So it’s been a week and a half since the Season 1 fall finale of Glee, and we are already suffering from severe withdrawal. We find ourselves at a loss for what to sing in the shower, we think we see Finn on the subway, and we burst into tears at the mention of Wednesday night. Okay, not really. But we were happy to hear some good news to help us all through this cold, dark time: First of all, Glee will return, and when it does it’s going to be cramming eight to ten songs into each episode (up from the first season’s five or six). At first, we weren’t sure we’d like this — too much singing, not enough Sue Sylvester — until we heard that Sue herself is due to perform at least one musical number in the new season! That can’t be anything other than fantastic. The other upcoming treat is an all-Madonna episode, which could either be wonderful or horrifying, it’s hard to say.
In more good news for Glee fans, the show has picked up four Golden Globe nominations, one in the Best TV Series – Comedy or Musical slot, and three acting nods for Matthew Morrison (Mr. Shuester), Lea Michele (Rachel), and Jane Lynch (the insurmountable Sue Sylvester). We’re pretty excited — but if all that good news isn’t enough to hold you over, ease the pain with our top 10 musical performances from this season of Glee.
Disclaimer: This was extremely hard, and limiting ourselves to ten meant that we had to leave our some real winners, like “Sweet Caroline,” “Last Name,” “Defying Gravity,” and the whole sectionals performance. It hurts us more than it hurts you, we promise.
10. “Gold Digger”
As embarrassing as it is for Mr. Shuester to be singing this song, it was one of the first numbers that had us grinning our faces off.
9. “Keep Holding On”
We kind of can’t believe that we like an Avril Lavigne original this much, but then (almost) everything is better in Glee-form. We shivered at the way Finn slid his hands down both Rachel and Quinn’s arms at once. Playerrr.
8. “Bust Your Windows”
Yeah, the “Well, you busted my heart” line is super lame (and expected), but Mercedes rocks big time, and those Cheerios aren’t hard to watch either.
7. “Confessions/It’s My Life Part II”
Even though Finn looks super deranged (after all, he’s on “vitamins”), we love this one. There’s something super satisfying about a mashup because it goes beyond simple cover song territory, and this is the best mashup of the season (sorry girls, and Mr. Shue). Plus, for once the boys are trying to be badass and kind of succeeding.
6. “Take a Bow”
Rachel is extremely believable as a high-school girl scorned and the song is beautiful. We think she knocks Rihanna out of the park.
5. “Don’t Stop Believin'”
A classic, for one. For two, it won our hearts right off the bat in the pilot. For three, the sexual tension between Rachel and Finn is the same color as their t-shirts.
4. “Jump”
Another number where one look from Kurt has us playing the whole thing over and over, but this song includes those scene-making faces from everyone (Mercedes especially), and is undeniably fun.
3. “Bust A Move”
The best of the so-embarrassing-it’s-awesome Mr. Shue rapping interludes. This would make the list based on Kurt’s perfectly acted silent “oh my god” alone (1:24), but we also appreciate the lawsuit-worthy teacher-student interactions and Shuester’s (actually kind of hot) breakdancing skillz.
2. “Single Ladies”
If nothing else, this sequence is an pure dose of wish-fulfillment. Sure, the song is somewhat played out — but that’s almost fully eclipsed by the absurdity of what’s going on. Oh, and by our man Kurt’s definitive victory over the football team. We hope he taught them some other moves too.
Bonus: This is actually the reprise — see Kurt in the first performance of this song decked out in sequins in his basement.
1. “Imagine”
Okay, so we admit that our first thought was “Oh man, Mercedes is totally crashing the deaf kids’ song, that’s super awkward,” but then we realized that wasn’t the point. And then we may have teared up a little bit. And then realized that awkward or not, this song is gorgeous and just the right amount of warm-hearted genuine to combat all the hairography. Yep, we went for the sappy choice for number one. Deal with it.