.    David Cook

Season 7 winner

Album sales: 1,324,000

Digital track sales: 4,196,000

Concert revenue: $1,012,335

Soon to follow his platinum-selling debut with June 28’s This Loud Morning, Cook also tours regularly and scored a deal with Skechers.

10.    Kellie Pickler

Season 5, 6th place

Album sales: 1,322,000

Digital track sales: 3,319,000

Concert revenues: N/A

Source

GLEE: The Hollywood Reporter – May 20, 2011

Glee was the cover story for The Hollywood Reporter, where they went with the cast to NYC, where they taped their season finale!

Click below for the article/more pictures:

PRESS: Lea Michele – The Star Market

The Star Market: Can Lea Michele Hit All the High Notes With Her Hollywood Career?

Credit: Lea Michele Web

In the most recent episode of Glee, high school diva Rachel Berry — who’s spent much of this season as the butt of other characters’ jokes — is finally swarmed by the members of her glee club for a group hug, her undeniable talent conquering all. Will her portrayer, Lea Michele, receive the same embrace from Hollywood? She’s definitely got the chops for it (with Emmy and Golden Globe nominations under her belt forGlee and a Drama Desk nomination for her work onstage in Spring Awakening), but it’s easy to get typecast on television, especially with a character as heightened for comic effect as Rachel. It’s clear that Michele has her sights set on other mediums — she’s filming the star-studded New Year’s Eve opposite Ashton Kutcher right now, and albums and Broadway shows seem inevitable — but will her path to bigger things be as smooth as her vocals, and can she overcome some of her PR problems? To find out, we spoke to industry insiders to answer the question: If Lea Michele were a stock, should you buy, sell, or hold?

Stock History: Michele’s been doing stage work since she was 8 years old, when she landed the replacement role of the role of Young Cosette in Les Misérables. She continued acting on Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof and Ragtime, but it was her female lead in the hit musicalSpring Awakening that made her a buzzed-about commodity at age 20. At that point, Michele could have become a stage star, but fate had other things in mind: Her Spring Awakening co-star Jonathan Groff had just filmed an FX pilot with Ryan Murphy (Pretty/Handsome, where he played the son of budding transsexual Joseph Fiennes) and when Murphy told him he’d next be shooting Glee, Groff suggested Michele for the part of Rachel. (Though FX didn’t pick up Pretty/Handsome, that pilot proved unexpectedly beneficial to Glee in other ways, as Murphy eventually brought that pilot’s co-stars, Mike O’Malley and Dot Marie Jones, onto his Fox musical.)

Peers: The 24-year-old Michele has few peers in her age group, or even on the same show; though Glee’s Dianna Agron has been going out for movies, too, she and Michele are two different types. Instead, Michele takes after actresses who are older than her, including 28-year-old triple threat Anne Hathaway (who was definitely channeling Rachel Berry at the Oscars, and is negotiating for a guest spot on Glee), and 32-year-old Ginnifer Goodwin, who managed to land big-screen romantic comedies while still tethered to her TV series, Big Love.

What Hollywood Thinks: In the industry, Michele is seen as a sure bet to go from Regionals to Nationals. “She’s clearly a very talented young woman, an incredible singer and actress who can do both comedy and drama,” says a senior network executive. “Just like Dianna Agron and Cory Monteith, she’s already doing films while still on the show, which is a smart move. There’s no doubt that when the show is over, she will segue into features. She also certainly will have a music career. If they remake any of the Barbra Streisand musicals, she’ll be at the top of the list. The world really is her oyster.”

“The comedy she’s done on Glee is laugh-out-loud funny,” adds a PR maven. “There’s something incredibly relatable about her, and touching. The camera loves her. She’s able to convey emotion effortlessly. As obnoxious as her character is, when she gets hurt, you feel sad for her. She makes you care about her.”

Though many of the people we spoke to acknowledged that Michele has had her fair share of press snafus — that too-sexy, trying-too-hard GQ photo shoot was one, and her reputation as a Hailee Steinfeld–snubbing diva is another — few think they will affect her career.

