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Glee: The Music, Volume 6 (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

June 19, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

Another awesome Glee soundtrack but because it features primarily Fleetwood Mac, Barbara Streisand, many classic songs and original songs, it may not be the most accessible “Glee” soundtrack.  But still, it’s a well-done album and for “Glee” fans, it’s an album worth listening to and worth buying!

ARTISTS: Glee Cast

ALBUM: Glee: The Music, Volume 6

LABEL: Columbia

DURATION: 1:04:21

RELEASE DATE: May 23, 2011

  1. Turning Tables (Glee Cast Version feat. Gwyneth Paltrow)
  2. I Feel Pretty/Unpretty (Glee Cast Version)
  3. As If We Never Said Goodbye (Glee Cast Version)
  4. Born This Way (Glee Cast Version)
  5. Dreams (Glee Cast Version feat. Kristin Chenoweth)
  6. Songbird (Glee Cast Version)
  7. Go Your Own Way (Glee Cast Version)
  8. Don’t Stop (Glee Cast Version)
  9. Rolling In the Deep (Glee Cast Version feat. Jonathan Groff)
  10. Isn’t She Lovely (Glee Cast Version)
  11. Dancing Queen (Glee Cast Version)
  12. Try a Little Tenderness (Glee Cast Version)
  13. My Man (Glee Cast Version)
  14. Pure Imagination (Glee Cast Version)
  15. Bella Notte (Glee Cast Version)
  16. As Long As You’re There (Glee Cast Version)
  17. Pretending (Glee Cast Version)
  18. Light Up the World (Glee Cast Version)

The FOX musical, comedy-drama known as “Glee” has received a lot of praise and its popularity of the show and the music has done extremely well in the US as well as in several countries. With several soundtracks released and each having entered in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 Music Charts as well as charting on UK’s BBC Radio 1 and Australia’s Aria Music Charts, the music of Glee has its share of fans all over the world.

Here we are now with the sixth “Glee: The Music” soundtrack and this latest album features songs featured on episodes before and on the day of the Nationals competition.

The album kicks off with Gwyneth Paltrow’s cover of Adele’s “Turning Tables” and Paltrow has been getting noticed for her vocals on the show and the cover is actually a pretty solid cover of the Adele hit. Paltrow doesn’t try to mimic Adele’s style and stays within her own vocal zone which is good and for the most part, is a very good cover.

The second track “I Feel Pretty/Unpretty” is sung by Quinn (Dianna Agron) and Rachel (Leah Michele) and a pretty solid mashup of the “I Feel Pretty” from the Broadway musical “West Side Story” and TLC’s 1999 hit “Unpretty”. It’s a pretty awesome track from both talents!

The third track features Kurt’s (Chris Colfer) cover of Barbara Streisand’s “As If We Never Said Goodbye”. And just by listening to this song, it gave Colfer a chance to really breakout and show us his vocals and his range. I was pretty impressed with Colfer’s delivery of this song and he did a wonderful job with this cover.

The fourth track features the Glee Cast singing Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” featuring the entire Glee cast, which is a pretty solid cover by the cast. But the fifth track “Dreams” features April’s (Kristin Chenoweth) cover of Fleetwood Mac’s hit and I love Chenoweth’s voice and she does a wonderful job singing this song! And another wonderful duet between April and Will (Matthew Morrison).

The sixth track features another Fleetwood Mac cover by Santana (Naya Rivera) and typically Naya is given a soul R&B track to sing but this time, it was great to hear her sing something different for her solo and she did a good job with this cover. The seventh track is another Fleetwood Mac cover and this one is “Go Your Own Way” by Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) and Lea is a wonderful singer and she did a solid job with this cover of the Fleetwood Mac hit! And one more Fleetwood Mac cover with the eighth track “Don’t Stop” featuring the Glee cast!

The ninth track features Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff) back with his duet with Rachel (Lea Michele) for a cover of Adele’s “Rolling In the Deep”. I thought it was OK…but I think I’m too used to hearing Adele’s version that I can’t picture anyone else singing the song.

The tenth track features Artie (Kevin McHale) singing a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely”. Similar to the first soundtrack’s “Dream a Little Dream”, McHale’s covers typically add another dimension to the original tracks and in this case, he did a pretty good job with this classic!

The eleventh track features the divas Mercedes (Amber Riley) and Santana (Naya Rivera) and once again, whenever these two are paired up, they are fantastic! Both do a wonderful job in this ABBA cover! And fortunately Amber Riley returns with a solo in the 12th track with “Try a Little Tenderness”, a fantastic cover of Otis Redding’s classic hit!

The 13th track “My Man”, Rachel’s cover of the Barbara Streisand song. Leah Michele is known for her Broadway work prior to Glee and she does another fantastic job with this cover.

The 14th track features a surprising cover of the Willie Wonka song “Pure Imagination” by the Glee cast. A wonderful cover by the cast!

