New York (Glee)
Encyclopedia
"New York" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the second season
of the American musical television series Glee
, and the 44th overall. The episode was written and directed by series creator Brad Falchuk
, filmed in part on location in New York City
, and first aired on May 24, 2011 on Fox
in the United States. With a $6 million budget, it was reportedly the most expensive episode of Glee at the time of broadcast. It garnered a a Primetime Emmy nomination
for Outstanding Costumes for a Series
. The episode features an appearance by Patti LuPone
as herself and guest stars Jonathan Groff
, Cheyenne Jackson
, and Charice. The McKinley High School glee club, New Directions, performs at the National show choir
competition in New York City and finishes in twelfth place. While they are there, the glee club members see the sights, including Times Square
and Central Park
; and Rachel (Lea Michele
) and Kurt
(Chris Colfer
) sing a song from a Broadway stage, as does their director, Will Schuester
(Matthew Morrison
).
The episode, and the musical performances featured, received mixed reviews from critics. While a number of scenes were praised, including the epilogue after the club's return to Lima, Ohio, reviewers excoriated the fact that New Directions arrived in New York with their songs for the competition unwritten, and deemed it completely illogical. The original songs in the competition were met with a wide range of opinions, as were most of the covers. Five original songs and five covers were performed, all but one of which were released as singles; three of the originals and two of the covers charted on the Billboard Hot 100
. Upon its initial airing, this episode was viewed by 11.80 million American viewers and garnered a 4.6/11 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic. The total viewership and ratings for this episode were up significantly from the previous episode, "Funeral
".
(Matthew Morrison
) tasks the students with writing two original songs, then leaves on an errand. After spending hours trying to compose music, their only creation is "My Cup" by Brittany
(Heather Morris), Artie
(Kevin McHale), and Puck (Mark Salling). Seeking fresh inspiration for their songwriting, they explore the city as they sing a mash-up of "I Love New York" and "New York, New York
".
Meanwhile, Will has been visiting the theater where CrossRhodes, the April Rhodes musical in which he is secretly involved, is located. He performs "Still Got Tonight" from the stage. When Will returns, he finds that the glee club has been shaken after learning of his Broadway plans from Dustin Goolsby (Cheyenne Jackson
), the coach of rival club Vocal Adrenaline. He reassures them that he has now fulfilled his dream of singing on a Broadway stage and chooses to stay with New Directions.
Encouraged by his fellow male glee club members, Finn
(Cory Monteith
) asks Rachel on a date in Central Park. The two enjoy dinner at Sardi's
where they meet Patti LuPone
. As the date draws to a close with Puck, Artie, Sam
(Chord Overstreet
), and Mike
(Harry Shum, Jr.
) serenading the two with "Bella Notte", Rachel feels torn between Finn and her dreams of being on Broadway, and leaves after refusing to kiss him. The next morning, after breakfast at Tiffany's
, Rachel and Kurt
(Chris Colfer
) sneak onto the stage of Wicked
and sing a duet of "For Good
". Rachel realizes that her true love is Broadway and they vow to return to New York City for college.
At Nationals, Rachel encounters a nervous Sunshine Corazon (Charice). She apologizes for having made Sunshine feel unwelcome at McKinley, and admits that she was jealous of her talent. She offers Sunshine her support, and reassures her as she opens for Vocal Adrenaline with "As Long As You're There".
The New Directions set begins with Rachel and Finn singing the duet he wrote, "Pretending", and an enthusiastic audience falls silent when the two of them kiss at its conclusion. The glee club closes with "Light Up the World" and receives a standing ovation. A jealous Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff
) confronts Finn after the performance, and asserts that the unprofessional kiss will cost them the championship. New Directions is not one of the ten groups named to advance to the finals the next day, and finishes in twelfth place out of fifty competing show choirs.
Back in Ohio, Kurt recounts his experiences in New York City to Blaine
(Darren Criss
), and they profess their love to each other. It is revealed that Sam and Mercedes
(Amber Riley
) are secretly dating. Santana
(Naya Rivera
) and Brittany reaffirm their friendship, and Brittany tells Santana she loves her more than she has ever loved anyone. Rachel meets up with Finn and the two contemplate their Nationals kiss; Finn reminds her that she still has a year until graduation and kisses her.
", which was the episode that followed the 2011 Super Bowl
. It was also the show's first major out-of-state location shoot. The cast and crew filmed for five weekdays in New York City, from April 25 through April 29, 2011. Forty members of the crew were flown to New York along with the cast, and were joined there by sixty local crew members. All three of the show's creators—who also serve as executive or co-executive producers—were present: Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan
and episode writer and director Brad Falchuk
, along with executive producer Dante Di Loreto
and first assistant director Leo Bauer.
Ten locations were used during the New York filming, including Times Square
, Lincoln Center, the Gershwin Theatre, Central Park
, and Sardi's
. LuPone made a guest appearance as herself in the Sardi's scene, which was shot in the morning on Thursday to accommodate her schedule—she had an 11:00 am rehearsal for another show. Washington Square Park, which was used on the final day of filming, had not been approved as a location by the city until after the production team arrived in New York. Di Loreto noted that the biggest challenge of shooting in the city was "the amount of people who can say no."
While some of the costumes for the New York shoot were prepared ahead of time, much of the costuming was done in New York, and the costumes for the episode received an Emmy Award
nomination. Costume designer Lou Eyrich revealed that the plan was to have the costuming be a "little nod" to the "iconic New York places we were going to shoot", and with a "little bit of '50s, '60s flair", but not too "vintage". She said, "We landed in New York on a Saturday night, shopped all day Sunday, threw them in the clothes" for the filming that began on Monday. According to an article in The Hollywood Reporter
, twenty-six outfits were found in a single day.
