Tonight is the big start of The Glee Project 2012, the reality competition companion to the ever-popular Glee. The Glee Project season 2 cast consists of fourteen hopefuls rather than last season’s twelve as co-creator Ryan Murphy couldn’t bring himself to cut everyone from the last round.
WARNING: THE GLEE PROJECT SEASON 2 SPOILERS AHEAD!
Please stop reading here if you do not want The Glee Project season 2 spoilers for the premiere episode!
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The Glee Project season two cast is definitely a diverse one, ranging in ages from 18 to 24 with many interesting backstories, including a contestant who is transgendered, another who is paralyzed from the waist down, and another who went blind at the age of nine.
The Glee Project season 2 starts with the contestants meeting up with each other. Clearly they all remember each other from casting as they rejoice with every new person through the door which leads me to believe this is the first time they are seeing who made it after the final round from The Glee Project 2012 casting. They get to stay in a pretty cool dorm. I find reality competitions glamourize living quarters a bit too much in my humble opinion. Aylin (who was raised in a Turkish Muslim family) is just excited that they casted so many hot guys. Can’t blame her.
Glee/Glee Project casting director Robert Ulrich shows up to introduce this week’s theme: Individuality! Well they clearly all have that so checkmate. This week’s homework song…Lady Gaga, Born This Way, natch. He also reveals that the group has to assign lyrics and do choreography. Someone suggests the time honored tradition of rock, paper, scissors to help assign lyrics. Which shockingly works…for now!
In the practice room they anxiously await the arrival of the first Glee Project Season 2 guest mentor. And it’s…co-creator Ryan Murphy? He reveals that his year there will be only one winner as opposed to last year’s two (and two runner-ups). He also reveals the other mentor for the week: Glee cast member Lea Michelle. Cue group freak-out. She advises the group to let their “geek flag fly.” And fly it does when they present their first performance. It’s actually pretty impressive how quickly they throw the songs together on their own.
Lea is impressed by androgynous Dani, bubbly Shanna, Mario (who is blind), and Lily Mae. The winner is…Shanna! They also reveal the first big group number: Here I Go Again by 80’s mainstay Whitesnake. Fortunately the video concept does not involve Tawny Kitane writhing on a car top.
Zach Woodlee is back for The Glee Project 2012 as choreographer along with someone else named Brooke. It’s interesting to see how Mario learns the choreography by feeling the dance movements as someone else does them. Tyler, who is transgendered, admits to being the weakest dancer as he is still adjusting to his new body.
Nikki Anders is also back as vocal producer for The Glee Project 2012. And she’s pregnant! Not that that this affects anything, but she is glowing as one performer points out. Taryn has no confidence but she just flew on a plane for the first time so I would still be nervous by life in general too. Shanna has the daunting task of belting out the “gooooo” at the end of the “Here I goooooo” line and nails it. (You know what part I’m talking about, 80’s hair metalheads.) And Maxfield, a country music lover who seemed a little baffled by the Lady Gaga homework, struggles a bit.
Erik White, back for The Glee Project season 2 as the video director, reveals the video concept: a glee club performing in a high school. Makes sense, yeah? But it does transition to a rocking performance. Taryn continues to struggle a bit. Blake feels confident and it shows! Star quality! Aylin is disconnected. Maybe the hot guys are distracting her? Shanna continues to rock. The group then gets glam rocked out and I am brought back to the old days of MTV. Tyler is just worried he will slip on the glitter on the floor. That seems like the kind of thing I would do so I now love him. Max is still not doing so hot and seems destined for the bottom three. The final product is pretty good. Not everyone stands out but those who do are memorable. I never realized how inspirational this song is. I think the original video took a way from that a bit. (Sorry, Tawny.)
It’s time for bottom three for the first episode of The Glee Project 2012 to be revealed but first we congratulate Shanna for topping the callback list. No shock there! She is joined by everyone but Aylin, Maxfield and Tyler. Thus proving my boyfriend’s theory yet again that the bottom is revealed throughout the show by screen time. For the last chance songs Aylin will be performing Without You; Maxfield, Always on my Mind; and Tyler, ABC. (By the Jackson 5, not the alphabet song.)
Aylin is up for the first last chance song round of The Glee Project season 2 and delivers a strong performance then banters well with Ryan. He outs her as a flirt, which I can identify with so I am now rooting for her. Tyler has a good energy. Ryan loves his story but isn’t feeling his talent. Man, Ryan is blunt! Max sounds good but clearly is not a performer, though he is “authentic ”and “charming” as Ryan points out. So it comes down to perennial Ryan question: can they inspire a character on Glee?
