The Glee Project

Reality television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Glee Project is an American reality television series from Oxygen. It served as an audition for the Fox musical comedy series Glee, and the prize for the winner was a minimum seven-episode arc in the following season of the show. The show's first season premiered in the US on June 12, 2011, and concluded on August 21, 2011. In Canada, the series began airing on Slice on June 26, 2011, and in the UK, the series began airing on Sky 1 on July 14, 2011. A second season aired in the US from June 5 to August 14, 2012. In July 2013, the series was cancelled after two seasons.[1]

Created byRyan Murphy
Presented byRobert Ulrich
JudgesRyan Murphy
Robert Ulrich
Zach Woodlee
Nikki Anders
Ian Brennan
Narrated byIan Brennan
Quick facts Created by, Presented by ...
The Glee Project
Created byRyan Murphy
Presented byRobert Ulrich
JudgesRyan Murphy
Robert Ulrich
Zach Woodlee
Nikki Anders
Ian Brennan
Narrated byIan Brennan
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes21 (plus 2 specials)
Production
Executive producersMichael Davies
Shauna Minoprio
Ryan Murphy
Dante Di Loreto
ProducerRyan Murphy
Running time44 minutes
Production companiesEmbassy Row
Ryan Murphy Productions
Original release
NetworkOxygen
ReleaseJune 12, 2011 (2011-06-12) –
August 14, 2012 (2012-08-14)
Related
Glee
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Glee executive producers Ryan Murphy and Dante Di Loreto executive produced for The Glee Project. Glee's casting director, Robert J. Ulrich, was casting director for the project, while Glee's on-screen non-speaking accompanist, Brad Ellis, helping Ulrich coach 80 potential candidates as seen in the music segment of "The Top 12" special that led into the pilot episode of season 1.[2][3]

Contest process

Each episode of The Glee Project was given an overall theme and covered events that had taken place in about the time span of a week. The following is how the events were broadcast.

Homework assignment

Contestants were given a "homework assignment" that entailed learning and practicing segments of a chosen song. At the beginning of each episode, contestants performed their respective parts of the song in front of a mystery guest judge from the Glee cast. The contestant that completed the homework best was given a one-on-one session with the guest star and a principal part in the music video.

Music video (group performance)

Contestants then created a music video "inspired by the performances on Glee". In preparation for the music video, contestants recorded parts of a song in a professional studio with vocal producer Nikki Anders (née Hassman). They also learned choreography from Zach Woodlee and Brooke Lipton, his assistant. The entire process was overseen by Glee's casting director Robert J. Ulrich.

Callbacks

During callbacks, the top performing contestants were revealed. They were complimented on their performances and immediately called back. Then the remaining ones were critiqued by Robert J. Ulrich and Zach Woodlee, and also in the second season by Nikki Anders, about their performances. (Anders substituted for Woodlee in Ep. 8 of the first season.) Then the bottom three contestants were revealed as others were added to the callback list. They were then each assigned a different song that they will perform in hopes of being "saved".

During season 1, Nikki visited each of the bottom in their dressing/rehearsal room to provide last minute feedback and a pep talk.

Last chance performance

The bottom three of the week performed their assigned songs in front of Ryan Murphy himself. With input from Woodlee, Ulrich, and Anders (in the second season) a decision was made and one of the bottom three was eliminated.

During the next to last episode of each season Ryan didn't include the mentors; instead he invited co-creator Ian Brennan to join him. In the final episodes, Murphy, Woodlee, Ulrich, Anders, and Brennan were also joined by several of the guest mentors, writers, and cast members.

Final callbacks

Unlike most reality competition shows, contestants were not directly informed of their elimination, nor did they wait for extended tension-filled pauses to hear the results one by one. Rather, the bottom three were notified when "the list is up" and discovered their fate as they found their name on the list. Afterwards, the eliminated contestant sang lead vocals in "Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne with the remaining contestants singing the background vocals.

Season one (2011)

Although originally planned to begin broadcasting in late May 2011, The Glee Project premiered on June 12, 2011, and aired a two-hour extended premiere where the first hour showed the audition process and selection of the twelve contenders, and the second hour was the first episode of the series. The Canadian and UK premieres were also in the same two-hour extended format: in Canada, the series began airing on Slice on June 26, 2011, and in the UK, the series began airing on Sky One on July 14, 2011.