“As high-maintenance as she can reportedly be, everyone knows she’s the star,” says an industry insider. “Any event the Glee cast attends, she’s the magnet. She gets singled out on any red carpet, even if it’s not a TV red carpet. There’s something incredibly magnetic about her. She’ll be on Glee for as long as they can keep her character in high school, and maybe beyond that. There are some characters that the franchise could outlast. But she’s integral.” Does the diva rep hurt? “I don’t think it would interfere with her ability to get a job, or the public’s wanting to watch her. She hasn’t done anything that’s egregious. The worst she’s done is snubbing some autograph hounds. She’s not Charlie Sheen. She’s not Sean Penn. She’s been a little aloof. That’s the worst you can say.”

“Her castmates seem to be navigating that newfound stardom with more finesse and staying impressively grounded,” admits the exec, “but as long as she shows up to work on time, hits her marks, and doesn’t burn out, nothing is going to hold her back. This business is full of divas with far worse reputations who aren’t anywhere nearly as talented as Lea.”

One insider points out a danger zone that is unfortunately out of Michele’s control: “My biggest fear is that Glee always seems five minutes away from completely imploding. A lot of critics say it’s already imploded. Does every episode she’s on the show, acting in the same impossible-to-believe story lines, taint her? When the Glee backlash grows from elite critics to the masses, will she be caught up in it? ER was still going strong, a national treasure almost, when Clooney left. But when she finally extracts herself from Glee, will it be too late?”

Click below to read the rest of the article:

MAN OF STYLE: Cory Monteith – InStyle October 2010

Cory Monteith was featured as InStyle‘s “Man of Style” for their October 2010 issue:

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I will say that I have to agree with this one.  Out of all the Glee guys, Cory IS usually one of the (if not THE) best dressed one.  In general I usually like what he’s wearing.  Because he’s so tall, he wears suits really well.

ARTICLE: Best of Lea Michele on Glee + *POLL*

You all know how much I LOVE Lea Michele…

This is kind of a lengthy article, but it basically “reviews” the best of Lea’s performances on Glee.  The writer of this article is a managing director for Prologue Theatre Company in Chicago.  She basically kind of sums up exactly WHY Lea is SO GREAT…singing-wise anyway.  Oh, and I added the pictures myself to help support the article.

This Girl’s Voice is Unstoppable!

Glee could have been a little cult hit without much viewers, but they made sure they cast the kind of talent that would make the world sit up and listen. Sure, there are fresh faces and raw talent, but they made sure that the lead female character was something special. Lea Michele doesn’t just have an incredible voice, she is one of the most talented Broadway vocalists of her generation. Her range is a dream, her tone is exceptional, her control is to die for, and she can really sing anything! It was hard to watch this season of American Idol, while listening to a talent like Lea Michele sing the stuffing out of songs each week. Just when you think you’ve heard all she has to offer, she hits a note higher and a run better then you ever expected. Let’s take a look at her finest vocal moments on Glee.

(1) Don’t Stop Believing: This is the song that started the whole phenomenon. If you weren’t sure who Lea Michele was before, this performance put her on your radar. Her voice absolutely soars through this Journey classic, and they sing it in a key that makes it intensely high for her. In usual form, she belts out a “D” like it is scratching her arm. Her voice made all of this happen!

(2) Borderline/Open Your Heart: I love Rachel/Finn duets, and this is no different. During Madonna week there was a lot going on, but this sweet mash up of two of Madonna’s early hits was just perfect. It shows off a softer, sweeter side of Lea Michele’s vocals and is also a really pretty duet.

(3) Poker Face: Lady Gaga week was amazing and it all came down to this incredible duet between Lea Michele and Idina Menzel. This is the stuff Broadway dreams are made of! It just doesn’t get any better then getting to hear Broadways young star with a living Broadway legend. This duet is fun, flirty, moving, and the harmony is awesome.

(4) Take a Bow: Rihanna isn’t known for her amazing technical skills, so it took everyone by surprise when Lea Michele turned this simple melody into a huge ballad. If anyone knows how to turn every song into a vocal masterpiece, it’s Lea. She builds it to a big held note during the bridge and effortlessly goes into the final chorus. It’s so beautiful.