Ultimately it comes down to sending one person out of the dorms and cast of The Glee Project 2012…or will it be two? Of course he had to throw that in there! Robert comes in to tell them the list is up. Poor guy always has to deliver the blows. And the first person not called back for episode of The Glee Project 2 is…Maxfield. Which is a bummer but as I admitted I have a soft spot for clumsy Tyler now so I’m OK with it.
And thus ends our first The Glee Project recap for season 2! The previews for the season look promising. And full of high notes. And low falls. And Nikki’s stomach getting bigger. And a possible shomance! (That’s a romance on a show.) Good times ahead!
Join us next week on GossipandGab.com for more The Glee Project 2012 recaps. Bookmark us or friend us on Facebook or Twitter for all our latest updates.
I for one was glad to get rid of Tawny Kitaen, she was seriously ruining my paint job!
It’s hard to imagine anything funnier than an overly-sensitive, washed-up old has-been flipping her shit over an offhand comment on a Glee blog. But then you have the rabid FANS of said washed-up old has-been stumbling on over here en masse to amuse us with their batshit crazy. Hilarity ensues.
I’d congratulate you folks, but I’m not sure it’s much of an accomplishment to be more unintentionally hilarious than you are pathetic.
Too true. This is just a blog, not the NY Times. Why is Tawny so upset over it? Does she really care what Alison Carley thinks of her? Tawny is making a huge fuss over nothing.
Why do people want to hate on Tawny? She contributed to two iconic rock groups ( RATT &WHITE SNAKE) and an Oscar winners career! Tom Hanks in Bachelor Party. One of the top cultural films (ie: changed the views or language of the nation) of the 80′s along with Top Gun, Risky Business, Porky’s and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Come on that Hot Dog scene is legendary! Oh Tawny was the lead actor in Bachelor Party. Thank You!
Tom Hanks wouldn’t have won any Oscars had it not been for his role opposite Tawdry ****aen!! Absolutely no one else could have been cast in that role either her acting talent was so memorable….and look where she is now…a has been that never was, desperately clinging on an insignificant mention of her name…how pathetic!! Oh, yeah…she made his career…and was directly responsible for the success of all those movies 80′s movies!! Wow…you TawnTawns are so smart!!
Geez…seems like even a little attention is good attention when desperation for attention sets in…Or maybe she just doesn’t know what “unsolicited” means!! Sometimes the Queen of Mean gets a dose of her own medicine…so funny that all these little anonymous followers thinking there’s a halo over her head…now that’s good acting!!
Tawny Kitaen@Tawny_Kitaen
2all U who wrote the nicest things ie me2that MEAN journalist sayn such mean things ie meThkx4noin the song wouldn’t worked w/out the video!
12 Jun Tawny Kitaen@Tawny_Kitaen
If u did stick up4me&write a nice comment2her ie me, I so appreciate&I thank u4takin the time4bring a little ray of sunshine2my
“Unsolicited” comments?? LOL!! “Let’s get a gang of TawnTawns”…do you think you’re still the bully in elementary school?? Apparently, it doesn’t take much to get under your skin now…the reporters comments were benign. If you had anything going on with your “career”, and I use that term loosely, you wouldn’t have time to latch onto someone barely mentioning your name…but I guess when you don’t, this is a big important thing in your life! Hey, thanks for always speaking the truth, Tawdry!! You always do!!
Tawny Kitaen@Tawny_Kitaen
Here’s the link. http://gossipandgab.com/author/alison-carleyWhat do YOU think? Comment & let her know. Thanks for all your support, I love you guys
5:33 PM – 12 Jun 12via web · Details
12 Jun Tawny Kitaen@Tawny_Kitaen
I’ll send the link2the ridiculous review from this woman. “Comment” to her 4 me, will you? Ask her why she thinks the song even got popular!
Tawny Kitaen@Tawny_Kitaen
@dwr_55 @thereallyndadc @susan_blakely DWR darling help me get this wan that wrote that mean thing about me. Let’s get s gang of tawntawns!!
12 Jun Tawny Kitaen@Tawny_Kitaen
So, some “Journalist” wrote a review about Glee tonight That the video “Fortunately”doesn’t have anything2do w/me on top of a car. Mean Girl
You are awesome.
I truly appreciate all the wonderful, supportive and unsolicited comments that you have posted. I have always believed that it’s important to take the time to say “Thank You”, so if each of you would take a moment and tweet me @Tawny_Kitaen, and mention that you commented on this article, it would be my pleasure to personally answer each and every one of you! xoxo Tawny Kitaen
I agree with what Tawny said…she said it perfectly! And Tawny really was a huge
part of that video and song too. And she’s a cool lady too!!