Filming continued back in Los Angeles, where episodes are typically shot, including a location shoot at the Million Dollar Theater
to film Morrison's scene where he sings "Still Got Tonight" on a Broadway stage. The shooting for the episode—and the season—wrapped up in the early hours of May 12, 2011.
Recurring guest star Groff appeared in this episode as Jesse, as did Jackson as Vocal Adrenaline coach Dustin Goolsby and Charice as his star vocalist Sunshine. Other recurring characters included glee club members Mike Chang, Sam Evans and Lauren Zizes
(Ashley Fink
), and Kurt's boyfriend Blaine Anderson.
The episode featured five original songs and five musical cover versions. Of the original songs, Morris and McHale performed "My Cup", Morrison sang "Still Got Tonight", a track from his solo album, Charice performed "As Long As You're There", Michele and Monteith sang "Pretending", and New Directions performed "Light Up the World", with solo vocals by Rivera, Morris, McHale and Monteith. The cover versions included a brief performance of Frank Sinatra
's "Theme from New York, New York
, a mash-up of Madonna
's "I Love New York" and "New York, New York" from On the Town, "Bella Notte" from Lady and the Tramp
, Michele and Colfer on "For Good" from Wicked, and Usher
's "Yeah!". All but the Sinatra number were released as singles, available for digital download, though "Still Got Tonight" had been released in late April in the lead-up to the debut of Morrison's album on May 10, 2011.
lead-in, and despite strong competition from the first hour of Dancing With the Stars
Results on ABC
, which matched the Glee Nielsen rating/share for its two hour broadcast, the total viewership and ratings for this episode were up by a third from those of the previous episode, "Funeral
", which was watched by 8.97 million American viewers and acquired a 3.6/10 rating/share in the 18–49 demographic upon first airing. The episode was the top scripted show of the week among all viewers.
The episode's Canadian broadcast, also on May 24, 2011, drew 1.77 million viewers. It was the seventh most-watched show of the week, and ranked twice as high as "Funeral", which was watched by 1.58 million viewers. In the UK, the episode aired on June 13, 2011, and was watched by 2.61 million viewers (2.03 million on E4, and 573,000 on E4+1). It was the most watched show on cable for the week, and again increased viewership on "Funeral", which was watched by 2.19 million viewers. In Australia, "New York" aired on June 15, 2011, and was watched by 987,000 viewers, which made Glee the tenth most-watched show of the night. Viewership here declined from "Funeral", which was watched by 1.07 million and ranked seventh.
wrote, "We didn't actually expect the New Directions to win nationals, but the episode just felt like it was going through the motions rather than seizing the opportunity to do something truly spectacular." A.V. Club Todd VanDerWerff called the episode a "good piece of television", and gave it a "B+". He said it "wasn't as good" as the first-season finale, "Journey to Regionals", "largely because it wasted a lot of time on performances designed solely to show off how the show was actually in New York and also because it borrowed a lot of that episode's set pieces without finding anything remotely as powerful as the performance of 'Bohemian Rhapsody. Robert Canning of IGN
gave "New York" a "good" grade of 7.5 out of 10 and stated, "while not as epic as Nationals in New York should have been, 'New York' was a decent close to an enjoyable season." The Atlantic Meghan Brown said the episode was "an uneven end to an uneven season, with a few killer numbers, strange resolutions, and head-scratching plot devices", while her colleague Kevin Fallon opined that the season finale was "no exception" to Glee having "been undeniably frustrating in season two", though "there was still ample reason to tune in and enjoy".
Several elements of the episode were highlighted for their implausibility. The arrival of New Directions in New York without having their songs already prepared received widespread condemnation, including from VanDerWerff and the Houston Chronicle
Bobby Hankinson, and led Brown to write, "there is absolutely no universe in which that makes sense. At all. It was so logically unsound that it was distracting." The notion that Rachel would not know that Cats
had closed eleven years before was derided by Brown and Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times
, while Rachel and Kurt's encounter with "the only friendly security guard in New York City" was mocked by Anthony Benigno of The Faster Times
and Entertainment Weekly
Sandra Gonzalez. Several critics were disappointed that Quinn's ominous mention of plans for New York in "Funeral" came to nothing, including Benigno, who called her actual idea a "cockamamie sabotage plot", though he credited Agron's scene as a "great, wasted job in a great, wasted character", sentiments echoed by VanDerWerff and James Poniewozik
of Time
. Terron R. Moore of Ology
.com gave the episode a "C+", and likened Quinn's dropped plot to Will leaving for Broadway and Rachel disowning her love for Finn: "the fact that none of this happened—and the fact that we know none of it would ever happen—is just another issue I have with the show. I hope that next season, it actually grows a pair."
Finn and Rachel's date in New York was praised, though not everyone was happy with its ending. Gonzalez liked LuPone's short guest spot, and hoped it would be "a lesson to producers in how to deal with guest appearances in the future". Canning said the date had a "sweet comical tone", and thought the episode was "the best the series has done so far with this couple". Reiter felt Rachel was making a "false" choice in her refusal of Finn at the end of the date, and wondered "couldn't she at least have asked him" if he would consider coming to New York. At the competition performance, Poniewozik said of the end of "Pretending", "I may not be that invested in Finn/Rachel, but the startling moment where the audience disappeared in the middle of their kiss made me feel like I was." Benigno called the moment "awesome", and VanDerWerff was also pleased.