Damian McGinty and Samuel Larsen were both proclaimed the winners of the first season, each winning a seven-episode arc. Runners-up Lindsay Pearce and Alex Newell were given prizes of a two-episode arc on Glee, and Cameron Mitchell, who quit the competition in episode 7, won the "fan favorite" competition and the associated $10,000 prize.[4] Pearce's two-episode arc, as a Rachel Berry-esque girl named Harmony, consisted of the season premiere episode "The Purple Piano Project" and the eighth episode "Hold On to Sixteen", while McGinty began his arc as Rory Flanagan, an Irish exchange student, in the fourth episode "Pot o' Gold"; McGinty was retained on the show beyond his seven-episode prize. Larsen debuted on Glee in the thirteenth episode, "Heart", as a transfer student named Joe Hart,[5] also appearing beyond his original seven-episode stint. Newell's first appearance was in the April 17, 2012, episode "Saturday Night Glee-ver". They played Wade Adams, a transgender member of the rival Vocal Adrenaline show choir, and appeared briefly in "Props", returning a few more times before transferring to McKinley High for the series' fourth season and becoming a series regular for its fifth season.

McGinty, Larsen, Pearce, and Newell were chosen to sing on the 2011 Glee Christmas album, Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2.[6]

Contenders

More information Contender, Age ...
Contender Age Hometown Result Date eliminated References
Samuel Larsen 19 Los Angeles, California Winner N/a [7]
Damian McGinty, Jr. 18 Derry, Northern Ireland Winner N/a [8]
Lindsay Pearce 19 Modesto, California Runner-up N/a [9]
Alex Newell 18 Lynn, Massachusetts Runner-up N/a [10]
Hannah McIalwain 19 Asheville, North Carolina 8th eliminated August 7, 2011 (2011-08-07) [11]
Cameron Mitchell 21 Fort Worth, Texas 7th eliminated July 31, 2011 (2011-07-31) [12][13]
Marissa von Bleicken 19 New York, New York 6th eliminated July 24, 2011 (2011-07-24) [14]
Matheus Fernandes 19 Atlanta, Georgia 5th eliminated July 17, 2011 (2011-07-17) [15][16]
Miki Abraham 19 Paducah, Kentucky 4th eliminated July 10, 2011 (2011-07-10) [17]
Emily Vásquez 22 New York, New York 3rd eliminated June 26, 2011 (2011-06-26) [18]
Ellis Wylie 18 Grayslake, Illinois 2nd eliminated June 19, 2011 (2011-06-19) [19][20]
Bryce Ross-Johnson 22 Westlake Village, California 1st eliminated June 12, 2011 (2011-06-12) [21]
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Episodes

More information No. in series, No. in season ...
No. in
series		 No. in
season		 Title Original air date Overnight viewers
(millions)		 Eliminated
10"The Top 12"June 12, 2011 (2011-06-12)N/AN/A
A casting special showing the selection process of the new series.
21"Individuality"June 12, 2011 (2011-06-12)0.455[22]Bryce

Note: John Ross Bowie made a cameo appearance reprising his role as Dennis, the school photographer, in the music video.

32"Theatricality"June 19, 2011 (2011-06-19)0.527[22]Ellis

43"Vulnerability"June 26, 2011 (2011-06-26)0.591[23]Emily

54"Dance Ability"July 10, 2011 (2011-07-10)0.745[24]McKynleigh

65"Pairability"July 17, 2011 (2011-07-17)0.810[25]Matheus

76"Tenacity"July 24, 2011 (2011-07-24)1.270[26]Marissa

Note: Guest mentor Max Adler also made a cameo appearance reprising his role as Dave Karofsky in the music video.

87"Sexuality"July 31, 2011 (2011-07-31)0.790[25]Cameron

Note: Ryan Murphy revealed to Cameron that by withdrawing from the competition, he had saved Damian from elimination.