(5) Taking Chances: This lesser known Celine Dion song, written by Kara DioGuardi, is literally one of the most stunning vocals you will ever hear. It blows Celine Dion’s version away, and shows us that Lea Michele is full of surprises. Her vocals show such respect for the integrity of a song, and when she decides to change it up and make it her own, it’s not over done, it’s amazing.

(6) Total Eclipse of the Heart: This is an easy song for someone with Lea Michele’s range, but her voice is great in every part of her range. This is one of the numbers that Jonathan Groff, her Broadway co-star, is around for and it is so fun to see them in a completely different light then their dark story line in the Tony Award winning Spring Awakening.

(7) Maybe This Time: Not only did we get to see Lea Michele sing with Idina Menzel on Glee, we also got to hear her sing with Kristin Chenoweth. Basically, this show causes Broadway fans to die and go to Broadway heaven. We get to see our favorite stars right on our television set singing duets we’d all love to hear. They sound amazing together, and Lea really turns up the heat for all these older, Broadway divas.

(8) Endless Love: I couldn’t figure out how we were going to be able to get a duet between Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison, as he plays her teacher. I knew they would have to figure out something, because you can’t have two Broadway stars on a show never sing together. Luckily, Lea Michele developed a short crush on Morrison’s character and the rest is history.

(9) Somebody to Love: This might be primarily a group number, but every soloist is a stand out here, and of course Lea Michele is one of them. She takes this Queen classic by storm, without stealing the thunder from her fellow castmates. It’s such an amazing ensemble number with everyone turning in such great performances.

(10) I Dreamed a Dream: That’s right, we get not one, but two duets with Lea and Idina Menzel! This one is so powerful and moving! It serves to not only showcase how great this song can be with amazing harmony as a duet, but it also pushes the story line forward in a really meaningful way. This one might even make you tear up.

(11) No Air: I’m a sucker for a Rachel/Finn duet, and this might just be my favorite. Especially, since it’s hard to listen to the original since Chris Brown ruined my ability to listen to any of his music. Lea Michele shows that she can match Jordin Sparks’s range no problem and has us all daydreaming about how she could have won every season of American Idol. UMM…TOTALLY!

(12) Smile: This is so fun and playful! I never thought I would get to hear Lea Michele sing a Lilly Allen song. It did not disappoint. We are so used to her singing the big ballads and dramatic numbers, that it is nice when she gets a fun song like this to be flirty and sassy.

(13) Like a Prayer: She opens up this Madonna number and it is so stunning that you might hold your breath and gape at your television in awe. I know I did. She just nails it. It’s haunting, beautiful, dramatic, and as usual she immediately captures your attention. She isn’t only an amazing singer, but a fabulous performer.

(14) Don’t Rain on My Parade: This was so good it won the Glee Club regionals and it got Lea Michele invited to the Tony Awards to reprise it. Her performance on the show was stunning, and her performance at the Tony Awards was straight up the best vocal audition any one’s going to have for the next revival of Funny Girl.

(15) Faithfully: I don’t know how the Glee club didn’t win sectionals! Lea Michele literally takes this song to new heights and fantastic notes. She belts and sustaining an “F” in this song and again does it like it’s the easiest note anyone could ever hit. Journey is definitely the band that got Glee club started, and it’s thanks to them and Lea Michele that this show is such a success.

As far as Lea Michele goes…I could listen to her sing ANYTHING. It’s hard to believe that a year ago, I didn’t even know who she was.   Now, she’s like one of my favorite singers alongside Carrie Underwood and Celine Dion.  Her voice is RIDICULOUS, especially for her age, she can sing ALL styles of music, not to mention her acting chops are quite awesome as well.  Guess you could say she’s pretty perfect…at least IMO.

Such a hard choice to decide which performance of hers was my favorite on the show because I love ALL of them.  Ever week I would WAIT to hear what song she’ll be singing next on the show…and I HATED IT when she wasn’t featured in an episode.  Hated it.  I think if I HAD to choose a favorite, I probably would pick Total Eclipse of the Heart or Poker Face. I think Lea’s voice is so haunting in TEOTH, plus I love that song to begin with.  In Poker Face, talk about a DREAM COME TRUE to hear Lea sing with Idina Menzel!  The harmonies in that one are amazing, and the stylistic arrangement was awesome to hear coming from Lea.

What’s your favorite?