Those reviewers who singled out the show's final segment, set after the return to Ohio, did so with compliments. Poniewozik wrote that the episode "did a really fine job handling its epilogue, in which New Directions had their hopes crushed, went back to Lima—and found that it was a pretty awesome experience regardless. Brittany connected with Santana, a brief scene that reminded me how far both characters have come this season. Kurt didn't get a championship, but he has Blaine, and he has a taste of what life can be like for him after graduation." Canning said it was a "nice denouement, putting everyone at peace for having failed to reach the top ten at Nationals and getting their hopes high for next year." Hankinson credited Brittany with some of the funniest lines in the episode as well as the most important scene—in the epilogue with Santana—and he was impressed with her lead vocals throughout. He concluded, "She's the M.V.P. of the night and possibly the season."
stated that it was "amazingly horrible", he nevertheless gave it three stars out of five.
The mash-up of "I Love New York" and "New York, New York" was typical of the range of reactions songs received. Benigno gave it a "C" and wondered whether it was bad that he "thought this was a joke song before [he] realized it was a mash-up". Gonzalez gave it a "B" and said it was "not [her] favorite". Futterman called it an "infectious, high-speed mash-up" and Hankinson listed it as one of the four favorite songs from the episode, though Kubicek said the on-screen performance "would make any real New Yorker want to kick [New Directions] in the shins".
Most reviewers were highly critical of the inclusion of Morrison's "Still Got Tonight", the second single from his solo album. VanDerWerff called it "way too self-indulgent" and Kubicek characterized it as "shameless self promotion". Gonzalez said the song "isn't half bad" and gave it a "B-", while Benigno was more generous with a "B+", despite his belief that it did not belong in the episode. Futterman called it "a generic-sounding pop melody". The use of "Bella Notte", by contrast, was generally approved of, though Kubicek thought it was "kind of weird that they weren't really there", and Berk gave both of its two stars out of five solely due to the "spectral singers". VanDerWerff thought the song was "well-performed", and Benigno gave it a "B+"; he had a very different take from Kubicek, as he found the imaginary appearance by the male club members hilarious.
Although Kurt and Rachel being allowed on the stage of a Broadway theater was deemed improbable in the extreme by many critics, most were willing to suspend disbelief and enjoy their duet of "For Good". Futterman wrote that the performance brought events "full circle from their season one drama around singing 'Defying Gravity'. It's a fitting song for friendship and Kurt and Rachel nail it." The Wall Street Journal
Raymund Flandez described it as "so sublime that it could have fit so easily in the cast version of the musical's CD". While Benigno wished the song had started two-voice harmony sooner, he gave it an "A-" and called it "friggin' lovely". Among the less favorable comments, VanDerWerff felt that the song itself was "pretty weak".
Usher's "Yeah!" by an unnamed all-female a cappella
group received variant opinions. Aly Semigran of MTV
said that the group "nailed" the song, but Benigno found the track and performers annoying and gave it a "D-". Futterman noted, "the arrangement feels flat and the dancing is overexaggerated", and Hankinson called this song and the Vocal Adrenaline offering, "As Long As You're There", "meh". The latter song also garnered divergent opinions, from Kubicek's "neither fun nor interesting" to Gonzalez's award of an "A+", her best grade of the show. Futterman wrote that Sunshine handled her ballad with "masterful skill and unbelievable ease".
The two original songs sung by New Directions were rated from excellent to abysmal. Benigno gave each song a "B+"; he called the duet, "Pretending", "lovely". The nicest thing Kubicek wrote of it was that it sounded as if the lyrics had been "written by a lovesick teenage boy", and he called "Light Up the World" a "trainwreck". Berk was even harsher: "When the show has carte blanche access to every amazing song in the history of popular music, there's something terribly humiliating about watching the kids sing this shit tune as their finale, and do so with such desperate conviction." Gonzalez gave "Light Up the World" a "B+", but said it sounded a "bit too much" like "Loser Like Me", and while Benigno thought it had a better melody than "Loser" and also made "much better use of the Gleeks as a whole", he criticized the chorus for its similarity to "Let It Rock" by Kevin Rudolf. Semigran said it was an "uplifting, if not rather lackluster pop song", yet Hankinson called it his favorite number in the episode.
, on a issue dated for June 11, 2011. It sold 86,000 copies in the United States in its first week since its release as a digitally downloadable single, and "Pretending" was in fortieth with 79,000 sold. The third single, a cover of "For Good" from Wicked, charted at number fifty-eight, and the other cover, the mash-up "I Love New York / New York, New York", debuted at number eighty-one. The third original song, "As Long As You're There", sung by Charice, was number ninety-three. In the Canadian Top 100, "Light Up the World" debuted at number twenty-six, "Pretending" at number forty, "For Good" at number seventy-nine, and "I Love New York / New York, New York" at number eighty-one.
Of the nine songs that were performed in the episode, four were featured on the eighth soundtrack album
of the series, Glee: The Music, Volume 6
: the three original songs, "Light Up the World", "Pretending", and "As Long As You're There", plus the cover of "Bella Notte". The album was released the day before the episode aired, and debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200
and number one on Billboard
Soundtracks chart. It sold 80,000 copies in its first week, which was the second-lowest opening sales figure for a Glee release next to the extended play Glee: The Music, The Rocky Horror Glee Show
, and lower than the 86,000 sold by Glee: The Music Presents the Warblers
in its first week the previous month. The album was also at number four on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart.
