THE GLEE PROJECT: ‘Pairability’

Sunday marked the return of Darren Criss as a guest mentor on THE GLEE PROJECT, so you know I liked it from the very beginning.  The theme was “pairabilty” and I’m glad Darren pointed out this challenge would require some acting on the contestants’ parts because that’s something we haven’t seen them do a lot of – we know they can sing and we know some of them can dance, now it’s time to act!

I actually thought this was one of the best episodes of THE GLEE PROJECT yet. We got to see different sides to many of the contestants, whether good or bad, and solidified why my favorites are my favorites and why I want certain contestants to just go home.

It wasn’t a perfect episode, though.  Here’s the good and the bad of “Pairability” (which, like Darren said, isn’t actually a word)…

THE GOOD

• I said it the first week, but it bears repeating — Darren makes a great mentor. He seems like he genuinely wants these kids to succeed.  And I’m glad he was picked for this week because his duets with Chris Colfer are amazing!  I also didn’t mind his choice of challenge winner.  I would have picked Samuel, but Marissa was my second choice.  And he did a great job of pairing the contestants up. Overall, I’d give him an 8. Or an 8.5. Or a 9. But no more than a 9.8 because there’s always room for improvement.
• Samuel and Lindsay’s duet in the homework assignment of “Need You Now” was amazing! They need to sing together more often!
• I kind of loved they used two songs Darren has sung on the show: “Don’t You Want Me?” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”  I was kind of surprised when Robert said since there was only one girl left when they were pairing up that Lindsay would automatically be singing it.  Did you learn nothing from GLEE when Darren and Chris sang “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”?  It was adorable and wonderful and one of my favorite songs from this past season!  In the end, though, Cameron and Lindsay did a great job with it and the video was a cute little throwback to days gone by.
• When Darren assigned Hannah and Alex “Nowadays,” I was interested to see where they took it. I wasn’t a fan of it on GLEE, but I love it in “Chicago.” Surprisingly, I loved their voices together; they blended really well. And because it is a song sung by two women in “Chicago,” they put Alex in a wig, a dress, and lipstick, which made me laugh out loud. He pulled it off, though! Hannah looked absolutely gorgeous in the dark red wig and red lipstick, too! Overall, I thought it was just a fun number. That’s why it surprised me they were put in to the bottom three couples and had to sing for Ryan, Zach, and Robert. I loved their duet of “Valerie” and you could tell they had fun doing it. I happened to pause my DVR when they were done with the song and their smiles were infectious.  I’m glad they are both sticking around another week, especially since Alex has not annoyed me as much these past two weeks. (Side note – have you heard Darren and Naya Rivera sing “Valerie”?)
• Marissa and Samuel’s “Don’t You Want Me?” was entertaining. The 80’s clothes were cute, the video concept was clear, and that was a pretty darn good looking kiss at the end!

THE BAD

• Matheus and Alex paired up during “Need You Now” was painful. Matheus was again a little diva about having to be “gay” during the song. And when you out-diva Alex, you know something’s wrong. When Darren said they made it believable, I wanted to take him by the shoulders, shake him and say, “What were you watching?!” So in that, Matheus gets a “Just…no…stop,” Alex gets an “Impressive!” (something I never thought I’d say about him) and Darren gets a “Honey, please,” complete with three snaps in a z-formation.
• Damian and Matheus’ “Lady is a Tramp” during the video shoot was not my favorite.  You could just tell Damian was more comfortable with that style of music. Matheus veered into cocky territory again and I’m glad Marissa called him out on it.  And their “These Boots Are Made For Walking” last chance performance was just not good.  Why in the world was that song picked for them?! Damian had every right to be frustrated with Matheus and his attitude. Although it did make me smile that Damian got more Irish the angrier he got.
• Cameron and Lindsay’s last chance performance of “River Deep, Mountain High,” to me, was not the best.  I guess, in my head, I’m comparing it to Amber Riley and Naya Rivera singing it, which was flawless.  I love Cameron, but he doesn’t have the power to pull off that song.  And I thought it was rude of Ryan Murphy to call him out about calling his mom when Lindsay kissed him during the video shoot.  He needed advice about something he has strong convictions about (whether kissing Lindsay counted as cheating on his girlfriend) and I see nothing wrong with that.  But I loved that Cameron, being that he’s charming and vulnerable (Ryan’s words), turned it around and made Ryan change his mind.  Did anyone else find it odd, though, that Ryan knew about the phone call, but didn’t know about the fact Alex dressed in drag during “Nowadays”? Makes you wonder how much they are prepped and exactly how much they are told ahead of time.

What did you guys think of the judges’  choice to send Matheus home? Did you enjoy the duets this week? Who stood out to you? Leave a comment and let me know!