Best “Glee” Song
From 2009 to 2015, “Glee” burst into song on the Fox network. The musical TV series about group of outsiders in an Ohio high school finding a purpose and community through song pulled in millions of viewers and produced numerous musical singles that charted on radio, iTunes, and beyond, with a collective 36 million singles purchased digitally and 11 million albums sold worldwide. While the show’s legacy has been tarnished by a stunning number of scandals and tragedies, it also minted several bona fide superstars and introduced Millennials to 20th Century popular music and Broadway classics. Ten years after the show’s finale, the Great Pop Culture Debate wanted to look back at the 750-plus tracks performed on the series and attempt to name the Best “Glee” Song of all time.
Songs discussed: “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Don’t Stop Believing,” “Somebody to Love,” “When I Get You Alone,” “River Deep Mountain High,” “Cough Syrup,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Make You Feel My Love,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” “Landslide,” “Maybe This Time,” “If I Die Young,” “Rumor Has It/Someone Like You,” “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” “Halo/Walking on Sunshine,” “Teenage Dream”
Join host Eric Rezsnyak and all-Millennial all-star GPCD panelists Andrea Guerrero, Gary Jackson, Jake Pitochelli, and Trey Radu-Blackburn as they discuss and debate 16 of the slushiest songs from “Glee.”
Play along at home by finding the listener bracket here. Make a copy for yourself, fill it out, and see if your picks match up with ours!
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Round 1 Match-Ups:
Not a Patreon subscriber? Here’s a primer on how we came up with the bracket.
Match-Up 1: “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (Kurt, Season 2) (1) vs. “Don’t Stop Believing” (New Directions, Season 1) (4)
Match-Up 2: “Somebody to Love” (New Directions, Season 1) (3) vs. “When I Get You Alone” (Blaine, Season 2) (2)
Match-Up 3: “River Deep Mountain High” (Mercedes & Santana, Season 2) (1) vs. “Cough Syrup” (Blaine, Season 3) (4)
Match-Up 4: “I Say a Little Prayer” (Quinn/Brittany/Santana, Season 1) (3) vs. “Make You Feel My Love” (Rachel, Season 5) (2)
Match-Up 5: “Don’t Rain on My Parade” (Rachel, Santana) (1) vs. “Landslide” (Holly Holiday, Season 2) (4)
Match-Up 6: “Maybe This Time” (April Rhodes/Rachel, Season 1) (3) vs. “If I Die Young” (Santana, Season 5) (2)
Match-Up 7: “Rumor Has It/Someone Like You” (New Directions, Season 3) (1) vs. “And I Am Telling You” (Mercedes, Season 1) (4)
Match-Up 8: “Halo/Walking on Sunshine” (New Directions, Season 1) (3) vs. “Teenage Dream” (Blaine) (2)
Want a playlist of all the nominated songs, as well as DOZENS of other “Glee” faves from our panelists? Here you go. You can also save it to your own Spotify account by clicking here.
Want to play along at home?
Download the Listener Bracket and see if your picks match up with ours!
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Episode Credits
Host: Eric Rezsnyak
Panelists: Andrea Guerrero, Gary Jackson, Jake Pitochelli, Trey Radu-Blackburn
Producer: Derek Mekita
Editor: Bob Erlenback
Theme Music: “Dance to My Tune” by Marc Torch
