Glee: The Music

I’m not sure if you’ve been watching Glee. I have. I thought the first episode (originally aired back in May on Fox) was great, and that the show had a lot of potential. I still feel that way—but sometimes the show can be frustrating. Some of the characters aren’t that likeable, some of the plot lines are either too thin or too ridiculous, etc. Jane Lynch is the only person who has been consistent throughout the show so far. Every single thing she says is funny.

To the delight of many viewers, Fox has decided to start releasing the music performed by the cast of Glee in album form (instead of just the singular songs on iTunes).  The songs are all covers of extremely popular music. Volume 1 was released on Tuesday and contains 17 songs from the season so far. From what I heard, Volume 2 will be released sometime next year, after the second half of the show airs. This volume features Broadway superstar Kristin Chenowith, and rumor has it that there will be more stars to take guest spots on the show/albums in the future (Adam Lambert was one rumor…Madonna was another. But who knows?).

Overall I think the album should be pretty good—and also for the price. Right now on Amazon, the whole hard-copy album is selling for $8.99, which is a really good price, in my opinion. It’s worth it for “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Take a Bow,” “Taking Chances,” “No Air,” and “Somebody to Love” alone, in my opinion. Lea Michele is absolutely amazing. I’ve never heard a voice like hers. Actually, it kind of sucks for the rest of the cast because she kind of trumps everybody. But, still, they’re good, too. Check out the album!

Carrie Underwood- Play On

The wait is finally over: Carrie Underwood has a new album out. It’s not fair how perfect she is—she’s perfect looking, has a great voice, and always sounds flawless on stage. Now her 3rd studio album, Play On, has hit stores.

Her first two albums, Some Hearts (2005) and Carnival Ride (2007) both went multi-platinum in the U.S. and reached the top spot on almost all U.S. Billboard charts (and a lot of Canada’s, too). All of her singles from those albums performed exceptionally well. If they didn’t break the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, they got close. And, nearly all of them were, at some point, #1 on the country charts.

The first single from Play On is “Cowboy Casanova” and alludes back to, in my opinion, one of her most popular songs, “Before He Cheats.” The song has a similar, sassy vibe to it. It currently holds the #11 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, and continues to climb.

The rest of the album features twelve other songs and seems to follow a pretty solid country-music-album format. There are a few faster tracks, but for the most part Underwood shows off her voice with slow, smooth ballads. Really, though, I could listen to her sing anything. It’s hard for me to believe that she even had to compete on American Idol (though I really respect her for always being gracious to them and always recognizing that that is where is she got her start—some other winners and contestants seem to forget that after it’s all over).

After listening to the album, I think my favorite songs are “Cowboy Casanova,” “Look at Me,” “Unapologize,” and “What Can I Say.” But, really, her voice sounds great on the entire record. It’s in stores now!


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