Media Life Magazine - For media buyers and Planners

TV This Week

The song’s still the thing for ‘Glee’

'Shout' becomes the 500th tune performed on Fox show

By Louisa Ada Seltzer

March 7, 2013

Share |

glee It seems like just yesterday that the New Directions glee club at William McKinley High School, aka the home base for “Glee,” was discovering Journey songs for the first time.

Tonight they sing their 500th on-camera song in a special episode airing at 9:30 p.m. rather than the usual 9 p.m. start. The time is being pushed back by an extended 90-minute edition of “American Idol” at 8 p.m.

The spotlight song will be “Shout,” the theme song from “Animal House,” as the glee club members are asked to sing something from a favorite film.

That “Glee” has already performed 500 songs in just four seasons is astounding, but even more impressive is the life those songs have taken on beyond the show. “Glee” has produced more than 20 albums, some of them specialties like the Madonna, Britney Spears and “Rocky Horror Picture Show” soundtracks.

Others feature individual performers, like The Warblers, an all-boy group that New Directions competes against.

All the albums have, incredibly, been best-sellers on iTunes, where the first album remains the all-time biggest seller, followed by the show’s first Christmas album.

“Shout” already ranks as the No. 3 “Glee” song before tonight’s episode has even aired.

The cast of “Glee” is among the top 10 best-selling digital artists of all time, moving more than 40 million individual songs and 11 million albums.

Alas, the show’s TV ratings have not held up as well as its music sales. “Glee” is averaging a 2.2 adults 18-49 Nielsen rating this season, down 27 percent from a 3.0 last season.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
THURSDAY, MARCH 7
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	Fox	“American Idol” (R)	This season’s finalists are selected.
8 p.m.	CBS	“The Big Bang Theory” (C)	Leonard, Sheldon and Howard chat with a group of middle school girls about careers in science.
9 p.m.	Animal Planet	“Battleground: Rhino Wars” (A)	First of a three-episode miniseries about rhino poachers in South Africa.
9 p.m.	A&E	“The First 48″ (R)	Police search for the person who shot and killed a girl at her 14th birthday party.
9:30 p.m.	Fox	“Glee” (D)	In a later-than-usual special the club is told to perform a song from a movie.
10 p.m.	TBS	“King of the Nerds” (R)	Season finale. Final episode of the season features a maze and trivia before the winner is selected.
FRIDAY, MARCH 8
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	NBC	“Fashion Star” (R)	Season premiere. Louise Roe takes over as host of the reality fashion competition.
9 p.m.	CW	“Cult” (D)	The new drama moves to its new Friday timeslot.
9 p.m.	Fox	“Touch” (D)	Three years of looking for Amelia begins to take its toll on Lucy.
9 p.m.	NBC	“Grimm” (D)	In the spring premiere Renard has a new ally after finding Nick’s trailer.
10 p.m.	CBS	“Blue Bloods” (D)	A Bonnie-and-Clyde-style couple causes havoc for Danny.
10:30 p.m.	ESPN	“NBA Basketball” (S)	Interesting matchup between a pair of young and fun-to-watch teams, the Rockets and the Warriors.
SATURDAY, MARCH 9
Time	Network	Program	Description
12 p.m.	ESPN	“College Basketball” (S)	The final regular season matchup between rivals Syracuse and Georgetown before the Orange move to the ACC.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Cops” (S)	Cops find an old man who collapsed after crashing his car.
8 p.m.	Lifetime	“Restless Virgins” (M)	New original based on a true story about a sex scandal at a prep school.
9 p.m.	ESPN	“College Basketball” (S)	Rivals Duke and North Carolina face off in Chapel Hill.
9 p.m.	Syfy	“Flying Monkeys” (M)	A girl’s pet monkey turns evil. And judging by the title, it flies.
11:30 p.m.	NBC	“Saturday Night Live” (C)	Justin Timberlake hosts and serves as musical guest.
SUNDAY, MARCH 10
Time	Network	Program	Description
1 p.m.	ABC	“NBA Basketball” (S)	This weekend’s doubleheader showcases Celtics-Thunder, then Bulls-Lakers.
8 p.m.	Fox	“The Simpsons” (C)	Lisa thinks a substitute teacher is bullying her.
9 p.m.	Lifetime	“Army Wives” (D)	Season premiere. The folks of Fort Marshall mourn a loss.
9 p.m.	AMC	“The Walking Dead” (D)	A peace agreement between Rick and the Governor could be in the works.
10 p.m.	Oxygen	“Snapped: Killer Couples” (N)	Series premiere. Telling the stories of couples who commit crimes together.
10 p.m.	Lifetime	“The Client List” (D)	Season premiere. A judge becomes one of Riley’s new clients.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.