Glee (season 2)
The second season of the musical comedy-drama television series Glee originally aired between September 21, 2010 and May 24, 2011 on Fox in the United States...
of the American musical television series Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
, and the 44th overall. The episode was written and directed by series creator Brad Falchuk
Brad Falchuk
Brad Falchuk is a television writer, director and producer. He is best known for his work on the television series Nip/Tuck, Glee, and American Horror Story.-Early life:...
, filmed in part on location in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and first aired on May 24, 2011 on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in the United States. With a $6 million budget, it was reportedly the most expensive episode of Glee at the time of broadcast. It garnered a a Primetime Emmy nomination
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
for Outstanding Costumes for a Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes for a Series
This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes for a Series.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:- External links :*, Information Please Database, Pearson PLC...
. The episode features an appearance by Patti LuPone
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...
as herself and guest stars Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Drew Groff is an American singer-songwriter, stage, television and film actor. He originated the role of Melchior Gabor in the stage musical Spring Awakening and appeared as Jesse St...
, Cheyenne Jackson
Cheyenne Jackson
Cheyenne Jackson is an American actor and singer. He started in regional theater when he moved to Seattle, and after moving to New York City, made his 2002 Broadway theatre debut understudying both male leads in the Tony Award-winning musical Thoroughly Modern Millie...
, and Charice. The McKinley High School glee club, New Directions, performs at the National show choir
Show choir
A show choir is a group of people who combine choral singing with dance movements, sometimes within the context of a specific idea or story.-History:...
competition in New York City and finishes in twelfth place. While they are there, the glee club members see the sights, including Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
and Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
; and Rachel (Lea Michele
Lea Michele
Lea Michele Sarfati , known professionally as Lea Michele, is an American actress and singer. Michele began working professionally as a child actress on Broadway in productions such as Ragtime and Les Misérables. She originated the role of Wendla in the musical Spring Awakening and currently plays...
) and Kurt
Kurt Hummel
Kurt Hummel is a fictional character and one of the male leads in the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan initially conceived of him as a fashionable gay countertenor who is routinely bullied at school...
(Chris Colfer
Chris Colfer
Christopher Paul "Chris" Colfer is an American actor and singer known for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television series Glee, for which he won a 2011 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and was also nominated twice for an Emmy...
) sing a song from a Broadway stage, as does their director, Will Schuester
Will Schuester
William "Will" Schuester, often referred to as Mr. Schue, is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Matthew Morrison and has appeared in Glee since its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Will was developed by Glee...
(Matthew Morrison
Matthew Morrison
Matthew James "Matt" Morrison is an American actor, director, musician, and singer-songwriter. He is best known for starring in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray on Broadway, and most notably for his Emmy and Golden Globe nominated...
).
The episode, and the musical performances featured, received mixed reviews from critics. While a number of scenes were praised, including the epilogue after the club's return to Lima, Ohio, reviewers excoriated the fact that New Directions arrived in New York with their songs for the competition unwritten, and deemed it completely illogical. The original songs in the competition were met with a wide range of opinions, as were most of the covers. Five original songs and five covers were performed, all but one of which were released as singles; three of the originals and two of the covers charted on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. Upon its initial airing, this episode was viewed by 11.80 million American viewers and garnered a 4.6/11 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic. The total viewership and ratings for this episode were up significantly from the previous episode, "Funeral
Funeral (Glee)
"Funeral" is the twenty-first episode of the second season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 43rd overall. It first aired May 17, 2011 on Fox in the United States, and was written by series creator Ryan Murphy and directed by Bradley Buecker. The episode featured Jonathan...
".
Plot
The McKinley High School glee club, New Directions, travels to New York City to compete in the National show choir competition. Glee club director Will SchuesterWill Schuester
William "Will" Schuester, often referred to as Mr. Schue, is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Matthew Morrison and has appeared in Glee since its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Will was developed by Glee...
(Matthew Morrison
Matthew Morrison
Matthew James "Matt" Morrison is an American actor, director, musician, and singer-songwriter. He is best known for starring in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray on Broadway, and most notably for his Emmy and Golden Globe nominated...
) tasks the students with writing two original songs, then leaves on an errand. After spending hours trying to compose music, their only creation is "My Cup" by Brittany
Brittany Pierce
Brittany Susan Pierce is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Heather Morris, and has appeared in Glee from its second episode, "Showmance", first broadcast on September 9, 2009. Brittany was developed by Glee creators Ryan...
(Heather Morris), Artie
Artie Abrams
Artie Abrams is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Kevin McHale, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Artie was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan...
(Kevin McHale), and Puck (Mark Salling). Seeking fresh inspiration for their songwriting, they explore the city as they sing a mash-up of "I Love New York" and "New York, New York
New York, New York (On The Town)
"New York, New York" is a song from the 1944 musical On the Town and the 1949 MGM musical film of the same name. The music was written by Leonard Bernstein and the lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The best known line of this song is, "New York, New York, a helluva town...
".
Meanwhile, Will has been visiting the theater where CrossRhodes, the April Rhodes musical in which he is secretly involved, is located. He performs "Still Got Tonight" from the stage. When Will returns, he finds that the glee club has been shaken after learning of his Broadway plans from Dustin Goolsby (Cheyenne Jackson
Cheyenne Jackson
Cheyenne Jackson is an American actor and singer. He started in regional theater when he moved to Seattle, and after moving to New York City, made his 2002 Broadway theatre debut understudying both male leads in the Tony Award-winning musical Thoroughly Modern Millie...
