Ballad Week on 'Glee'
This week on "Glee," we met the parents - Quinn's, that is - and learned that Broadway hopeful Rachel could be one crazy stalker, but definitely not that craziest. That honor goes to Suzy Pepper (guest star Sarah Drew, "Everwood"), who went to drastic measures to get Mr. Schuester's attention. Meanwhile, two of the glee club-football crossovers spilled the beans about Quinn's baby: Puck told Mercedes that he's the actual baby-daddy, but Mercedes urged him to keep quiet; Finn told his mom and Quinn's parents that he's going to be a father. It was one roller coaster of a week; fortunately, Mr. Schuester told the gleeks to focus on ballad selections for sectionals. After all, what better way to deal with all those emotions? As of this morning, four of last night's tracks made iTunes' Top 20 list. Below, Hulu puts these chart-climbing singles into context.
No. 12: Lean on Me
What's a high school drama without a rendition of "Lean on Me"? When the gleeks decided to rally around the troubled couple, they chose a cheerful, gospel-twinged version of the standard to let Finn and Quinn know they'll be there to carry their load. Sing it, Artie!
No. 19: Endless Love
Things kicked off with a Rachel-Mr. Schue duet of "Endless Love" (originally performed by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie). It was meant to inspire the other glee clubbers to find a ballad that got in touch with their emotions, and in this case, it worked too well. "When I'm singing with him, it's like I'm seeing him for the first time," Rachel revealed in a voiceover. "And he's super, super cute!" But this Spanish teacher is no stranger to schoolgirl stalkers: A former student, the aptly named Suzy Pepper, downed the world's hottest pepper when Mr. Schue told her to find someone her own age. She was left in a medically induced coma for days. Freaky!
No. 18: I'll Stand By You
Meanwhile, Finn was freaking out about fatherhood with Kurt, who encouraged the hunky football player to channel his baby-daddy woes into song, The Pretenders' "I'll Stand By You," in particular. But when Finn's mom caught him singing "Won't let nobody hurt you..." to a sonogram, the secret's out. Best part of all this? Kurt used the ballad project as a way to get closer to his crush: Finn.
No. 17: Don't Stand So Close to Me/Young Girl
Looking for advice on how to handle Rachel's obvious crush, Mr. Schuester turned to Miss Pillsbury. The guidance counselor sagely advised Will to use song to get his point across, and so he turned to a classic teacher/stalker ballad: The Police's "Don't Stand So Close to Me," mashed up with Gary Puckett and The Union Gap's "Young Girl." Only problem was, this lesson didn't go exactly as planned.
Off the Charts: You're Having My Baby
This week we're introduced to Quinn's parents: boozy, Glenn Beck-loving conservatives, the perfect couple. But when Finn sprung a dinnertime ballad on the family, that facade cracked. It could've had something to do with Finn's choice of song. It left no doubt that Quinn's been harboring a little secret, and Mr. Fabray wasn't supportive of this new development: He gave his daughter 30 minutes to pack her things and get out of the house.
Which ballads you would have liked to see on this week's "Glee"?