The 15th track “Bella Notte” is sung by Puck, Sam, Artie and Mike. The hybrid a capella has been covered by several artists but this classic is a wonderful cover by the guys!

The 16th track “As Long as You’re There” sung by Sunshine Corazon (Charice) and Charice has a fantastic voice and is an original song that Charice just nails down. A wonderful track and I hope we will see more of her on “Glee”!

The 17th track “Pretending” is an original song that Will (Cory Monteith) and Rachel (Leah Michele) performed at the Nationals and it’s a pretty awesome song! I was pretty impressed by this original track and I thought it was a cover at first. But a pretty cool duet!

And the final track on the “Glee: The Music, Volume 6″ is titled “Light Up the World” and another original song which is performed by the entire Glee cast. And it’s an upbeat dance track by the group!
Overall, as a fan of the show, I actually enjoyed the soundtrack! But for those looking for more contemporary covers, this album may not be for them. Especially since the songs featured on this album are mostly Fleetwood Mac, Barbara Streisand, Abba, Lady Gaga, classic songs and original songs.

But if you are a fan of the series, then you are probably are familiar with the context of how the songs were used in the series and if you enjoyed the series, I wouldn’t be surprised if you enjoyed the album!

For the most part, this album is probably more for the fans of the series and while I wouldn’t select this album for a person just getting into Glee and wanting to purchase their first Glee soundtrack, it’s a cool soundtrack overall worth listening to and worth buying!

Filed Under: WORLD GROOVE: MUSIC REVIEWS

Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

December 12, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

A pretty awesome, well-balanced Christmas album featuring the Glee Cast!  Recommended for the holidays!


ARTISTS: Glee Cast

ALBUM: Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album

LABEL: Columbia

DURATION: 38:44

RELEASE DATE: November 16, 2010

  1. We Need a Little Christmas (Glee Cast Version)
  2. Deck the Rooftop (Glee Cast Version)
  3. Merry Christmas Darling (Glee Cast Version)
  4. Baby, It’s Cold Outside (Kurt and Blain)
  5. The Most Wonderful Day of the Year(Glee Cast Version)
  6. Last Christmas (Rachelle and Finn)
  7. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Glee Cast Version)
  8. O Christmas Tree (Glee Cast Version)
  9. Jingle Bells (Glee Cast Version)
  10. You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch (Glee Cast Version featuring K.D. Lang)
  11. Angels We Have Heard On High (Glee Cast Version)
  12. O Holy Night (Glee Cast Version)

With the holiday season here, it doesn’t surprise me that there is a Christmas album featuring the cast of one of America’s top television shows… “Glee”.

Although “Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album” came out two weeks before their “Glee: The Music: Volume 4″ compilation album, I have been listening to this Christmas album despite not knowing the context of how the music was used on the TV series.  With the recent airing of “A Very Glee Christmas”, it was great to finally watch the Christmas episode and hear how the songs were used. But even without watching the episode, listening to this album for several weeks now, I have to say that this was a pretty awesome, well-balanced Christmas album.

The album kicks off “We Need a Little Christmas” sung by the Glee Cast and is a fun, upbeat Christmas song. On the TV series, the song featured the group singing the song to their fellow classmates who were not so thrilled about the group performing the song in their class.

The second track features “Deck the Rooftop” using a similar beat to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” but an upbeat cover featuring the Glee cast.

The third track “Merry Christmas Darling” featuring Rachel singing the Carpenter’s classic. Lea Michele’s vocals are absolutely wonderful for this track and in the context of the show, she sings this song when her ex-boyfriend Finn is unwilling to forgive her (for messing around).

The fourth track “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” features Kurt and Blaine singing the popular Frank Loesser holiday song.

The fifth track “The Most Wonderful Day of the Year” features the Glee Cast singing the popular holiday classic. The song was used to open “A Very Glee Christmas” as the group decorates a Christmas Tree inside their music room.

The sixth track is “Last Christmas”, the popular Wham Christmas classic sung by Rachel and Finn. A pretty awesome duet by both Lea Michele and Corey Monteith. The scene features Rachel and Finn at a Christmas tree lot and talking about what they dreamed of last Christmas with Rachel hoping to be with Finn and now this year, hoping for it again.

The seventh track is “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman” featuring Rachel, Mercedes, Santana and Tina.  The eighth track “O Christmas Tree” features a cool solo by Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) and the ninth track features “Jingle Bells” sung by Finn, Puck & Artie.

The tenth track “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” features K.D. Lang and Will. The scene in the series features Sue Sylvester stealing all the Christmas presents and dressed as the Grinch. A good song but surprisingly K.D. Lang was never even featured in the episode. So, it was a bit puzzling that Jane Lynch didn’t sing the song with Will.

The eleventh track “Angels We Have Heard On High” featuring an solo by Mercedes (Amber Riley) and the soundtrack is completed by the 12th song featuring Rachel (Lea Michele) with a solo performance of “O Holy Night”.

“Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album” is a pretty awesome Christmas album, especially for those who enjoy the TV series. If there is one song that I’m surprised that is not on the album is the group singing the Dr. Seuss Christmas song “Welcome Christmas” (the scene from the episode features the Glee characters performing in front of the teachers for charity donations) since it was one of the most memorable performances performed the group on the episode.

But there are songs that weren’t performed on the series that really showoff the vocals of Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison and Amber Riley. Michele’s performance of “Merry Christmas Darling” and “O Holy Night” were fantastic, especially her duet with Cory Monteith for “Last Christmas”.

Overall, “Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album” is a wonderful Christmas album feature great vocals and a good balance of Christmas tracks that Gleeks will definitely enjoy! Recommended!

Filed Under: WORLD GROOVE: MUSIC REVIEWS

Glee: The Music, Volume 4 (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

November 30, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

The best “Glee: The Music” album thus far!    A good balance of upbeat tracks, slow jams… “Glee: The Music, Volume 4″ has everything you have come to love about the show and the characters.  Definitely recommended for Glee fans!


ARTISTS: Glee Cast

ALBUM: Glee: The Music, Volume 4

LABEL: Columbia

DURATION: 1:05:23

RELEASE DATE: November 30, 2010

  1. Empire State of Mind (Glee Cast Version)
  2. Billionaire (Glee Cast Version)
  3. Me Against the Music (Glee Cast Version)
  4. Stronger (Glee Cast Version)
  5. Toxic (Glee Cast Version)
  6. The Only Exception (Glee Cast Version)
  7. I Want to Hold Your Hand (Glee Cast Version)
  8. One of Us (Glee Cast Version)
  9. River Deep, Mountain High (Glee Cast Version)
  10. Lucky (Glee Cast Version)
  11. One Love (People Get Ready) (Glee Cast Version)
  12. Teenage Dream (Glee Cast Version)
  13. Forget You  (Glee Cast Version feat. Gwyneth Paltrow)
  14. Marry You (Glee Cast Version)
  15. Sway (Glee Cast Version)
  16. Just the Way You Are (Glee Cast Version)
  17. Valerie (Glee Cast Version)
  18. (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life (Glee Cast Version)

Having reviewed the previous “Glee: The Music” albums and DVD’s and having outed myself as a “GLEEK”, the albums have typically been good with some songs I can easily relisten to and some that I just listened to once and that was it.

But since the premiere of the second season of “Glee” and the addition of the newer cast members and pretty much a feeling that the cast are much more confident with their vocals and being part of a hit show, listening to “Glee: The Music, Volume 4″, I have to say that the cast has definitely has delivered with this latest album but at the same time, I felt there were some unfortunate omission of songs from the series that did not make it on this album .

The album kicks off with the Glee Cast most notably the characters of Artie, Puck, Finn, Mercedes and Santana doing a cover of Jay-Z and Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind”. A pretty cool GLEE cover and dig the chorus.

The second track “Billionaire” features new cast member Chord Overstreet as the character of Sam doing a cover of Travie McCoy (and Bruno Mars) “Billionaire”. When I first heard this song on the episode, I was pretty impressed with Overstreet’s vocals and definitely the character of Sam has begun one of the better male vocalists of the show. Pretty good cover and also rhymes by Artie and Puck.

The third track “Me Against the Music” features the characters of Brittany and Santana doing a cover of Britney Spears hit song. And I absolutely loved this episode and felt the performance by Brittany (Heather Morris) and Santana (Naya Rivera) was absolutely fantastic. I love the arrangement and I have to admit that I have listened to this version of this song much more than the original.

The fourth track features Artie’s version “Stronger” along with Finn and Puck. Although, I felt the scene on the show with the guys in their football gear and the football team singing this song was a bit corny but I definitely enjoyed the guys cover of this song and it has become a song on the album that I have listened to a lot.

The fifth track “Toxic” featuring the Glee cast primarily Will Schuester, Rachel and Brittany was probably one of the coolest scenes from the Glee “Brittany” episode and I absolutely loved how the cast perform this song on the series and also brought that glee version to this song. Another awesome track on the album!

The sixth track features the character Rachel (Lee Michele) singing her cover of Paramore’s “The Only Exception”. And when it comes to Hayley Williams vocals, I have always felt her vocals are just immaculate and love her voice. And when I first heard this song, I absolutely loved Michele’s cover. Lee Michele is a fantastic vocalist and her cover of this song was well done!

For the seventh track, we know that Paul McCartney has become a big fan of Glee and wanted to contribute songs to Glee and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” sung by Kurt (Chris Colfer) was well-done and how it was used for the show was quite emotional (in the show, Kurt’s father had a heart attack and was unresponsive in the hospital and Kurt was reminiscing of all the times he had with his father while holding his father’s hand).

For the eighth track, “One of Us”, a humorous “Grilled Cheesus” episode and featured the cast (primarily Tina, Finn, Kurt, Rachel, Merceds & Quinn) singing the popular Joan Osborne song. Another song that was well sung!