Tawny made the Here I Go Again video a classic. Without her, the video wouldn’t have
had the impact it did have. Tawny is a cultural icon. Even if she wasn’t, she would still
deserve more respect than she was shown in your review.
What is it with “journalists” and critics? Years ago, there was a movie called “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies” where David Niven played a theatre critic and Doris Day played his stay-at-home wife. Niven had always been a fair critic but at some point, he found out he could get more attention by being nasty. First of all, Glee Project? I’m surprised I even came across this review since the whole Glee phenomena is like a bargain basement version of Fame and its subsequent tv series based on the movie and everything about the parent show Glee is designed to push people’s buttons and offend people who have any good and noble sensibility. And they dare to have a spin-off program? Including such tasteless tributes as to Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way”? Give me a break! But then the attacks get personal against Tawny Kitaen? Hell! she was what put Whitesnake on the map! What happened? Did the writer lose a boyfriend to someone who he compared to Tawny or something?
Clearly the author has no idea how hard it is to look smoking hot while slithering atop a car. It’s really, really hard…I’ve tried. Don’t talk smack about my girl Tawney! She worked that car biatch.
“I never realized how inspirational this song is. I think the original video took a way from that a bit. (Sorry, Tawny.)”
I think what Alison is trying to say is that the song by itself is a gem, and the video was more about sex appeal and rock n roll indulgence. I can see why Tawny and her fans would be miffed by the comment, but I don’t think Alison meant to offend. When I hear “Here I Go Again” on the radio, I feel a kinship with Coverdale, because I know what it’s like to walk alone. I don’t think of a pretty woman doing cartwheels on the hood of two Jaguars whenever I hear that song.
Yeah! What Tawny said! Boom.
Tawny is an icon! She is what you remember about the song. Back in the 80s all the bands looked sort of alike with the hair. Tawny is what you remember the most. Glee would have been lucky to have an appearance by her.
I love Tawny, that video would have been zilch without her. Why do you think that even now, so many years later, that “Here I Go Again” is still so popular? It’s a great song but Tawny’s performance in it is what we all remember. Please be kind and remember she has feelings too.
Damn Alison! The Tawny Kitaen comment was uncalled for. I for one looked foward to that Whitesnake video daily for inspiration, and believe me, it wasn’t for the song itself. If you only knew how jealous I was of all the attention that Mr. Coverdale and the hood of that car was getting from one of the most beautiful and sexy women of our time. My horns are in the air for you Ms. Kitaen! \m/(>.<)\m/ Alison I think Tawny deserves an apology. Be nice and do the right thing.
Billy Staab
Philadelphia, PA \m/
Dear Alison ~are u familiar with the 80s? You cant talk about Here I go and bash Ms Kitaen. She and that video are iconic. I know you were writing about Glee but that was soooo high school girl of you. Didn’t make sense to me that you would knock her. Tawny is a kind and thoughtful woman.
#Respect
Paige
Wow. The comment re. Tawny Kitaen was uncalled for. Not sure why such a jibe was deemed necessary, jealous much? Perhaps if Tawny had re-enacted the Here… video for the show it might have injected some charisma and personality…
Alison,
You are entitled to your opinion, but in my opinion, Tawny is what makes the Whitesnake videos memorable. Her grace and beauty were integral parts that made those videos stand out from the rest.
JMHO
Look in the mirror and wish you were her
I think you are jellous of Tawny. She was and still is a sex symble for many of us. She was just a young gal back then and has bloomed into a beautifull woman and mother. Why the sour grapes? would love to see you do the music video that she did .Bwaaaaaaahahahahahaha!
Alison,
Just read what you wrote, and it hit me. Why would someone write something so mean about someone they’ve never ever met? “Fortunately”, I have a solution. I’m on Twitter – you’re on twitter. DM me @Tawny_Kitaen, I would love to get to know you – we might actually become friends. Then the next thing you write about me might actually be something positive.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Tawny Kitaen
I don’t have Oxygen,but by way of sister network Bravo,I saw this episode last Sunday! It was pretty cool,but I think you could have used Miss Tawny to be on top of a car just for moral support for those kids! Are you trying to say Miss Tawny isn’t worthy of a little”Glee”or”The Glee Project”love? How Dare You!
You tell her, Tawny! She doesn’t have a clue on how iconic Here I Go Again is as a song or video, and your part in it all has helped keep that song famous for 25 years! She shouldn’t have dissed you like that! The song is gonna get popular again with Rock of Ages movie coming out, far more than this Glee project even will. See this video over and over in your dreams lady. Here I Go Again forever!