Glee: What a Feeling!

Picture this: New Directions' most underrated background vocalist paired with the golden star in a stunning performance of "Flashdance...What a Feeling". Impossible? I think not! It's been a long time coming for fans of Jenna Ushkowitz and Lea Michele who have been wishing for a duet from the two Broadway ingenues since Glee's inception. For the first time in three seasons, Glee finally remedied the unfair treatment that Tina Cohen-Chang (one of the members of the Original 5) has been served by giving her a leading role in their body-switching episode, Props. Tina got to spend a moment in Rachel Berry's shoes, complete with an uninterrupted solo of Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me" and a standing ovation. Tina and Rachel celebrated their strengthened friendship with their tribute to Flashdance as they sang and danced their way to Nationals in Chicago (where Rachel slayed the competition with her rendition of Celine's "It's All Coming Back To Me Now").

Glee Performs Kelly Clarkson's Stronger

This week's episode of Glee was a hot mess, to say the very least. As always, the musical numbers are Glee's saving grace. Performing "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)" by Kelly Clarkson, fierce ladies Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley), Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) and Brittany S. Pierce (Heather Morris) sing to give New Directions a first place finish during Regionals. The Troubletones performances have consistently been my favourites of Season 3. You've gotta love a girl group that sings about female empowerment!

Scream

When I heard that Glee was doing a Michael Jackson tribute episode, the first thought that immediately sprung to my mind was "Kevin McHale is the King of MJ covers - they better give him something good to do!"

My wish was granted in the form of this remake of Michael and Janet Jackson's music video for "Scream". Frustrated by constantly being beat down by their rivals, Artie (McHale) and Mike (Harry Shum Jr.) let out their angst and frustration in this futuristic dream sequence. While rocking out to this epic track, the guys are able to show off their dance moves and look cool while doing so (who knew that Harry could pull off the eyeliner so well?). "Scream" is one of the most daring, dynamic, and AWESOME performances that Glee has ever done.

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

Glee Cast - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
(featuring Lea Michele, Jenna Ushkowitz, Amber Riley, and Naya Rivera)



I have an intense love/hate relationship with Glee, but when the show gets it right, it's magical. One of those moments appeared in the episode "Yes/No", during this musical number where Lea, Tina, Mercedes, and Santana are reminiscing on the moments when they saw and fell in love with their significant others. When Lea, Jenna, Amber, and Naya's voices are together in harmony, it's magic.

And of course, whenever this Roberta Flack comes to mind, I always reflect back on when David Cook covered this romantic ballad on Season 7 of American Idol:

Golden Globes 2011: Everything's Coming Up Chris Colfer!

Kicking off this year's awards season on Sunday night was the 68th annual Golden Globes, hosted once again by the blunt and quick-witted British comedian Ricky Gervais. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association bestowed numerous accolades to The Social Network, which received the evening's highest tally of "likes" in the profilic statuses of Best Original Score, Best Screenplay, Best Director and Best Motion Picture - Drama. Other highlights of the night included Colin Firth (The King's Speech) and Natalie Portman (Black Swan) cementing their reputations as the reigning King and Queen of the dramatic acting category, Christian Bale and Melissa Leo gaining points for their knockout supporting performances in The Fighter, Kaley Cucuo joyfully presenting the honour of "Best Actor in a Television Series - Comedy" to her co-star Jim Parsons, summer blockbuster Toy Story 3 winning the title of "Best Animated Feature Film" and the tribute to the extensive career of this year's Cecil B. DeMille Award recipient, Robert De Niro.

These ceremonies are designed to celebrate the remarkable achievements of those gifted talents involved in creating works which have successfully impacted entertainment audiences worldwide. That is why I believe that Chris Colfer's triumphant win for "Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series" was the most significant moment of the 2011 Golden Globes.

Colfer has garnered much attention for his portrayal of the vocally-talented and openly-gay teenager Kurt Hummel on Glee (this year's Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical), a character crafted for him by Glee producer Ryan Murphy with a broader perspective in mind - to serve as a positive role model for young people struggling to find respect in a society which hinders their need for individuality. The twenty-year old truly embodies his role down to the core, which is due to the bullying he endured in his own high school days. He has used his bad experiences as his inspiration for pushing towards a more open-minded and diversified future for our generation. Likenening himself to a Cinderfella of sorts, Colfer has risen from the torment of naysayers to become a critically-acclaimed actor in a topical, relatable television role, proving that with perseverance, you can overcome adversary and make your biggest dreams come true.

In his eloquent and compassionate acceptance speech, the ever so gracious and intelligent Colfer relays a powerful message to the show's young viewers, to whom he dedicates his performance to: "Most importantly, to all the amazing kids who watch our show, and the kids that our show celebrates, who are constantly told no by the people in their environments, by bullies at school, that they can’t be who they are or they can’t have what they want because of what they are. Well, screw that, kids!"

It has been a pleasure to watch Chris Colfer skyrocket his way to stardom over the past couple of years. Here's a guy who went from reminiscing upon his memories of making practice acceptance speeches in his bathroom with a wolverine action figure to actually winning one of those coveted awards! Everything's coming up Colfer, and I'm sure that this is just the start of a tremendously rewarding and impacting career for the young talent.

Sephora by OPI Goes Gleek Chic with Glee Nail Polish Collection

Riding high on the successful launches of Katy Perry and Justin Bieber's branded lines, OPI has added a new pitch-perfect phenomena to its roster of star-studded nail polish partnerships. That's right, Twentieth Century Fox and Sephora have teamed up to develop an exclusive, limited-edition collection of nail products inspired by the hit comedy-musical television show, Glee!

Available February 3rd at all major Sephora locations in the U.S. and Canada, the limited-edition Sephora by OPI GLEE Collection Nail Colours will include individual full sized polishes and a six-piece mini-set featuring three exclusive shades. The Sephora by OPI GLEE Collection Chic Prints for Nails Design Appliques will be available in three GLEE-inspired designs. The launch will coincide with the highly-anticipated Superbowl episode of GLEE, airing on February 6th on FOX.

The ten show-stopping hues (with clever names paying an homage to the pop culture phenomenon's eclectic cast, dynamic performances and comedic dialogue) include Miss Bossy Pants (rich raspberry), Slushied (opaque blue), Celibacy Club* (glimmering diamond top coat), Gleek Out (glittery lime green), Sue Vs Shue* (electric navy blue), Express Yourself to Yourself* (shimmery coral), Mash-Up (pearlescent green-grey), Hello to the No! (pizzazz purple), Who Let the Dorks Out? (peacock blue) and Diva-in-Training (poppy pink). *mini set exclusive

As a nail varnish junkie and self-processed Gleek myself, I am definitely singing my praises over this glamorous collaboration! It's like the duet of my dreams, a la Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland's Get Happy/Happy Days Are Here Again (also paid tribute to on Glee by divas-in-training Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) and Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer). These vibrant shades look very promising ("Slushied" and "Gleek Out" in particular) but of course, I'll need to see the actual swatches in order to judge which colourful contestants have made enough of a statement to advance to this season's beautified Sectionals (to be held on my make-up counter).

Source: PR Newswire

Glee Revels in the "Power of Madonna"

Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) strikes a Vogue in "The Power of Madonna"

After a very long hiatus, Glee graced our primetime schedules once again with an entertaining episode in tribute of the original Material Girl, Madonna. The cast performed hits from the songbook of the Queen of Pop, including "Express Yourself", "Like A Virgin", "Four Minutes" and a very moving group number, "Like A Prayer".

The show proved that it is still the charismatic television darling of the moment, and has the potential to remain a hit with the viewers for a very long time.