For the ninth track, the characters of Mercedes and Santana performed their cover of Ike and Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High” and Amber Riley is a fantastic vocalist and at first when I was watching this episode, I was wondering how Naya Rivera would compliment Riley in their duet and for the most part, these two worked magnificently together! Loved the cover!

For the tenth track, another duet featuring Sam & Quinn. As mentioned with “Billionaire”, Chord Overstreet has become one of the top vocalists of the show and it was great to see Dianne Agron (Quinn) singing more. Both did a wonderful job doing the cover of Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat’s “Lucky”. Well done!

For the eleventh track, the duet features Artie and Puck doing a cover of Bob Marley’s “One Love (People Get Ready)” and one thing we don’t see much of this season so far is Mark Salling (Puck) and so it’s good to have a track featuring Salling perform because he can sing. So, for the most part, he and Kevin McHale (Artie) do a pretty a cool job with this Marley classic!

The twelfth track features Blaine (Darren Criss), the new regular of “Glee” performing a cover of Katie Perry’s “Teenage Dream”. Interesting is that this is the highest downloaded track of Glee and which didn’t feature any of the regular Glee members singing. It’s a pretty cool Glee cover especially guys singing Katy Perry’s lyrics without any revisions.

The thirteenth track features Gwynneth Paltrow as the character Holly singing Cee-Lo’s “Forget You” (joined by Mercedes and Artie). It’s an OK cover by Paltrow but of the Holly sung songs on “Glee”, only one is featured on this album (while the others can be purchased separately on iTunes).

For the fourteenth track, the Glee cast performs their cover of Bruno Mars “Marry You”. And it’s a track that features the majority of the cast performing together which was pretty cool. A fun cover!

For the fifteenth track, Will Schuester (Matt Morrison) does his marimba cover of Michael Buble’s “Sway”. Morrison is a great vocalist although compared to the other upbeat pop tracks, I guess it’s all subjective to the listener if they enjoy the music for this track or not (especially for the younger listeners).

The sixteen track “Just the Way You Are” features Corey Monteith who plays the character of Finn singing the cover of the Bruno Mars track. This is probably one of my favorite Finn-based solos featured on a Glee album and glad they chose to use this solo song instead of his cover of R.E.M’s “Losing My Religion” for “Glee: The Music, Volume 4″.

The seventeenth track features Santana performing Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie”. I believe this is the first solo track featuring Santana on a Glee album which was pretty cool. Naya Rivera has really showed us her vocals in this second season and it’s a solid, upbeat cover!

The final track on the album features Sam & Quinn singing “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”. And like how I enjoyed their cover of “Lucky”, these two have great chemistry together musically and onscreen. Another solid cover on the album!

Overall, “Glee: The Music, Volume 4″ is probably my favorite Glee album thus far! I love the music selection, the vocals were very well done and for the most part, if you are a Glee fan, the second season has turned out to be a fantastic season musically and yes, the last season, especially the latter half was wonderful but I really enjoy the music for this season, especially with the addition of the newer cast members and also giving the characters of Brittany and Santana more onscreen time and literally giving another cast members a chance to shine musically.

If there was anything that I had a problem with for this album, it was the lack of including the wonderful “Singing in the Rain/Umbrella” track (which I had purchased online separately iTunes) featuring Matt Morrison and Gwynneth Paltrow. That was an awesome cover and wish it was included on this album. And although it was a long shot, I actually enjoyed “SING!!” (from “Chorus Line”) by Tina and Mike. I also enjoyed Gwynneth Paltrow and Lea Michele’s cover of “Nowadays/ Hot Honey Rag” (from “Chicago”).

But overall, “Glee: The Music, Volume 4″ is a pretty wonderful album but at the same time, I know as the Gleeks continue to grow, as do the dissenters who will never understand the popularity of the show. Especially those who hate cover songs. But I’m not expecting anyone who is not a Glee fan to purchase the tracks or the album but the Glee fans themselves and overall, this album has a good balance of upbeat tracks, slow jams and everything you have come to love about the show and the characters.

Once again, I am a biased towards “Glee” because I do love the show and the music but comparing “Glee: The Music, Volume 4″ to the previous albums, this one is the best so far! Definitely recommended!

Filed Under: WORLD GROOVE: MUSIC REVIEWS

Glee: The Music, The Rocky Horror Glee Show (a J!-ENT World Groove Digital Album Review)

November 12, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

An awesome tribute to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” which I have no doubt will top the music charts worldwide!


