The television sensation “Glee” premiered its five-months-in-the-making Madonna-centric episode last Tuesday to high expectations, and didn’t fail to deliver.
Gleeks were treated to some of the best “Glee” performances all season, including a female-empowered rendition of “Express Yourself” (during which Quinn’s baby bump mysteriously disappeared), and the convergence of Kurt (Chris Colfer), Mercedes (Amber Riley) and the Cheerios singing “4 Minutes.” Sue Sylvester’s (Jane Lynch) nearly shot-for-shot remake of the “Vogue” music video was perhaps the most brilliant and hilarious three-and-a-half minutes of the entire episode.
There was a major plot development when Finn (Cory Monteith), Rachel (Lea Michele) and Emma (Jayma Mays) separately performed a sexy rendition of “Like a Virgin.” (We also witnessed one of Brittany’s (Heather Morris) best quotes in the history of “Glee”: “When I pulled my hamstring, I went to a misogynist.”) The addition of rival singer Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff) to McKinley’s own glee club, New Directions, was an interesting twist, and made for some great tension between Finn and Rachel. Finn and Rachel’s mash-up of “Borderline” and “Open Your Heart” was also great. Those two are really at their best when they sing and dance down the hallways of William McKinley High School.
The guy’s rendition of “What it Feels Like for a Girl” could have been longer, but it was nice to see them finally realize how rudely they’d been treating the girls the entire episode. In true “Glee” fashion, the group came together for the final minutes for a stunning version of “Like a Prayer,” featuring a full-blown gospel choir.
Over 13 million people watched the “Madge-ical” episode, making it the night’s highest-rated scripted series in the 18-to-49 demographic, according to the Hollywood Reporter. On top of it all, “The Power of Madonna” album is set to be the number one album this week and songs like “Like a Prayer” and “Like a Virgin” are dominating the iTunes charts.
With the not-so-unexpected success of the episode, rumor has it that series creator Ryan Murphy is in talks with the Material Girl for a second all-Madonna episode next season. Entertainment Weekly’s Ausiello Files reports that Fox is toying with the idea of having “Glee” fans choose the next six Madonna songs to be performed.
Later on this season, the “Glee” stars will tackle songs from the current reigning Queen of Pop, Lady Gaga, in the season finale. Recently leaked pictures from the set show Kurt and Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) donning some of Lady Gaga’s craziest get-ups (including the bubble dress she wore during her “Fame Ball” tour), and Murphy has said the episode will feature an acoustic version of “Poker Face,” to be performed by Rachel and Vocal Adrenaline’s coach Shelby (Idina Menzel). The episode, set to air June 8, will also feature a “Bad Romance” cover by the girls of New Directions.
With the overwhelming success of the Madonna episode and the hotly anticipated Lady Gaga numbers, “Glee” is becoming the go-to place for pop princesses to feature their music. A recent tweet from Britney Spears’ manager Adam Leber sent fans into frenzy a few days ago, asking, “Do you guys want to see a Britney Spears episode of GLEE?” “Um, YES!” cried Gleeks everywhere.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Murphy said he is considering doing an all-Britney episode for next season. “I’m interested in the Britney Spears idea,” Murphy told the magazine. “I’ve always loved her. I’m entertaining it. I think young kids would like that.”
Murphy said he would also like to do similar episode tributes to Led Zeppelin, Billy Joel and even Courtney Love.
You can reach this staff writer at kholliday@theeagleonline.com.