), the coach of rival club Vocal Adrenaline. He reassures them that he has now fulfilled his dream of singing on a Broadway stage and chooses to stay with New Directions.
Encouraged by his fellow male glee club members, Finn
Finn Hudson
Finn Hudson is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Cory Monteith, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Finn was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan...
(Cory Monteith
Cory Monteith
Cory Allan Monteith is a Canadian actor and musician, best known for his role of Finn Hudson on the Fox television series Glee.-Early life:...
) asks Rachel on a date in Central Park. The two enjoy dinner at Sardi's
Sardi's
Sardi's is a restaurant in New York City's theater district at 234 West 44th Street in Manhattan. Known for the hundreds of caricatures of show-business celebrities that adorn its walls, Sardi's opened at its current location on March 5, 1927....
where they meet Patti LuPone
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...
. As the date draws to a close with Puck, Artie, Sam
Sam Evans
Sam Evans is a recurring fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Chord Overstreet, and appeared on Glee starting with the second season premiere episode entitled "Audition", first broadcast on September 21, 2010, and ending with that...
(Chord Overstreet
Chord Overstreet
Chord Overstreet is an American actor, singer and musician, best known for his role as Sam Evans on the television series Glee.-Early life:...
), and Mike
Mike Chang
Michael "Mike" Chang, Jr. is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor and dancer Harry Shum, Jr., and has appeared on Glee since the fourth episode in the first season, "Preggers", first broadcast on September 23, 2009...
(Harry Shum, Jr.
Harry Shum, Jr.
Harry Shum, Jr. is an American dancer, actor, and choreographer. He is best known for his role as Mike Chang on the FOX television show Glee. He has appeared in dance films such as Stomp the Yard, You Got Served, Step Up 2: The Streets and Step Up 3D...
) serenading the two with "Bella Notte", Rachel feels torn between Finn and her dreams of being on Broadway, and leaves after refusing to kiss him. The next morning, after breakfast at Tiffany's
Tiffany's
Tiffany's Restaurants, Inc. is a restaurant chain with 6 locations in New Jersey. Its flagship location was opened at Union, New Jersey in 1982 as Tiffany Gardens.-Reviews:...
, Rachel and Kurt
Kurt Hummel
Kurt Hummel is a fictional character and one of the male leads in the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan initially conceived of him as a fashionable gay countertenor who is routinely bullied at school...
(Chris Colfer
Chris Colfer
Christopher Paul "Chris" Colfer is an American actor and singer known for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television series Glee, for which he won a 2011 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and was also nominated twice for an Emmy...
) sneak onto the stage of Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
and sing a duet of "For Good
For Good
"For Good" is a musical number from the hit musical Wicked. It is sung as a duet between Elphaba and Glinda, as a farewell to each other. The song's music and lyrics were written by composer Stephen Schwartz.-Context:...
". Rachel realizes that her true love is Broadway and they vow to return to New York City for college.
At Nationals, Rachel encounters a nervous Sunshine Corazon (Charice). She apologizes for having made Sunshine feel unwelcome at McKinley, and admits that she was jealous of her talent. She offers Sunshine her support, and reassures her as she opens for Vocal Adrenaline with "As Long As You're There".
The New Directions set begins with Rachel and Finn singing the duet he wrote, "Pretending", and an enthusiastic audience falls silent when the two of them kiss at its conclusion. The glee club closes with "Light Up the World" and receives a standing ovation. A jealous Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Drew Groff is an American singer-songwriter, stage, television and film actor. He originated the role of Melchior Gabor in the stage musical Spring Awakening and appeared as Jesse St...
) confronts Finn after the performance, and asserts that the unprofessional kiss will cost them the championship. New Directions is not one of the ten groups named to advance to the finals the next day, and finishes in twelfth place out of fifty competing show choirs.
Back in Ohio, Kurt recounts his experiences in New York City to Blaine
Blaine Anderson
Blaine Anderson is a fictional character from the American musical comedy-drama television series Glee. Played by Darren Criss, Blaine was introduced in the sixth episode of the second season as the openly gay lead singer of the Dalton Academy Warblers, a rival show choir to New Directions, the...
(Darren Criss
Darren Criss
Darren Everett Criss is an American actor, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and a founding member and co-owner of the theater company StarKid Productions. He currently portrays Blaine Anderson, an openly gay high school student, on the FOX television series Glee...
), and they profess their love to each other. It is revealed that Sam and Mercedes
Mercedes Jones
Mercedes Jones is a fictional character from the Fox popular musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Amber Riley, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Mercedes was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and...
(Amber Riley
Amber Riley
Amber Patrice Riley is an American actress and singer best known for her role on the series Glee as Mercedes Jones.-Early life and career:...
) are secretly dating. Santana
Santana Lopez
Santana Lopez is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Naya Rivera, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Santana was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan...
(Naya Rivera
Naya Rivera
Naya Marie Rivera is an American actress and singer known for her role in the musical comedy television series Glee, as cheerleader Santana Lopez.-Early life:...
) and Brittany reaffirm their friendship, and Brittany tells Santana she loves her more than she has ever loved anyone. Rachel meets up with Finn and the two contemplate their Nationals kiss; Finn reminds her that she still has a year until graduation and kisses her.
Production
This was the most expensive Glee episode yet, at a reported $6 million. The budget exceeded the previous record-holder, "The Sue Sylvester ShuffleThe Sue Sylvester Shuffle
"The Sue Sylvester Shuffle" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 33rd episode overall. It was written by Ian Brennan, directed by Brad Falchuk, and was broadcast immediately following Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011...
