The Impact Of Glee In The Music Industry

To measure the impact of “Glee” on pop music in 2010, just remember this: The misfits of McKinley High now have a place in the history books above the Fab Four.

In October, recordings by the show’s cast overtook the Beatles in terms of the number of songs placed on the Billboard Hot 100. As of December, “Glee” now has 102 songs on the chart — and with at least a season-and-a-half to go that has already been guaranteed by Fox, it’s a safe bet that the cast recordings will give Elvis Presley a run for the top spot in the record books with 108 singles. The show has become a single-selling machine the likes of which Ed Sullivan could only dream about.

And much like “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “Glee” has become the go-to platform for contemporary superstar acts with new songs to hawk. This wasn’t necessarily the case when the show debuted in May 2009. The best-selling digital single for the program’s first season was a version of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” that tallied 1 million total sales, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Now, halfway through year two, the season’s top seller is a rendition of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” with 286,000 copies sold to date — and it bested “Believin’” in first-week sales by 214,000 to 177,000.

The contrast in styles between the two songs — one a decades-old standard with recurring pop culture resonance, the other a track that hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 in August — exemplifies the show’s push toward offering more current pop hits faster to its track-happy core 18-49 viewing demographic.

“In many ways, ‘Glee’ was built on classic hits,” the show’s music supervisor PJ Bloom says. “We needed cultural staples to grab a broad audience — and it worked.”

The trend toward top 40 fare certainly helps the show in terms of relevance — tween viewers who are baffled by a reference to “A Chorus Line” feel like one of the cool kids when they can sing along to Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are.” According to Fox, “Glee” is the No. 1 show in the 18-49 demographic among women, and the show’s push toward pop is a targeted move to keep these viewers happy.

“Now that ‘Glee’ is ‘Glee,’” Bloom says, “we have the latitude to explore newer songs on their way to becoming hits and the ability to add to the hitmaking machinery.”

[video] Glee Cast Performs On X Factor

Photo Credit: Joe Viles/FOX

The cast of Fox’s hit show Glee travelled cross the pond to perform on X Factor in the UK. The New Directions Glee Club performed their hit song ‘Don’t Stop Believing.’ Amber Riley’s voice is insane! Simon and the judges gave them a standing ovation.

Check out their performance –

Glee Helps Open 2010 Emmys With Jimmy Fallon

Photo Credit: Joe Viles/FOX

The 2010 Emmys opened with a special performance by host Jimmy Fallon and members from the cast of Glee, Lea Michele (Rachel), Cory Monteith (Finn), Chris Colfer (Kurt), and Amber Riley (Mercedes). The Glee kids couldn’t afford to go to the Emmy’s, so, with Jimmy’s help, they set out to form a hot new glee club in order to snatch up the prize money in a contest to help the kids get to the Emmys. On the way, they recruit Tina Fey, turn down Kate Gosselin, run into the legendary Betty White, who adds “dance coach” to her long list of talents, and get slushied by Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester).

“Glee: The Music Volume 2″ Track List

The tracklisting for the upcoming Glee soundtrack has been unveiled. Glee: The Music, Vol. 2 will debut on December 8, previewing songs from the final 13 episodes of the show’s first season.

The first soundtrack was released earlier this week, featuring 17 songs from the first half of Glee Season One.

According to Playbill.com, the second compilation will feature cast covers of songs by Tina Tuner, The Police, The Rolling Stones, Cyndi Lauper, John Lennon, and Kelly Clarkson.

Here’s the Glee: The Music Volume 2 tracklisting in full:

• “Proud Mary”
• “Endless Love”
• ‘I’ll Stand By You’
• “Don’t Stand So Close To Me”/ “Young Girl”
• “Crush”
• “(You’re) Having My Baby”
• “Lean On Me”
• “Don’t Make Me Over”
• “Imagine”
• “True Colors”
• “Jump”
• “Smile” (Lily Allen cover)
• “Smile” (Charlie Chaplin cover)
• “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”
• “Don’t Rain On My Parade”
• “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
• “My Life Would Suck Without You”

“Glee” The Music, Volume 1 Out Nov. 3

On Tuesday, Nov. 3, Columbia Records and Twentieth Century Fox Television will release “Glee: The Music, Volume 1″, the first in a series of soundtracks that feature music heard in the first season of the critically acclaimed series on FOX. “Glee: The Music, Volume 1″ will feature spectacular renditions of several chart-topping hits. You can pre-order the album now at iTunes.

“Glee”, the genre-defying new musical comedy series, follows an optimistic teacher who – against all odds and a malicious cheerleading coach – attempts to save McKinley High’s Glee Club from obscurity while helping a group of aspiring underdogs realize their true star potential. Starring Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, Mark Salling and Jenna Ushkowitz, “Glee” is produced by Ryan Murphy Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan are co-creators of the series. Murphy, Falchuk and Dante Di Loreto serve as executive producers, while Ian Brennan serves as co-executive producer.

Tune into “Glee” on your local Fox network on Wednesday nights at 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT