Glee: The Music, Volume 4 Explained

Glee: The Music, Volume 4
Type:soundtrack
Artist:Glee Cast
Cover:Gleevol4.jpg
Alt:Twelve people throwing slush drinks are enclosed in a large Arabic numeral 4 outlined in white on a blue background. To the upper left is the word "Glee", with "The Music" above and "Season Two" below it in lowercase white font. The world "Volume" also appears below the 4 in lowercase white font.
Recorded:2010
Genre:Pop, rock, hip hop
Label:Columbia / 20th Century Fox TV
Producer:Dante Di Loreto (exec.), Brad Falchuk (exec.), Adam Anders, Peer Åström, Tommy Faragher, Ryan Murphy
Prev Year:2010
Next Year:2011

Glee: The Music, Volume 4 is the fifth soundtrack album by the cast of the musical television series Glee, which airs on Fox in the United States. It was released on November 26, 2010, by Columbia Records and features cover version performances from the first half of the second season. Executive production was handled by Dante Di Loreto and Brad Falchuk and all tracks were released as singles. It was nominated for a Grammy Award (2011) in the Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media category.[1]

Background

The album's tracks constitute performances from eight of the first nine episodes of the season; the fifth, "The Rocky Horror Glee Show", received its own extended play in October 2010, .[2] The track listing for Glee: The Music, Volume 4 was revealed on November 3, 2010, followed by the official press release on November 9, 2010.[3] [4] The album was preceded by on November 16, 2010, which accompanies a later Christmas episode. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow guest-starred on an episode performing "Forget You", the censored version of Cee Lo Green's 2010 single "Fuck You", which appears on the album.[5] [6]

Reception

The series' cover versions received mixed reviews throughout the season. MTV News felt "Empire State of Mind" lacked gravitas and The Washington Post thought it was "maybe-trying-too-hard".[7] [8] The latter, however, also deemed "Billionaire" the best performance of the episode. Kevin McHale's version of Britney Spears' "Stronger" and Lea Michele's version of Paramore's "The Only Exception" were praised by critics, with Entertainment Weekly complimenting the soulful cover of the former and Rolling Stone calling the latter "gorgeous and tender". On "Me Against the Music", Naya Rivera's vocals were met positively while Heather Morris was described as "not a standout vocalist".[9] [10] The interpretation of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" received mixed criticism, from the Daily News receiving Chris Colfer's vocal performance and the context of its lyrics negatively to The A.V. Club calling it "one of his best performances on the show".[11] [12] Both The Wall Street Journal and Zap2it praised the vocals on the duets "River Deep, Mountain High" and "Lucky".[13] [14] [15] The vocal arrangement of "Marry You" was well-enjoyed by Rolling Stone, but the next track "Sway" was deemed inferior to the Michael Bublé cover.[16]

Alicia Keys and Travie McCoy were two of many artists covered who approved of their respective songs; the former called "Empire State of Mind" "amazing".[17] The social networking site Twitter was frequently used for this - Spears was impressed with the covers of "Stronger" and "Toxic" and Paramore's Hayley Williams complimented Michele's vocals on "The Only Exception".[18] Additionally, Katy Perry used the site to praise the a cappella rendition of "Teenage Dream", which features guest star Darren Criss as lead vocalist.[19] Speaking to MTV News, Green expressed flattery that Paltrow was covering his song.[20]

Chart performance

Glee: The Music, Volume 4 debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Billboard Soundtracks chart with sales 128,000 in the US.[21] [22] It debuted the same week on the Canadian Albums Chart at number six.[23] On the Australian Singles Chart, the album made its debut on December 6, 2010, at number three and has been certified gold for 35,000 units.[24] In New Zealand, Volume 4 debuted at number ten.[25]

Singles

All tracks have been released as singles, available for digital download throughout the season's airings from September through November 2010.[26] All singles except "Sway" have charted on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian Hot 100; the highest-charting of these was the cover of "Teenage Dream" at number eight and ten, respectively.[27] [28] The single sold 55,000 copies in its first day, and went on to beat the first-week sales record of 177,000 previously held by debut single "Don't Stop Believin', with 214,000 in the US.[29] [30] In Canada, 13,000 copies were sold.[31] The chart performance of "Teenage Dream" surpassed that of "Toxic", which peaked at number sixteen in the US and fifteen in Canada.[32] [33] It sold 109,000 copies in the US and, at the time, was the cast's second-highest-charting entry on the Billboard Hot 100, tied with "Total Eclipse of the Heart".[34] [35] In other countries, the best-performing singles were "Billionaire" at number fifteen in Ireland, and "Empire State of Mind" at number twenty in Australia.[36] [37] "Empire State of Mind" marked the highest first-day sales of any Glee song at the time with 106,000 downloads in the US over the week following its release.[38]

