Riley and the New Directions sing on GLEE - Season 3 - "The Purple Piano Project" | ©2011 Fox/Adam Rose

Guest Column by JOSIE CAMPBELL for TV.com

GLEE just began its third season on Fox (airing Tuesday nights),  and even though the show tackles complex themes like teen pregnancy, gay rights, disability, and alienation through show stopping numbers and Top 40 hits, sometimes the music selection can be a bit hit and miss at times.

While the showrunners of GLEE obviously don’t need our help in coming up with new themes and songs to tackle, we still felt it would be fun to come up with a list of our own Top 10 songs that we would like to see GLEE tackle in the upcoming season.

In no particular order ….

1) Song: “La Vie Boheme”
Original Artist: Rent
Potential singers: Full cast
Theme/Storyline To Accompany: Persecution. The song is about artistic weirdoes refusing to conform, so this could be a real theme song for the GLEE kids as they face the persecution of their classmates. The jocks may slushie them, but they’ll continue “La Vie Boheme!”
Why This Would Help The Show: For a show about a glee club GLEE is more prone to mash up pop songs or sing rock ballads than show tunes. Not only would this bring much needed diversity and is a classic high school drama club/glee club song, its about artistic misfits living in the moment—can you get a better summary of GLEE?

Dianna Agron in GLEE - Season 2 | ©2010 Fox/Miranda Penn

2) Song: “(You Make Me Feel) Like A Natural Woman”
Original Artist: Aretha Franklin
Potential singers: Quinn (Dianna Argon)
Theme/Storyline To Accompany: Teen Sex. This could be a great song for an episode about high school relationships and sex, and its tone matches Quinn’s character to a T.
Why This Would Help The Show: A classic song, its positive message could be used quite effectively on the show when talking about Quinn’s new love, or ironically underscore a frank episode about sex.

3) Song: “Man In The Mirror”
Original Artist: Michael Jackson
Potential singers: Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Finn (Cory Monteith)
Theme/Storyline To Accompany: Gay rights. While the show has done Madonna and Britney Spears-centric episodes, they have yet to tackle the King of Pop. This could be the start of a fantastic tribute episode, one about being different and making a change, just like the song says.
Why This Would Help The Show: This is a great song to talk about making a difference when it comes to accepting others, gay or straight.

4) Song: “Purple Rain”
Original Artist: Prince
Potential singers: Full cast
Theme/Storyline To Accompany: Non-Conformity. Speaking of Pop Princes, it’s criminal GLEE hasn’t done more Prince (though we could see the Purple one being a little bit hesitant in granting licensing rights to his songs for the series). Whether for a tribute episode to the ultimate non-conformist or an episode where they get in touch with their Pop roots, this is one New Directions should cover ASAP.
Why This Would Help The Show: This song is a show-stopping way to end an episode, Prince tribute or otherwise. With the whole cast onstage, singing and dancing to the ultimate Prince hit, how could anyone say no?

Kevin McHale and Heather Morris in GLEE - Season 2 - "Prom Queen" | ©2011 Fox/Adam Rose

5) Song: “People are Strange”
Original Artist: The Doors
Potential singers: Artie (Kevin McHale)
Theme/Storyline To Accompany: Physical disability. High school is a strange and unsettling time for everyone and this classic song about alienation would be perfect for an Artie-centric episode.
Why This Would Help The Show: The song is a staple top 40-rock song, something that the show often does, and is a misfit anthem, a way for Artie to display his own alienation from his walking Glee compatriots and the rest of the jock-obsessed school.

6) Song: “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”
Original Artist: Cyndi Lauper
Potential singers: The girls of GLEE
Theme/Storyline To Accompany: Feminism. As the Boys vs. Girls singing contest is a New Directions tradition, this would be a perfect girl-power song for the GLEE girls to rally too as they go head to head with the fellas.
Why This Would Help The Show: It’s a pro-girl, pro-teen attitude classic and one that fits the gals well. It could also easily move along a montage or a party sequence.