", which was the episode that followed the 2011 Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
. It was also the show's first major out-of-state location shoot. The cast and crew filmed for five weekdays in New York City, from April 25 through April 29, 2011. Forty members of the crew were flown to New York along with the cast, and were joined there by sixty local crew members. All three of the show's creators—who also serve as executive or co-executive producers—were present: Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan
Ian Brennan (writer)
Ian Brennan is a television writer, actor and producer. He is best known for his work on the television show Glee.-Early life:Brennan is the son of John and Charman Brennan. His sister, Sarah Brennan, is one of the founders of in Chicago...
and episode writer and director Brad Falchuk
Brad Falchuk
Brad Falchuk is a television writer, director and producer. He is best known for his work on the television series Nip/Tuck, Glee, and American Horror Story.-Early life:...
, along with executive producer Dante Di Loreto
Dante Di Loreto
Dante Di Loreto is an American writer and producer, best known for executive producing the 20th Century Fox series Glee.-Career:Prior to joining Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk to create Glee, Di Loreto produced several shows for cable and broadcast television as well as a selection of films...
and first assistant director Leo Bauer.
Ten locations were used during the New York filming, including Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, Lincoln Center, the Gershwin Theatre, Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, and Sardi's
Sardi's
Sardi's is a restaurant in New York City's theater district at 234 West 44th Street in Manhattan. Known for the hundreds of caricatures of show-business celebrities that adorn its walls, Sardi's opened at its current location on March 5, 1927....
. LuPone made a guest appearance as herself in the Sardi's scene, which was shot in the morning on Thursday to accommodate her schedule—she had an 11:00 am rehearsal for another show. Washington Square Park, which was used on the final day of filming, had not been approved as a location by the city until after the production team arrived in New York. Di Loreto noted that the biggest challenge of shooting in the city was "the amount of people who can say no."
While some of the costumes for the New York shoot were prepared ahead of time, much of the costuming was done in New York, and the costumes for the episode received an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nomination. Costume designer Lou Eyrich revealed that the plan was to have the costuming be a "little nod" to the "iconic New York places we were going to shoot", and with a "little bit of '50s, '60s flair", but not too "vintage". She said, "We landed in New York on a Saturday night, shopped all day Sunday, threw them in the clothes" for the filming that began on Monday. According to an article in The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
, twenty-six outfits were found in a single day.
Filming continued back in Los Angeles, where episodes are typically shot, including a location shoot at the Million Dollar Theater
Million Dollar Theater
The Million Dollar Theater at 307 S. Broadway in downtown Los Angeles is one of the first movie palaces built in the United States. It opened in February 1918...
to film Morrison's scene where he sings "Still Got Tonight" on a Broadway stage. The shooting for the episode—and the season—wrapped up in the early hours of May 12, 2011.
Recurring guest star Groff appeared in this episode as Jesse, as did Jackson as Vocal Adrenaline coach Dustin Goolsby and Charice as his star vocalist Sunshine. Other recurring characters included glee club members Mike Chang, Sam Evans and Lauren Zizes
Lauren Zizes
Lauren Zizes is a recurring fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series, Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Ashley Fink, and has appeared in Glee since the season one episode "Wheels", first broadcast on November 11, 2009. Lauren was developed by Glee creators Ryan...
(Ashley Fink
Ashley Fink
Ashley Rae Fink is an American actress, known for her role as Lauren Zizes in the television series Glee, and also as Carter McMahon in Huge.-Personal life:...
), and Kurt's boyfriend Blaine Anderson.
The episode featured five original songs and five musical cover versions. Of the original songs, Morris and McHale performed "My Cup", Morrison sang "Still Got Tonight", a track from his solo album, Charice performed "As Long As You're There", Michele and Monteith sang "Pretending", and New Directions performed "Light Up the World", with solo vocals by Rivera, Morris, McHale and Monteith. The cover versions included a brief performance of Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
's "Theme from New York, New York
Theme from New York, New York
"Theme from New York, New York" is the theme song from the Martin Scorsese film New York, New York , composed by John Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb. It was written for and performed in the film by Liza Minnelli...
, a mash-up of Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
's "I Love New York" and "New York, New York" from On the Town, "Bella Notte" from Lady and the Tramp
Lady and the Tramp
Lady and the Tramp is a 1955 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released to theaters on June 22, 1955, by Buena Vista Distribution. The fifteenth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, it was the first animated feature filmed in the CinemaScope widescreen...
, Michele and Colfer on "For Good" from Wicked, and Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
's "Yeah!". All but the Sinatra number were released as singles, available for digital download, though "Still Got Tonight" had been released in late April in the lead-up to the debut of Morrison's album on May 10, 2011.
Ratings
"New York" was first broadcast on May 24, 2011 in the United States on Fox. It garnered a 4.6/11 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic, and received 11.80 million American viewers during its initial airing. With an American IdolAmerican Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
lead-in, and despite strong competition from the first hour of Dancing With the Stars
Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...
Results on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, which matched the Glee Nielsen rating/share for its two hour broadcast, the total viewership and ratings for this episode were up by a third from those of the previous episode, "Funeral
Funeral (Glee)
"Funeral" is the twenty-first episode of the second season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 43rd overall. It first aired May 17, 2011 on Fox in the United States, and was written by series creator Ryan Murphy and directed by Bradley Buecker. The episode featured Jonathan...
", which was watched by 8.97 million American viewers and acquired a 3.6/10 rating/share in the 18–49 demographic upon first airing. The episode was the top scripted show of the week among all viewers.