ARTISTS: Glee Cast

ALBUM: Glee: The Music, The Rocky Horror Glee Show

LABEL: Columbia

DURATION: 21:37

RELEASE DATE: October 19, 2010

  1. Science Fiction Double Feature
  2. Damn It, Janet
  3. What Happened to Saturday Night?
  4. Sweet Transvestite
  5. Touch a Touch A Touch a Touch Me
  6. There’s a Light (Over At the Frankenstein Place)
  7. Time Warp

The FOX musical, comedy-drama known as “Glee” has received a lot of praise and its popularity of the show and the music has done extremely well in the US as well as in several countries.  With several soundtracks released and each having entered in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 Music Charts, now here we are with “Glee: The Music, The Rocky Horror Glee Show” featuring the music from the “Rocky Horror Glee Show” episode shown in October 2010.

The episode revolves around glee club director Will Schuester jealous that his former flame Emma and her boyfriend Dr. Carl Howell are doing very well in their relationship and he is taking her to screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”.  So, immediately to wow Emma, he tells her that the glee club is doing their rendition of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”.

So, we get music from the popular cult film: “Science Fiction Double Feature” (sung by the character Santana), “Damn It, Janet” (sung by Rachel, Finn, Kurt, Mercedes and Quinn), “Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?” (sung by Dr. Carl Howell), “Sweet Transvestite” (sung by Mercedes, Santana & Britney), “Touch A Touch A Touch A Touch Me” (sung by Emma, alongside with Santana, Brittany, Will, Kurt, Finn & Dr. Carl Howell), “There’s a Light (Over a the Frankenstein Place)” (sung by Rachel, Finn & Kurt) and “Time Warp” (sung by Kurt, Quinn, Tina, Brittany, Santana, Artie and Finn).

And the album once again placed in the top 10 of various charts worlwide and received the highest position on the music charts for a Rocky Horror album.

When I first heard about “The Rocky Horror Glee Show”, the first thing that came to my mind was “Cool!” followed by a…”Do people of this younger generation know what ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ is?” and also even if they didn’t, many would be too young to even watch it or may pass on it because it’s a film that is too old for them.

Also, what went through my mind was, a show trying to do a rendition of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”, a popular cult film in which I can easily remember watching alongside with people in my theater class and everyone going crazy over the music.  But will people accept a Glee version of it?

After watching the episode, my answer is yes.  There are very good renditions of the songs on this album.  My favorites include “Damn It, Janet” and John Stamos (Dr. Carl Howell) brings almost a ’70s Grease-like John Travolta-esque rendition of “Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?” but clearly my favorite are two tracks and that “Touch A Touch A Touch A Touch Me” sung by Jayma Mays (Emma) and “Time Warp” performed by many of the cast members.

Probably the most difficult song from the film was for the track “Sweet Transvestite”.  There is a reason why the song is popular for the film but I felt that having Amber Riley (Mercedes) performing the song was mismatched.  Amber is a fantastic vocalist but she was not the right person to play Frank.   It’s not more about her voice but it’s about her character being forced to perform the song and perhaps it was the network and producers trying to play things safe by not having a guy singing the song but a female cast member.

But overall, I simply enjoyed this album and it’s a wonderful tribute to the film.  Vocals were well-done, production for the album was great and for the most part, if you are a Glee fan or “Rocky Horror Picture Show” fan, it’s definitely worth checking out.  Of course, if you are a hardcore fan of the original, it’s not going to replace the original by any means.  But for this new generation, especially the younger ones who probably will never watch the film, it’s a suitable, accessible and safe album.

If you are selective on which tracks on the album, I definitely recommend “Touch A Touch A Touch A Touch Me”, “There’s A Light (Over At The Frankenstein Place)” and “Time Warp”.

Filed Under: WORLD GROOVE: MUSIC REVIEWS

Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and Billboard Hot 200 Album Chart: Katy Perry stays at the #1 spot for singles and Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals takes #1 in the album charts (Issue Date: June 26, 2010)

June 19, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

The following are the top 10 songs in the United States from the Billboard Hot 100 Music Charts:

NOTE: Katy Perry stays at the #1 spot while Usher stays strong at #2.  Drake and Eminem move into the top 10.

BUY THESE SINGLES:

  1. Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg – California Gurls
  2. Usher feat. will.i.am – OMG
  3. B.o.B feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore – Airplanes
  4. Travie McCoy featuring Bruno Mars – Billionaire
  5. Lady GaGa – Alejandro
  6. Ke$ha – Your Love is My Drug
  7. Taio Cruz feat. Ludacris – Break Your Heart
  8. Eminem – Not Afraid
  9. The Black Eyed Peas – Rock that Body
  10. Drake – Find Your Love

The following are the top 10 albums in America from the Billboard 200 Album Charts:

NOTE: Jack Johnson takes the #1 spot, Justin Bieber stays strong at #2 and Glee, the Music, Volume #3 Showstoppers drops from #1 to #3.

Purchase the #1 Album in the USA:


  1. Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals
  2. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
  3. Christina Aguilera – Bionic
  4. Jack Johnson – To the Sea
  5. Plies – Goon Affiliated
  6. Justin Bieber – My World 2.0
  7. Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers
  8. Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
  9. Dierks Bentley – Up On the Ridge
  10. Jewel – Sweet and Wild
Filed Under: Music Charts

Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers (A J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

June 2, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

Another wonderful compilation of music from the second season of “Glee”.  Featuring more covers of classics than modern tracks but for the Gleeks, another cool soundtrack to enjoy!

