Top 5 Glee Mashups

I used to be a Gleek, I'll admit it. I stopped watching the show season 4 because it's just falling apart for me, but I'll still listen to the music. Sometimes Ryan Murphy's cash cow makes some really good covers and mashups. Some mashups were absolute genius while others left much to be desired. So I compiled a Top 5 of my favorite mashups from this increasingly less-musical show.

Honorable Mention: Stop! In the Name of Love/Free Your Mind (Season 2): I love, love, LOVE this mashup from season 2, and it led me to En Vogue's "Free Your Mind". Honestly, when those boys get to rocking, they get it right.

5. Unpretty/Pretty (Season 2): I'm not a Rachel Berry fan at all, but I will give her credit for this duet with my Glee-crush Quinn Fabray. Quinn's voice is more delicate, like the tinkling of bells, and Rachel's definitely has more power, so it was a pretty combination on this sad, vulnerable mashup of TLC's "Unpretty" and the popular West Side Story song "I Feel Pretty", which seemed to really expose the insecure turmoil of high school girls, especially for these two. This is probably the one time where I'd say Glee hit the nail right on the head when relating to high school experiences in this "Born This Way" episode.

4. It's My Life/Confessions (Season 1): This mashup of Bon Jovi's "It's My Life" and Usher's ever-popular "Confessions Part II" was fun and perfect for the boy population of the New Directions. My only problem was that it isn't longer! Finn sounded good, and Artie (played by former boybander Kevin McHale) was the right choice for the Usher parts. This song would be perfect with some explosive choreography in the rain. Yes, I went there.

3. Start Me Up/Livin' on a Prayer (Season 2): Glee seems to love pairing Bon Jovi up with everyone they can, seen here with their "Livin' on a Prayer" and the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up". In this episode, the New Directions we having their annual in-club mashup competition, girls vs. boys, and each team had to do songs normally performed by the opposite gender. The boys did the aforementioned "Stop! In the Name of Love/Free Your Mind" number at the end, but the girls threw down the gauntlet with this number. The performance was hot and the vocals were powerful with Mercedes and Rachel on lead vocals. It was hands-down one of the best, and under appreciated, numbers of the season. Those girls were just sexy. Get it, ladies, get it.

2. Thriller/Heads Will Roll (Season 2): THIS was the end all, be all performance in Glee history, and should be the only thing to take into real life from the show. Homecoming half-time shows should take note of this number! The New Directions teamed up with the football team to perform a killer mashup of Michael Jackson's larger than life hit "Thriller" and "Heads Will Roll" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs during their halftime show of their championship game. It's entertaining AND it's catchy. This is an adrenaline pumping song that made me want to put on a helmet and play some damn football after it was over.

1. Rumor Has It/Someone Like You (Season 3): This song did a lot of things for me personally. First, it made me like Santana. Second, it made me like Adele's "Someone Like You". Third, it made me want to ride Ryan Murphy's ass about why Rachel was the star and not the surprisingly vulnerable and talented Santana. Santana was the absolute shining gem of this Adele mashup, both vocally and acting-wise. It was hauntingly beautiful and it showed Santana in an entirely different light. I wanted more from her, both as a vocalist and a character, and the number itself was just fantastically arranged. Well done, Glee, well DONE.

Top 5 Glee Moments

This blog wouldn't be mine if Glee didn't show up in some shape or form (it makes me a little sad to say that, even though I like the show). If you don't pay attention to the plot, Glee's pretty enjoyable with all of the musical numbers, even though they could rename it the Rachel Berry show and no one could tell the differences. This is a list of some of my favorites moments, not numbers (for now!), of Glee!

5. Karofsky Breaks Down (Season 2 Episode 20, Prom Queen): All through season one, Dave Karofsky and some of his football friends tease the Glee club with homophobic slurs and taunts, and starts season two off doing the same things. A chunk of the way in, however, you see him mostly picking on Kurt Hummel, the New Directions' resident gay guy, and the only 'out' person at McKinley High. Kurt finally chases Karofsky into the locker room to confront him, and we see what the big, bad bully's problem is: he's gay, and closeted. Kurt keeps his secret, but Karofsky doesn't let up on the bullying, leading Kurt to transfer to a private school with a better no-bullying policy. Before you ask, McKinley is a terrible school and Karofsky barely paid any consequence.
Santana Lopez, another closeted gay student, discovers Karofsky's secret and blackmails him into becoming her beard in an effort to bring Kurt back to McKinley to compete in National's with the New Directions and launch an anti-bullying group called the Bully Whips to win prom queen votes. Santana turns the Bully Whips into a security detail for a prom-bound Kurt, which means Karofsky escorts Kurt to his classes. In one moment, Kurt offers Karofsky reassurance about his sexuality and Karosfky just breaks down and cries, before bucking up and letting Kurt get to class.
I love this moment because, after season one, Karofsky is one of my favorite characters, and I care very much for his journey to accepting himself. I don't tolerate bullying at all and his confusion on how to handle his sexuality will never be a good excuse for how he tormented Kurt and the others, but I think his character was one of the most realistic and redeeming ones on the show. I wish there was a spin-off about him, or they just concentrated more on his storyline.

