For the Gleeks in the House, This One’s for You

Before I begin, I must apologize to Gene for intruding on his territory. Sorry, boo!

Though I hardly watch TV, even I can tell you that the show Glee is a giant hit and cultural staple. Glee is everywhere—from the red carpet to the viewing parties my friends host weekly. The show revolves around a high school glee club, which is another name for an a cappella club. Each week, audiences tune in to watch your average teenage programming with a little a cappella singing thrown in. And what do they sing? Today’s hottest hits of course! The Glee cast has covered everyone from Justin Bieber to Katy Perry—showing flawless product placement at work. Top Forty hits are brilliantly incorporated into story lines; some episodes are even dedicated to entire artists such as the Britney Spears homage titled “Britney/Brittany,” “Journey to regionals” featuring songs by Journey, and “The Power of Madonna.” Other episodes are titled after and feature specific hits songs, such as “Born This Way” after Lady Gaga’s new hit and “Blame it one the Alcohol” after Jamie Foxx’s “Blame It.”

Sidenote: The Tufts Beelzebubs sang the background vocals!

Glee is every band’s product placement dream—every song is brilliantly incorporated into the plot, creating advertisement that you can’t and don’t want to skip. Glee has even been responsible for launching the comeback of Britney Spears and “legitimizing” the singing of actress Gweneth Paltrow through guest appearances. Though it may seem obvious as to why every performer would want to be a part of Glee, not everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon. The Foo Fighters, Slash, and Kings of Leon have all refused to allow their music on the show. Their refusal proves that Glee is a mainstream vehicle--one that not everyone wants to ride.