ARTIST: Glee Cast

ALBUM: Glee: The Music,  Volume 3 Showstoppers (Digital Version)

LABEL: Columbia Records

RELEASE DATE: May 18, 2010

Original Version:

  1. Hello, Goodbye (Glee Cast Version)
  2. Gives You Hell (Glee Cast Version)
  3. Hello (Glee Cast Version feat. Jonathan Groff)
  4. One Less Bell To Answer/A House Is Not A Home (Glee Cast Version Featuring Kristin Chenoweth)
  5. Beautiful (Glee Cast Version)
  6. Physical (Glee Cast Version Featuring Olivia Newton-John)
  7. Total Eclipse Of The Heart (Glee Cast Version Featuring Jonathan Groff)
  8. Lady Is A Tramp (Glee Cast Version)
  9. One (Glee Cast Version)
  10. Dream On (Glee Cast Version Featuring Neil Patrick Harris)
  11. Safety Dance (Glee Cast Version)
  12. I Dreamed A Dream (Glee Cast Version Featuring Idina Menzel)
  13. Give Up The Funk (Glee Cast Version)
  14. Bad Romance (Glee Cast Version)

Deluxe Version:

  1. Hello, Goodbye (Glee Cast Version)
  2. Gives You Hell (Glee Cast Version)
  3. Hello (Glee Cast Version feat. Jonathan Groff)
  4. A House Is Not A Home (Glee Cast Version)
  5. One Less Bell To Answer/A House Is Not A Home (Glee Cast Version Featuring Kristin Chenoweth)
  6. Beautiful (Glee Cast Version)
  7. Home (Glee Cast Version Featuring Kristin Chenoweth)
  8. Physical (Glee Cast Version Featuring Olivia Newton-John)
  9. Total Eclipse Of The Heart (Glee Cast Version Featuring Jonathan Groff)
  10. Lady Is A Tramp (Glee Cast Version)
  11. One (Glee Cast Version)
  12. Rose’s Turn (Glee Cast Version)
  13. Dream On (Glee Cast Version Featuring Neil Patrick Harris)
  14. Safety Dance (Glee Cast Version)
  15. I Dreamed A Dream (Glee Cast Version Featuring Idina Menzel)
  16. Loser (Glee Cast Version)
  17. Give Up The Funk (Glee Cast Version)
  18. Beth (Glee Cast Version)
  19. Poker Face (Glee Cast Version Featuring Idina Menzel)
  20. Bad Romance (Glee Cast Version)

The FOX musical, comedy-drama known as “Glee” has received a lot of praise and its popularity of the show and the music has done extremely well in the US as well as in several countries.  With several soundtracks released and each having entered in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 Music Charts, now here we are with “Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers” featuring the music from the second season (with the exception of the Madonna episode which can be found in “Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna” soundtrack).

With the latest soundtrack, there are two releases available.  One with 13 tracks and a deluxe version with a total of 20 tracks.

Included in “Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers” is the Glee Cast performance of Lady GaGa’s”Bad Romance”, “Physical” feat. Olivia Newton-John, “Dream On” featuring Neil Patrick Harris and many showstopping tracks.

Tracks that I have listened to a good number of times include the Glee Cast version of the Beatles “Hello, Goodbye”, the Glee cast cover of the All American Rejects “Gives You Hell”, a wonderful duet between Matthew Morrison and Kristin Chenoweth for “One Less Bell to Answer/A House is Not a Home”, Mark Salling’s “Lady is a Tramp” and the Glee Cast cover of Parliament’s “Give Up the Funk”.

Overall, each “Glee” soundtrack is subjective depending on how one appreciates the music included.  But if there is one thing that is pretty cool about the playlist of the “Glee” soundtracks is there is a mix of music and there is something for everyone and for the most part, I felt this latest soundtrack had a pretty good compilation of songs like the previous two soundtracks but with more covers of classic songs than modern tracks, this may be a turn-off for those who gravitate to the more modern tracks. But in the end, “Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers” is another wonderful “Glee” soundtrack that Gleeks will definitely love!

Filed Under: WORLD GROOVE: MUSIC REVIEWS

BILLBOARD 200 (Top 10 Albums-USA): Glee: The Music, Volume 3: Showstoppers takes the #1 spot (Issue Date: June 5, 2010)

May 29, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

The following are the top 10 albums in America from the Billboard 200 Album Charts:

NOTE: Justin Bieber takes the #1 spot while the Oracle drops to #2. New debut albums from The National, The Dead Weather and Charice.