Kevin McHale, Chrod Overstreet, Chris Colfer, Cory Monteith, Harry Shum Jr., Mark Salling in GLEE - Season 2 - "Never Been Kissed" | ©2010 Fox/Adam Rose

7) Song: “Centerfold”
Original Artist: J. Geils Band
Potential singers: The boys of GLEE
Theme/Storyline To Accompany: Feminism. Again this would be a great episode counterpoint to the girls singing Cyndi Lauper in another Boys Vs. Girls contest, and could be used in an episode about sexism, talking about the way men and women perceive each other.
Why This Would Help The Show: It would help move along the story in the contest, and could serve as a way to sum up the boys’ initial feelings about the girls.

8 ) Song: “I Know Where I’ve Been”
Original Artist: Hairspray
Potential Singers: Mercedes (Amber Riley), Full Cast
Theme/Storyline To Accompany: Racism. In time for Martin Luther King Day, a great GLEE episode would look back at the civil rights movement. The episode could contrast the ideals and beliefs against the high school kids’ treatment of those with different skin color and ethnicities.
Why This Would Help The Show: While the show has tackled gay bashing and sexism head on, an in depth look at how racism affects Mercedes and the others would be a great theme to explore. Plus, it would give Mercedes a chance to shine in her own episode.

Jenna Ushkowitz in GLEE - Season 2 - "A Night of Neglect" | ©2011 Fox/Adam Rose

9) Song: “Love Song”
Original Artist: Sara Bareilles
Potential singers: Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz)
Theme/Storyline To Accompany: Love. There’s never enough Tina in the show, so what better way to include her than to do an episode based around relationships and have Tina sing this to Mike, the surviving GLEE couple.
Why This Would Help The Show: Popular and easy to sing, it’s message of defiance is one close to Tina’s soul and could easily move along an episode with her trying to pick and learn the song for glee club.

10) Song: “God Help The Outcasts”
Original Artist: The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
Potential singers: Rachel (Lea Michele)
Theme/Storyline To Accompany: Faith. A subject touched on briefly after Kurt’s father’s heart attack, it would be great for an episode to address religious tolerance as the Glee kids range from atheist to Jewish. This episode could tackle the issue of faith in public schools, as well as the hypocrisy of those who believe in God but still torment others different than them.
Why This Would Help The Show: GLEE is a show built around the idea of tolerance and rejection and nothing would exemplify these two extremes better than kids’ attitudes about religion. As well, “God Help The Outcasts” touches on a basic idea behind most faiths, and if the  kids aren’t outcasts themselves, who is?

AGREE? DISAGREE? LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD – COMMENT BELOW

Follow us on Twitter at ASSIGNMENT X
Fan us on Facebook at ASSIGNMENT X

Click on Link: TV Review: GLEE – Season 3 premiere – “The Purple Piano Project”

Click on Link: Exclusive Interview with GLEE and GLEE PROJECT executive producer Dante Di Loreto

Click on Link: Exclusive Interview with GLEE and GLEE PROJECT executive producer Dante Di Loreto

Click on Link: Exclusive Interview with GLEE and GLEE PROJECT choreographer Zach Woodlee

Click on link: The Scoop on AMERICAN HORROR STORY

Click on the link for AX’s look at THE PROBLEM WITH GLEE – AND IT’S REAL “AGENDA”

Click on the link for: AX’s exclusive interview with KEVIN McHALE

CLICK HERE for AX’s exclusive interview with HEATHER MORRIS

CLICK HERE for AX’s interview with DIANNA AGRON

CLICK HERE for ASSIGNMENT X’s interview with DARREN CRISS

CLICK HERE for more of ASSIGNMENT X’s GLEE reviews

CLICK HERE for ASSIGNMENT X’s interview with MATTHEW MORRISON

CLICK HERE for AX’s exclusive interview with CORY MONTEITH

Article Source: TV.Com
Article: 10 Themes (and Songs) That GLEE Needs to Do for Season 3

Related Posts: