THE GLEE PROJECT: ‘Generosity’

Can you believe we only have one more week of THE GLEE PROJECT? Next week is the finale and I keep debating about whom I want to win (Samuel! No, Damian! Oh, but why can’t Cameron come back?) because all of these kids are so talented! But before we get too ahead of ourselves, we have to discuss this week’s episode!

The theme was “Generosity” and the special GLEE guest mentor was Kevin McHale (Artie), who could not be cuter if he tried. The contestants sang “Lean on Me” for their homework assignment and for once, I agreed with the winner – Lindsay! After that, Kevin announced they would be singing “Sing” by My Chemical Romance (which I loved when they performed it on GLEE) for their music video shoot and performing with instruments – which it turned out only Samuel knew how to play – and a few very special guests. I thought this episode started off on a great foot because of all of that, so let’s touch on the highs and lows of the rest of it:

HIGHS

• Zach Woodlee. Man, I don’t think I’ve given him enough credit throughout this competition. The guy is just sarcastic and hilarious and tells it like it is. He not only calls the contestants out on things, but he isn’t afraid to stand up to Ryan Murphy if he disagrees with his opinion.
• For the music video, the contestants were paired with children whose schools have cut their music education programs. I absolutely melted at this. All of the contestants got along with their partners so well (except for Alex, but more on that later) and everything about it was adorable. From Damian’s partner teaching him with plastic spoons how to play the drums, to Samuel picking up his kid during the music video so he could jam on the keyboards, to Lindsay being paired with a mini-version of herself and the two of them bonding over both playing Wendy in PETER PAN, I adored it all.
• I loved that they let Alex sing in his lower register for “Sing.” I know he likes to get all wail-y and diva-like on us to show off his range, but he really does sound great when he sings low. That’s something I wish they let Chris Colfer do more on GLEE and I think that’s why I loved him on “Animal” so much!
• During the time they normally reveal the bottom three, Robert and Zach announced all four contestants would be performing and they wouldn’t be judging them. Ryan still would be, however, and he was bringing along a partner in crime – GLEE co-creator, Ian Brennan. Even though it threw the contestants off a little bit, I liked the decision. It brought in a fresh set of eyes to judge them.
• Lindsay’s performance of “Defying Gravity” was great. She hit all of the notes, which is not easy to do in that song, and musical theater really is a genre that works for her. One thing, though – did it seem like she got extra time for the song in comparison to everyone else? To me, it just felt like she was on that stage a long time.
• When Samuel was assigned “My Funny Valentine,” he said he had never heard it before. Do these kids even watch GLEE? Tina sang it — well, at least part of it — before bursting into tears on the show. I loved his performance, though. He wasn’t trying to be a rock god with it. He just stood behind the microphone and sang it with a calmness and vulnerability we haven’t seen from him before and I loved it.
• Damian sang “I’ve Gotta Be Me” by Sammy Davis, Jr. Ryan mentioned to Ian that Damian has grown and improved the most over the competition and I agree. His performance was fun and the style of song fit his voice perfectly. And I loved when Ian said that if Damian won, Brittany would never be able to understand him!

LOWS

• I’ve talked up Alex a lot these past few weeks, but he wasn’t my favorite tonight. He didn’t seem to make a connection with the kid he was partnered with. It seemed like maybe she was a little shy, though, so that could have been part of the problem. That, or she was intimidated and just didn’t know how to handle him! However, I thought his performance of “His Eye is on the Sparrow” for Ryan and Ian was flawless. He was able to get through the pain of the song since it was sung at his dad’s funeral and push himself to a great performance.
• I wanted to yell, “What!”  when Ian said he thought Samuel’s performance was inauthentic. To me, it was a performance that I would want on my iPod! Samuel is my current favorite to win and I was shocked that Ian thought that.
• Perhaps the biggest twist of the night came when it was announced no one would be going home this week. I didn’t like that. It just felt like a cop-out move to me and will make it will be even harder to pick a winner next week.

So what did you think of this week’s episode? Did the non-elimination make you mad or did you agree with Ryan and Ian’s decision? How much did you love it that Ryan mentioned Alex is like the love child of Kurt and Mercedes? It’s so true! And most importantly, who do you hope wins next week?