Purchase the #1 Album in the USA:


  1. Glee: The Music, Volume 3: Showstoppers
  2. The Rolling Stones – Exile on Main St.
  3. The Black Keys – Brothers
  4. Justin Bieber – My World 2.0
  5. Nas & Damian Marley – Distant Relatives
  6. Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
  7. Band of Horses – Infinite Arms
  8. Usher – Raymond v Raymond
  9. AC/DC – Iron Man 2 (Soundtrack)
  10. LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
Filed Under: Music Charts

Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna (a J!-ENT World Groove Digital Album Review)

April 22, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

If you are a big fan of the hit TV show “Glee”, more than likely you will dig “Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna”.  Otherwise, if you don’t, you can continue and listening to the awesome original Madonna versions instead.

ARTIST: Various Artists (Glee Cast)

ALBUM: Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna

LABEL: Columbia

DURATION: 27:40

RELEASE DATE: April 20, 2010

  1. Express Yourself
  2. Borderline/Open Your Heart
  3. Vogue
  4. Like a Virgin
  5. 4 Minutes
  6. What It Feels Like For a Girl
  7. Like a Prayer

The FOX musical, comedy-drama known as “Glee” has received a lot of praise for its first season on television. The drama about a high school choir ala glee club at William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio and during the episode, we see characters who have song to sing or songs incorporated to the storyline and part of the charm of the show is that people can sing and the songs are quite popular.

So far, both album soundtracks “Glee: The Music, Season One” Volume 1 and Volume 2 have done well not just in the US but also overseas on the album charts and their Journey rendition “Don’t Stop Believin’” doing well on the singles charts in various countries.

And now, timed with the release of “The Power of Madonna” episode (aired on April 20, 2010), the latest GLEE release “Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna” is now available on digital format and the hype built around this episode, especially with the viral video of Sue Sylvester’s (played by Jane Lynch) rendition of Madonna’s “Vogue” has caught media attention.

For the most part, for this release, everyone in the cast seems to have their part in the music (including the character Miss Emma Pillsbury) and for those who enjoyed the episode, the fellow Gleeks will definitely have their fun with this latest release, especially Mercedes and Kurt fans who have a prominent role in these Madonna covers.

And since I have been covering Glee DVD and soundtrack releases, I’m a bit biased towards the series, enough to say that I enjoyed the soundtrack. So, I went to a friend who was not familiar to the series to give the music a listen and of course, he was not digging it and preferred the originals. And I don’t blame him because the Madonna original versions are fantastic.

But as a fan of the show, definitely enjoyed all of the songs especially the lyrics to Sue Sylvester’s version of “Vogue”. It took me awhile to warm up to “4 Minutes”, as I still enjoy the Madonna/Timberlake track but seeing how the marching band was utilized for the song and in the episode, I enjoyed the cover little by little.  Of course, there is no comparison to the original Madonna tracks which I enjoy to this day but for fans of “Glee”, it was definitely a fun episode to see the cast singing Madonna songs and to have an album release with those songs.

Overall, if you are a fan of “Glee” then “Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna” will probably entertain you, but if not, you can always listen to the awesome and original Madonna versions of the songs instead.

Filed Under: WORLD GROOVE: MUSIC REVIEWS

Glee: The Music, Season One, Volume 2 (A J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

December 9, 2009 by · Leave a Comment 

If you are a fan of the popular TV show “Glee” and love the music, you’re going to love this album.  Featuring many of the popular songs sung on the show and covers of popular songs such as “Endless Love”, “Lean On Me”, “Imagine”, “Smile”, “True Colors” and many, many more!  Recommended for the Gleeks!

ARTIST: Various Artists

ALBUM: Glee: The Music, Season One, Volume 2 (Digital Version)

LABEL: Columbia Records

DURATION: 58:17

RELEASE DATE: December 8, 2009

  1. Proud Mary
  2. Endless Love
  3. I’ll Stand By You
  4. Don’t Stand So Close to Me
  5. Crush
  6. (You’re) Having My Baby
  7. Lean On Me
  8. Don’t Make Me Over
  9. Imagine
  10. True Colors
  11. Jump
  12. Smile (Glee Cast Version – Cover of Lily Allen Song)
  13. Smile (Glee Cast Version – Cover of Charlie Chaplin Song)
  14. And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going
  15. Don’t Rain On My Parade
  16. You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Glee Cast Version)
  17. My Life Would Suck Without You

The FOX musical, comedy-drama known as “Glee” has received a lot of praise for its first season on television.  The drama about a high school choir ala glee club at William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio and during the episode, we see characters who have song to sing or songs incorporated to the storyline and part of the charm of the show is that people can sing and the songs are quite popular.

Last month, “Glee: The Music, Season One, Volume 1″ was released and the show’s enthusiastic fans attended signing events and after listening the first soundtrack (and in my review for the first album, despite not being a cover fan, I enjoyed the soundtrack), I began watching the episodes online and I must say that the show is pretty awesome.

With the second volume, the Glee cast is back with another soundtrack (a month after the last) and similar to the first soundtrack, there are plenty of songs that are quite enjoyable.