The episode's Canadian broadcast, also on May 24, 2011, drew 1.77 million viewers. It was the seventh most-watched show of the week, and ranked twice as high as "Funeral", which was watched by 1.58 million viewers. In the UK, the episode aired on June 13, 2011, and was watched by 2.61 million viewers (2.03 million on E4, and 573,000 on E4+1). It was the most watched show on cable for the week, and again increased viewership on "Funeral", which was watched by 2.19 million viewers. In Australia, "New York" aired on June 15, 2011, and was watched by 987,000 viewers, which made Glee the tenth most-watched show of the night. Viewership here declined from "Funeral", which was watched by 1.07 million and ranked seventh.
Critical response
"New York" was met with mixed reviews by many critics. Erica Futterman of Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
wrote, "We didn't actually expect the New Directions to win nationals, but the episode just felt like it was going through the motions rather than seizing the opportunity to do something truly spectacular." A.V. Club Todd VanDerWerff called the episode a "good piece of television", and gave it a "B+". He said it "wasn't as good" as the first-season finale, "Journey to Regionals", "largely because it wasted a lot of time on performances designed solely to show off how the show was actually in New York and also because it borrowed a lot of that episode's set pieces without finding anything remotely as powerful as the performance of 'Bohemian Rhapsody. Robert Canning of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave "New York" a "good" grade of 7.5 out of 10 and stated, "while not as epic as Nationals in New York should have been, 'New York' was a decent close to an enjoyable season." The Atlantic Meghan Brown said the episode was "an uneven end to an uneven season, with a few killer numbers, strange resolutions, and head-scratching plot devices", while her colleague Kevin Fallon opined that the season finale was "no exception" to Glee having "been undeniably frustrating in season two", though "there was still ample reason to tune in and enjoy".
Several elements of the episode were highlighted for their implausibility. The arrival of New Directions in New York without having their songs already prepared received widespread condemnation, including from VanDerWerff and the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
Bobby Hankinson, and led Brown to write, "there is absolutely no universe in which that makes sense. At all. It was so logically unsound that it was distracting." The notion that Rachel would not know that Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
had closed eleven years before was derided by Brown and Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, while Rachel and Kurt's encounter with "the only friendly security guard in New York City" was mocked by Anthony Benigno of The Faster Times
The Faster Times
The Faster Times is an online newspaper launched by Sam Apple on July 9, 2009. Many print newspapers were going out of business and reporters were losing their jobs. The New York Times reported that in this climate, Apple was able to recruit professional writers guaranteeing them 75% of revenue...
and Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
Sandra Gonzalez. Several critics were disappointed that Quinn's ominous mention of plans for New York in "Funeral" came to nothing, including Benigno, who called her actual idea a "cockamamie sabotage plot", though he credited Agron's scene as a "great, wasted job in a great, wasted character", sentiments echoed by VanDerWerff and James Poniewozik
James Poniewozik
James Poniewozik is an American journalist and television critic. He writes Times Tuned In column and has a blog with the same name.Originally from Monroe, MI, Poniewozik attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, graduating with a BA in English. He subsequently attended the graduate program...
of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
. Terron R. Moore of Ology
Ology
Ology is an entertainment and social media website based in New York City. It is run by Beth Haggerty and Vivian Moran, both of whom founded it. The company focuses on helping users to find and share content about their interests.-History:...
.com gave the episode a "C+", and likened Quinn's dropped plot to Will leaving for Broadway and Rachel disowning her love for Finn: "the fact that none of this happened—and the fact that we know none of it would ever happen—is just another issue I have with the show. I hope that next season, it actually grows a pair."
Finn and Rachel's date in New York was praised, though not everyone was happy with its ending. Gonzalez liked LuPone's short guest spot, and hoped it would be "a lesson to producers in how to deal with guest appearances in the future". Canning said the date had a "sweet comical tone", and thought the episode was "the best the series has done so far with this couple". Reiter felt Rachel was making a "false" choice in her refusal of Finn at the end of the date, and wondered "couldn't she at least have asked him" if he would consider coming to New York. At the competition performance, Poniewozik said of the end of "Pretending", "I may not be that invested in Finn/Rachel, but the startling moment where the audience disappeared in the middle of their kiss made me feel like I was." Benigno called the moment "awesome", and VanDerWerff was also pleased.
Those reviewers who singled out the show's final segment, set after the return to Ohio, did so with compliments. Poniewozik wrote that the episode "did a really fine job handling its epilogue, in which New Directions had their hopes crushed, went back to Lima—and found that it was a pretty awesome experience regardless. Brittany connected with Santana, a brief scene that reminded me how far both characters have come this season. Kurt didn't get a championship, but he has Blaine, and he has a taste of what life can be like for him after graduation." Canning said it was a "nice denouement, putting everyone at peace for having failed to reach the top ten at Nationals and getting their hopes high for next year." Hankinson credited Brittany with some of the funniest lines in the episode as well as the most important scene—in the epilogue with Santana—and he was impressed with her lead vocals throughout. He concluded, "She's the M.V.P. of the night and possibly the season."
Music and performances
The musical performances received a mixed reaction from critics, both as a whole and individually. Poniewozik said the songs "mostly felt like padding, without anything that offered a strong connection of contrast with the story." VanDerWerff called the music his least favorite element of the episode, and was only complimentary about "Bella Notte". Brittany's original song, "My Cup", was called "light and fun" by Benigno. Kubicek characterized it as "another brilliantly absurd original song", and Canning said it was a "hilarious performance". While Brett Berk of Vanity FairVanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
stated that it was "amazingly horrible", he nevertheless gave it three stars out of five.
