Firework (Glee Cast) - Day 42

When Glee began on Fox in May of 2009, it immediately delivered what the title of show promised – glee. It was a mirror of a wishful high school experience that nearly every gay geek could ever want; to be popular as part of the underdog extracurricular. Speaking for me though, and maybe for Chris, we were watching these enormously talented kids sing till their hearts swelled, while simultaneously living through provocative, important stories of failure, acceptance, anxiety and lust. I think any fan of Glee could find a part of themselves in Rachel or Kurt or Mercedes or Finn. And some, maybe, even found a piece of themselves in all. Every song sung by Lea Michele, the Spring Awakening star who breathed life into the effervescent but insecure Rachel Berry, is perfection. When Rachel sings something that’s concurrently on pop radio, you’re amazed at how beautifully, how masterfully she sings it, and how much heart and soul she brings to it. Whether it’s by Barbra or Celine, from Les Mis or Cabaret, or a song that’s never quite made it to the charts, Michele, as Berry, makes it an instant classic. I have a playlist of favorites, as it’s impossible to pick just one, or just five. This post, therefore, celebrates all the songs sung by this mesmerizingly talented girl, but the video is that of Katy Perry’s Firework, as an anthem to the dreamer in all of us.