The record for most appearances by a group on the Billboard Hot 100, previously set by The Beatles, was broken when six songs debuted on the chart the week of October 16, 2010. This feat also placed the cast third overall among all artists, behind James Brown and Elvis Presley.[39] Four songs debuted on November 18, 2010, which pushed the number of appearances to ninety-three, surpassing Brown's accomplishment to land at second.[40]

Track listing

Information is based on the album's Liner notes[41]

Personnel

Information is taken from Liner notes[41]

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (2010)Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[42] 21
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[43] 37
Chart (2011)Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[44] 59
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[45] 25
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)[46] 86
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[47] 47
UK Albums (OCC)[48] 94
US Billboard 200[49] 40
US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)[50] 2

Certifications

Release history

Country! scope="col"
Release dateFormat(s)
Australia[51] [52] November 26, 2010CD, digital download
Canada[53] [54] November 30, 2010CD, digital download
Germany[55] CD
United States[56] [57] CD, digital download
United Kingdom[58] February 21, 2011Digital download
Taiwan[59] March 29, 2011CD
Italy[60] October 11, 2011CD, digital download

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Grammy Nominations (2011) . Grammy.com . 1 December 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120503164723/http://www.grammy.com/nominees . May 3, 2012 .
  2. Glee: The Music, The Rocky Horror Glee Show in Stores October 19. September 28, 2010. PR Newswire. November 9, 2010. October 1, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101001133259/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/glee-the-music-the-rocky-horror-glee-show-in-stores-october-19-103922393.html. live.
  3. Web site: 'Glee: The Music, Volume 4' Track Listing Released. November 3, 2010. Jean. Bentley. TV Squad. AOL. November 9, 2010. December 6, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101206084335/http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/11/03/glee-the-music-volume-4-track-listing-released. live.
  4. Glee: The Music, Volume 4 Available November 30. November 9, 2010. PR Newswire. November 9, 2010. October 19, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131019144359/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/glee-the-music-volume-4-available-november-30-106945323.html. live.
  5. News: Gwyneth Paltrow will sing 'F-- You' on 'Glee'. November 3, 2010. Margaret. Lyons. Entertainment Weekly. November 9, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20111114180401/http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/11/03/gwyneth-paltrow-glee/. November 14, 2011. dead.
  6. News: Gwyneth Paltrow will sing Cee-Lo's 'Forget You' for 'Glee'. November 3, 2010. Matt. Donnelly. Los Angeles Times. November 9, 2010. November 9, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101109052550/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2010/11/gwyneth-paltrow-glee-cee-lo-green-forget-you.html. live.
  7. News: 'Glee' Season-Two Premiere Gets Into 'Empire State Of Mind'. Aly. Semigran. September 22, 2010. MTV News. MTV Networks. November 9, 2010. September 24, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100924184720/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1648408/20100922/jay_z.jhtml. dead.
  8. News: 'Glee' premiere: The music. Lisa. de Moraes. September 22, 2010. The Washington Post. November 9, 2010. October 6, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121006114115/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/tvblog/2010/09/glee-premiere-the-music.html. live.
  9. Web site: 'Glee' recap: Britney, Baby, One More Time. September 29, 2010. Tim. Stack. Entertainment Weekly. November 9, 2010. July 30, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130730211409/http://tvrecaps.ew.com/recap/glee-season-2-episode-2-britney/2/. live.
  10. Glee Playback: Britney Spears Makes for Mixed Results. Erica. Futterman. Rolling Stone. September 29, 2010. November 9, 2010. October 2, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101002204213/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/51942/212289. dead.
  11. Web site: 'Glee' episode 25 recap: 'Papa Can You Hear Me?' 'Grilled Cheesus' needs to keep the faith to itself. Anthony . Benigno. October 6, 2010. Daily News. November 9, 2010.
  12. Web site: Grilled Cheesus. Todd. VanDerWerff. October 5, 2010. The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc.. November 9, 2010. October 29, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101029190829/http://www.avclub.com/articles/grilled-cheesus%2C45902/. live.
  13. Web site: 'Glee,' Season 2, Episode 4, 'Duets': TV Recap. October 12, 2010. Raymund. Flandez. The Wall Street Journal. November 9, 2010. November 13, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101113143441/http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/10/12/glee-season-2-episode-4-duets-tv-recap/. live.
  14. Web site: 'Glee': 'River Deep, Mountain High' soars with Mercedes and Santana. October 13, 2010. Andrea. Reiher. Zap2it. November 9, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101115073212/http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2010/10/glee-river-deep-mountain-high-soars-with-mercedes-and-santana.html. November 15, 2010. dead.
  15. Web site: 'Glee': Sam and Quinn feel 'Lucky'. October 13, 2010. Hanh. Nguyen. Zap2it. November 9, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101118122343/http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2010/10/glee-sam-and-quinn-feel-lucky.html. November 18, 2010. dead.
  16. Glee' Playback: Kurt Makes Changes, and Bruno Mars Soundtracks a Wedding in 'Furt    . November 24, 2010. Erica. Futterman. Rolling Stone. November 27, 2010. November 26, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101126140607/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/68404/237356. live.
  17. Web site: Travie McCoy 'stoked' that 'Glee' is covering his summer smash 'Billionaire' on season premiere. September 21, 2010. Brad. Wete. Entertainment Weekly. January 23, 2011. November 23, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101123163923/http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/09/21/travie-mccoy-glee-billionaire/. live.
  18. News: Britney Spears Tweets About 'Glee' Tribute Episode. September 29, 2010. James. Dinh. MTV News. MTV Networks. November 9, 2010. November 14, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101114214732/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1648937/20100929/spears_britney.jhtml. dead.
  19. Web site: Video: Katy Perry: Glee's "Teenage Dream" Cover Made Me Cry. November 9, 2010. Allison. Corneau. Us Weekly. November 9, 2010. November 12, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101112012127/http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmusic/news/katy-perry-glees-teenage-dream-cover-made-me-cry-2010911. live.
  20. News: Cee Lo 'Flattered' By Gwyneth Paltrow's 'Glee' Cover. November 12, 2010. Mawuse. Ziegbe. MTV News. MTV Networks. November 13, 2010. November 14, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101114065411/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1652196/20101112/cee_lo.jhtml. dead.
  21. Boyle Back to No. 1 on Billboard 200, Peas Begin At No. 6. December 8, 2010. Keith. Caulfield. Billboard. December 9, 2010. December 13, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101213010017/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i9a98d83b8ff950ac662a591024359df5. live.
  22. Soundtracks: Week of December 18, 2010 (Biggest Jump). Billboard. December 9, 2010. November 19, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201119173838/https://www.billboard.com/charts/soundtracks/2010-12-18. live.
  23. Web site: Boyle battles Peas on charts. https://archive.today/20120710130346/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/B/Boyle_Susan/2010/12/08/16473781.html. usurped. July 10, 2012. December 8, 2010. John. Williams. JAM! Music. Canadian Online Explorer. December 9, 2010.
  24. Web site: ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart: 06/12/2010 . . December 5, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101208085332/http://ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display_album.asp?chart=1G50 . December 8, 2010 .
  25. Web site: Soundtrack / Glee Cast - Glee: The Music - Season Two - Volume 4 (Album). charts.nz. Hung Medien. December 7, 2010. May 20, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170520144140/http://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Soundtrack+%2F+Glee+Cast&titel=Glee%3A+The+Music+%2D+Season+Two+%2D+Volume+4&cat=a. live.
  26. Web site: Glee Cast: MP3 Downloads. Amazon . November 30, 2010. November 19, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201119173832/https://www.amazon.com/Glee-Cast/e/B002U0FLUW/digital/ref=ntt_mp3_rdr/140-1086015-2824952?_encoding=UTF8&sn=d. live.
  27. Hot 100: Week of November 27, 2010 (Biggest Jump). Billboard. November 18, 2010. July 8, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140708002246/http://www.billboard.com/charts/2010-11-27/hot-100?order=gainer. live.
  28. Canadian Hot 100: Week of November 27, 2010 (Biggest Jump). Billboard. November 18, 2010. May 24, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130524094247/http://www.billboard.com/charts/2010-11-27/canadian-hot-100?order=gainer. live.
  29. 'Glee's' 'Teenage Dream' Targeting Big Chart Bow Next Week. November 11, 2010. Keith. Caulfield. Billboard. November 12, 2010. May 23, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130523101106/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/951146/glees-teenage-dream-targeting-big-chart-bow-next-week. live.
  30. A 'Dream' Come True: 'Glee' Cast and Susan Boyle Top Charts. November 17, 2010. Keith. Caulfield. Billboard. November 18, 2010.
  31. Nielsen Music: Canadian Update (November 19, 2010) . November 19, 2010 . . November 17, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110409071903/http://en-ca.nielsen.com/content/dam/nielsen/en_ca/documents/pdf/newsletters/billboard_canadian-update/Nielsen%20Music%20Canadian%20Update.pdf . April 9, 2011 . dead .
  32. Hot 100: Week of October 16, 2010 (Biggest Jump). October 16, 2010. Billboard. November 9, 2010. September 22, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140922125115/http://www.billboard.com/charts/2010-10-16/hot-100?order=gainer. live.
  33. Canadian Hot 100: Week of October 16, 2010 (Biggest Jump). October 16, 2010. Billboard. November 9, 2010. May 25, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130525035341/http://www.billboard.com/charts/2010-10-16/canadian-hot-100?order=gainer. live.
  34. Chart Moves: Far East Movement, Bruno Mars, Neon Trees, Lil Wayne. October 7, 2010. Keith. Caulfield. Silvio. Pietroluongo. Billboard. November 9, 2010. October 11, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101011195029/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3ie6b00e94a5963b092282a49983b9d12f. live.
  35. Weekly Chart Notes: 'Glee,' Kenny Chesney, Phil Collins. October 7, 2010. Gary. Trust. Billboard. November 9, 2010. August 31, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140831045434/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/954793/weekly-chart-notes-glee-kenny-chesney-phil-collins. live.
  36. Web site: Discography Glee Cast . irish-charts.com. Hung Medien . November 9, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110713061250/http://irish-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Glee+Cast . July 13, 2011 .
  37. Web site: Discography Glee Cast . australian-charts.com. Hung Medien . November 9, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101030003255/http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Glee+Cast . October 30, 2010 .
  38. Chart Moves: 'Glee,' Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Far East Movement. September 30, 2010. Keith. Caulfield. Silvio. Pietroluongo. Billboard. November 9, 2010. November 19, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201119173841/https://www.billboard.com/business/. live.
  39. 'Glee' Cast Breaks Beatles' Hot 100 Record. October 6, 2010. Gary. Trust. Billboard. November 9, 2010. October 1, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121001172337/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/news/e3i536de76b303d74fe790afd02bc807571. live.
  40. Chart Moves: Far East Movement, "Glee," Susan Boyle, Josh Groban. November 18, 2010. Keith. Caulfield. Silvio. Pietroluongo. Billboard. November 18, 2010. November 23, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101123031932/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i3b8c335aabd06374e41aa285cbcda763. live.
  41. Glee Cast. “Glee The Music Volume 4”. Columbia / 20th-Century Fox TV. 2010.
  42. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2010. Australian Recording Industry Association. May 19, 2021.
  43. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 2010. Recorded Music NZ. February 6, 2022.
  44. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2011. Australian Recording Industry Association. May 19, 2021.
  45. Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2011. Billboard. May 19, 2021. January 2, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150102172038/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2011/top-canadian-albums. live.
  46. Web site: Los Mas Vendidos 2011 . . 19 January 2012 . es . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120131103352/http://www.amprofon.com.mx/Archivos/PDF/top_anual/Top_100_Album_2011.pdf . January 31, 2012 .
  47. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 2011. Recorded Music NZ. February 8, 2022.
  48. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2011. Official Charts Company. May 19, 2021.
  49. Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2011. Billboard. May 19, 2021. February 3, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150203024147/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2011/top-billboard-200-albums. live.
  50. Soundtracks – Year-End 2011. Billboard. May 19, 2021. January 2, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150102154459/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2011/top-soundtracks-albums. live.
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