The mash-up of "I Love New York" and "New York, New York" was typical of the range of reactions songs received. Benigno gave it a "C" and wondered whether it was bad that he "thought this was a joke song before [he] realized it was a mash-up". Gonzalez gave it a "B" and said it was "not [her] favorite". Futterman called it an "infectious, high-speed mash-up" and Hankinson listed it as one of the four favorite songs from the episode, though Kubicek said the on-screen performance "would make any real New Yorker want to kick [New Directions] in the shins".
Most reviewers were highly critical of the inclusion of Morrison's "Still Got Tonight", the second single from his solo album. VanDerWerff called it "way too self-indulgent" and Kubicek characterized it as "shameless self promotion". Gonzalez said the song "isn't half bad" and gave it a "B-", while Benigno was more generous with a "B+", despite his belief that it did not belong in the episode. Futterman called it "a generic-sounding pop melody". The use of "Bella Notte", by contrast, was generally approved of, though Kubicek thought it was "kind of weird that they weren't really there", and Berk gave both of its two stars out of five solely due to the "spectral singers". VanDerWerff thought the song was "well-performed", and Benigno gave it a "B+"; he had a very different take from Kubicek, as he found the imaginary appearance by the male club members hilarious.
Although Kurt and Rachel being allowed on the stage of a Broadway theater was deemed improbable in the extreme by many critics, most were willing to suspend disbelief and enjoy their duet of "For Good". Futterman wrote that the performance brought events "full circle from their season one drama around singing 'Defying Gravity'. It's a fitting song for friendship and Kurt and Rachel nail it." The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
Raymund Flandez described it as "so sublime that it could have fit so easily in the cast version of the musical's CD". While Benigno wished the song had started two-voice harmony sooner, he gave it an "A-" and called it "friggin' lovely". Among the less favorable comments, VanDerWerff felt that the song itself was "pretty weak".
Usher's "Yeah!" by an unnamed all-female a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
group received variant opinions. Aly Semigran of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
said that the group "nailed" the song, but Benigno found the track and performers annoying and gave it a "D-". Futterman noted, "the arrangement feels flat and the dancing is overexaggerated", and Hankinson called this song and the Vocal Adrenaline offering, "As Long As You're There", "meh". The latter song also garnered divergent opinions, from Kubicek's "neither fun nor interesting" to Gonzalez's award of an "A+", her best grade of the show. Futterman wrote that Sunshine handled her ballad with "masterful skill and unbelievable ease".
The two original songs sung by New Directions were rated from excellent to abysmal. Benigno gave each song a "B+"; he called the duet, "Pretending", "lovely". The nicest thing Kubicek wrote of it was that it sounded as if the lyrics had been "written by a lovesick teenage boy", and he called "Light Up the World" a "trainwreck". Berk was even harsher: "When the show has carte blanche access to every amazing song in the history of popular music, there's something terribly humiliating about watching the kids sing this shit tune as their finale, and do so with such desperate conviction." Gonzalez gave "Light Up the World" a "B+", but said it sounded a "bit too much" like "Loser Like Me", and while Benigno thought it had a better melody than "Loser" and also made "much better use of the Gleeks as a whole", he criticized the chorus for its similarity to "Let It Rock" by Kevin Rudolf. Semigran said it was an "uplifting, if not rather lackluster pop song", yet Hankinson called it his favorite number in the episode.
Chart history
Three original songs and two cover versions that were featured in the episode debuted on numerous musical charts. The two original songs sung by the main Glee cast did best, with "Light Up the World" debuting at number thirty-three on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, on a issue dated for June 11, 2011. It sold 86,000 copies in the United States in its first week since its release as a digitally downloadable single, and "Pretending" was in fortieth with 79,000 sold. The third single, a cover of "For Good" from Wicked, charted at number fifty-eight, and the other cover, the mash-up "I Love New York / New York, New York", debuted at number eighty-one. The third original song, "As Long As You're There", sung by Charice, was number ninety-three. In the Canadian Top 100, "Light Up the World" debuted at number twenty-six, "Pretending" at number forty, "For Good" at number seventy-nine, and "I Love New York / New York, New York" at number eighty-one.
Of the nine songs that were performed in the episode, four were featured on the eighth soundtrack album
Soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
of the series, Glee: The Music, Volume 6
Glee: The Music, Volume 6
Glee: The Music, Volume 6 is the eighth soundtrack album by the cast of the American musical television series Glee, released on May 23, 2011 through the Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Columbia Records...
: the three original songs, "Light Up the World", "Pretending", and "As Long As You're There", plus the cover of "Bella Notte". The album was released the day before the episode aired, and debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and number one on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Soundtracks chart. It sold 80,000 copies in its first week, which was the second-lowest opening sales figure for a Glee release next to the extended play Glee: The Music, The Rocky Horror Glee Show
Glee: The Music, The Rocky Horror Glee Show
-Credits and personnel:Persons responsible for the project are as follows.*Adam Anders – arranger; engineer; producer; soundtrack producer; vocals*Alex Anders – engineer*Nikki Anders – vocals*Peer Åström – arranger; engineer; mixing; producer...
, and lower than the 86,000 sold by Glee: The Music Presents the Warblers
Glee: The Music Presents the Warblers
Glee: The Music Presents the Warblers is the seventh soundtrack album by the cast of Glee, a musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States. Released through Columbia Records on April 19, 2011, it contains thirteen covers: eleven accompanying performances from the...
in its first week the previous month. The album was also at number four on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart.
External links
- "New York" at Fox.com