4. Unique's Version of Meeting Kurt and Mercedes (Season 3 Episode 16, Saturday Night Glee-ver): My dork self loved that his episode was dedicated to disco, even though most of the songs were.... bleh! My favorite part of this episode, however, was meeting Glee Project runner-up Alex Newell's character, Wade, and his fierce alter-ego, Unique. Oooh, Unique was fun!! And when we saw how it would've went if Unique was in control when he/she met his/her idols Mercedes and Kurt, even I was impressed!! Unique is the true love-child of Mercedes and Kurt, and Unique's rendition of "Boogie Shoes" was the positive DNA test!! Can't wait to see if Wade and Unique transfer to McKinley High next year!

3. Coach Roz's First Rant to Sam (Season 3 Episode 10, Yes/No): Meeting Coach Roz (played by Nene Leakes) was such a thought-stopping moment, I thought I was listening to Brittany explain pregnancy to me again, just not for the same reasons. Coach Roz burst upon the scene as McKinley's new, bronze-medalist super-coach for the school's swim team, and she had a very unique way of greeting her new swimmer, Sam Evans:
"I'm Coach Roz Washington. And you are one strange looking kid. I've never seen lips like that on a white child, and one of your nipples is higher than the other. I bet you've had to overcome a lot with those crooked nipples. Well, I know a thing or two about overcoming. When I was growing up, they said that black folks couldn't swim. But I had a DREAM! that one day I would get to the promised land. So I swam out there and got my forty acres and a pool."
I heard this, and everything stopped. I was flabbergasted. I felt like she was talking to me. I had my doubts about Glee casting a Real Housewife, but now I understand why they hired this woman. She was another Sue, and with Sue being pregnant, we needed another alpha female with a quick silver wit to keep everyone on their toes!

2. Rachel Chokes (Season 3 Episode 18, Choke): Okay, this one's because I'm an awful person who hates Rachel Berry and loves to see her suffer. At least I'm honest about it.
Rachel Berry is pretty much the main character with a belting (though not great; that's my opinion, anyway) voice, the confidence that could smother a lion, and big Broadway dreams. In season three, she's determined to move to New York and study at NYADA, their drama school, to achieve her dreams of being a star. When NYADA's dean, Carmen Tibideaux (Whoopi Goldberg) comes to audition Rachel and fellow NYADA-hopeful, Kurt, Rachel completely chokes during her belt of "Don't Rain on My Parade". She tries to start over, and forgets the lyrics again! Tibideaux finally tells her to stop and leaves the auditorium, leaving Rachel and her elephant of an ego to cry on the stage. Excuse me, I can't- stop- bwahahaha!!
Look, the character bothers me, and it makes me feel good to she her fall a few pegs. She's the greediest singer there, getting almost every solo and singing the lead in all but two competitions, then complains when someone else gets a number. She's extremely selfish, especially in season three when it concerns her boyfriend, Finn's, dreams and personal situations. Don't get me wrong, her drive and determination are admirable, but not her "I'll shove down everyone in my path" attitude attached to it.

1. Burt Chases Down Karofsky (Season 2 Episode 8, Furt): Ah, the episode where Kurt's father, Burt (Tom O'Malley) marries Finn's mother, Carol! In this episode, Kurt is tasked with planning his parents' wedding and Karofsky's teasing comes to a head. Everyone, save Finn, rushes to Kurt's defense against the bully, but it really takes this moment for something to really be done.
Let's set the scene: Kurt is teaching Burt and Finn to dance in an empty classroom at school (for some reason) and Burt notices Karofsky making some rude gestures to Kurt. Burt asks his son if he's been picking on him, and Kurt confesses that Karofsky had previously threatened his life. Finn looks shocked, not knowing the extent of Karofsky's bullying, and Burt, without a word, quickly backs out of the room, chases Karofsky down, and pins him against the wall!! Dad of the Year, we have a nominee!!
I'm a total Daddy's girl myself, so seeing awesome father moments make me happy period. But Burt handled this one like a total boss, which somehow made my respect for him fly through the roof!! You mess with one Hummel you mess with all of them!!

Those are my top Glee moments! Whew! That one was more work than I expected! As I'm sure you guys are aware, I don't own Glee or Fox, so those pictures are theirs. If I did, Rachel wouldn't be singing as much.