Favorites from the soundtrack include “Endless Love” sung by Matthew Morrison (Will) and Leah Hernandez (Rachel), Cory Monteith’s (Finn) cover of “I’ll Stand By You”, Amber Riley’s (Mercedes) cover of “Don’t Make Me Over”, the Lily Allen cover of “Smile” and Kelly Clarkson’s “My Life Would Suck Without You” by the Glee cast was pretty solid as well.

Overall, if you enjoy the show, fans are going to enjoy this album a lot.  Especially if you know the context of how the songs were used in the show.  Those who never watched the show may find cover songs (especially if they are big fans of the original artist versions) to be blasphemous.  But so far two solid soundtracks and also a Christmas single (a cover of Wham’s “Last Christmas” is now available on iTunes) but come on Columbia, where’s Will’s “Thong Song” cover?

“Glee: The Music, Season One, Volume 2″ is definitely recommended for the Gleeks!

Filed Under: WORLD GROOVE: MUSIC REVIEWS

Glee: The Music, Season One, Volume 1 (A J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

November 23, 2009 by · Leave a Comment 

If you are a fan of the popular TV show “Glee” and love the music, you’re going to love this album.  Featuring many of the popular songs sung on the show and covers of popular songs such as “Don’t Stop Believin’”, “Gold Digger”, “Take a Bow”, “Alone” and many, many more!  Recommended!

ARTIST: Various Artists

ALBUM: Glee: The Music, Season One, Volume 1

LABEL: Columbia Records

DURATION: 1:00:07

RELEASE DATE: November 3, 2009

  1. Don’t Stop Believin’ – Feat. Lea Michele (Rachel) and Cory Monteith (Finn)
  2. Can’t Fight This Feeling – Feat. Cory Monteith Finn)
  3. Gold Digger – Feat. Matthew  Morrison (Will)
  4. Take A Bow – Feat. Lea Michele (Rachel)
  5. Bust Your Windows – Feat. Amber Riley (Mercedes)
  6. Taking Chances – Feat. Lea Michele (Rachel)
  7. Alone – Feat. Matthew Morrison (Will), Kristen Chenoweth (April)
  8. Maybe This Time – Feat. Lea Michele (Rachel), Kristen Chenoweth (April)
  9. Somebody To Love – Feat. Lea Michele (Rachel), Cory Monteith (Finn), Amber Riley (Mercedes), Kevin McHale (Artie)
  10. Hate On Me – Feat. Amber Riley (Mercedes)
  11. No Air – Feat. Lea Michele (Rachel), Corey Monteith (Finn)
  12. You Keep Me Hangin’ On – Feat. Dianna Agron (Quinn)
  13. Keep Holding On – Feat. Lea Michele (Rachel), Corey Monteith (Finn)
  14. Bust A Move – Feat. Matthew Morrison (Will)
  15. Sweet Caroline – Feat. Mark Sailing (Puck)
  16. Dancing With Myself – Feat. Kevin McHale (Artie)
  17. Defying Gravity (Feat. Chris Colfer (Kurt), Lea Michele (Rachel)

The FOX musical, comedy-drama known as “Glee” has received a lot of praise for its first season on television.  The drama about a high school choir ala glee club at William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio and during the episode, we see characters who have song to sing or songs incorporated to the storyline and part of the charm of the show is that people can sing and the songs are quite popular.

For the show’s first major soundtrack titled “Glee: The Music, Season One, Volume 1″, the album features music featuring the talent from the show.  The soundtrack kicks off with Lea Michele (Rachel) and Cory Monteith’s (Finn) cover of the Journey song “Don’t Stop Believin’” and having seen so many cover versions on YouTube, I have to say that this cover is pretty awesome.

Other highlights for me on the album include “Gold Digger”, a highlight from the series featuring Glee club director Matthew Morrison (Will) bustin’ out with the Kanye West track “Gold Digger”.  Lea Michele’s (Rachel) cover of Rihanna’s “Take A Bow”, Amber Riley (Mercedes) who has awesome vocals as she kicked off “Gold Digger” is equally impressive with her cover of Jazmine’s “Bust Your Windows”, Lea Michele’s (Rachel) cover of Celine Dion’s “Taking Chances”, Matthew Morrison (Will) and Kristen Chenoweth (April) doing a cover of Heart’s “Alone”, Lea and Corey singing a cover of the Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown track “No Air”, Mark Salling (Puck) singing a cover of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and even dig the  jazzy version of Kevin McHale’s (Artie) cover of Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself”.

The CD insert booklet features photos of the cast and production credits.  No lyrics included but you can easily find them easily online.

Overall, the album and all tracks are actually quite solid.  As mentioned earlier, the cast of this show can sing and if you know how the songs were used in the show, makes it even more enjoyable. If you are fan of the show and the music, definitely a solid album worth owning!

Note: The next volume is set for release on December 8th.

Filed Under: WORLD GROOVE: MUSIC REVIEWS

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