98"Believability"August 7, 2011 (2011-08-07)0.912[27]Hannah

109"Generosity"August 14, 2011 (2011-08-14)0.920[25]N/A

No elimination this week

1110"Glee-ality"August 21, 2011 (2011-08-21)1.240[28]N/A

Note: All previously eliminated contestants made cameo appearances in the music video. The eliminated contestants also sang backup for the homework assignment.
Runners-up and earning 2 episode arcs on Glee: Alex Newell & Lindsay Pearce
Winners of the series and earning 7 episode arcs on Glee: Samuel Larsen & Damian McGinty

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Contender progress

More information Contestant, Episode ...
ContestantEpisode
12345678910
Samuel HIGH HIGH HIGH W/H HIGH HIGH WIN RISK RISK Winner
Damian RISK SAFE RISK HIGH RISK HIGH SAVED LOW RISK Winner
Lindsay HIGH HIGH LOW HIGH RISK HIGH LOW RISK W/R Runner-Up
Alex HIGH W/H HIGH RISK RISK RISK RISK HIGH RISK Runner-Up
Hannah SAFE SAFE HIGH SAFE RISK LOW HIGH W/E
Cameron HIGH HIGH RISK LOW RISK RISK QUIT
Marissa SAFE HIGH HIGH HIGH W/H W/E
Matheus W/H RISK W/H RISK ELIM
McKynleigh SAFE RISK HIGH ELIM
Emily HIGH SAFE ELIM
Ellis RISK ELIM
Bryce ELIM
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Key

 SAFE   The contender was not at risk of elimination.
 WIN  The contender won the homework assignment and was not at risk of elimination.
 W/R  The contender won the homework assignment but was at risk of being eliminated.
 RISK  The contender sang for Ryan and was immediately safe.
 RISK  The contender was at risk of being eliminated.
 ELIM  The contender was eliminated.
 W/E  The contender won the homework assignment but was eliminated.
 QUIT  The contender quit the competition.
 SAVED  The contender was to be eliminated, but was saved due to another contender quitting.
 WINNER  The contender won a 7-episode arc on Glee.
 HIGH  The contender was called back without any notes.
 W/H  The contender won the homework assignment and was high on the main challenge.
 W/L  The contender won the homework assignment and was low on the main challenge.
 LOW  The contender was in risk of going to the bottom three but was ultimately safe. Used from the third episode forward when 4 people are being judged.
 RUNNER-UP  The contender won a 2-episode arc on Glee.

Season two (2012)

Casting for a second season was announced after the first season finale. The season pickup was confirmed on January 17, 2012, at which time it was stated that the second season would feature fourteen contestants, an increase of two from the twelve in the first season.[29] On January 21, 2012, Lea Michele revealed that she would be the guest mentor for the season premiere.[30] Other guest mentors would include season 1 co-winner Samuel Larsen (Joe Hart), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray) and returning season 1 mentors Darren Criss (Blaine Anderson) and Kevin McHale (Artie Abrams).[31][32]

The second season premiered in the US on June 5, 2012, and ran for eleven weeks, concluding on August 14, 2012.[33] There was one winner for the season: Blake Jenner won the seven-episode arc on Glee. He made his first appearance in the fifth episode of season four, "The Role You Were Born to Play", as a McKinley student named Ryder Lynn.[34] He was a recurring character for 18 episodes on season 4 and was promoted to series regular on season 5.[35] Ali Stroker, the runner up, made an appearance in the fourth season episode, "I Do", as Betty Pillsbury.

Dani Shay, who was the third person eliminated, was previously a contestant on America's Got Talent (season 6) going as far as the quarter-finals.

Contenders

More information Contender, Age ...
Contender Age Hometown Result Date eliminated References
Blake Jenner 19 Miami, Florida Winner N/a [36][37]
Ali Stroker 24 New York, New York Runner-up N/a [38][39]
Aylin Bayramoglu 19 Chicago, Illinois Runner-up N/a [40][41]
Lily Mae Harrington 19 Dennis, Massachusetts 11th eliminated August 7, 2012 (2012-08-07) [42][43]
Michael Weisman 18 Chicago, Illinois 10th eliminated August 7, 2012 (2012-08-07) [44][45]
Shanna Henderson 21 Auburn, Alabama 9th eliminated July 31, 2012 (2012-07-31) [46][47]
Abraham Lim 24 San Diego, California 8th eliminated July 24, 2012 (2012-07-24) [38][48]
Nellie Veitenheimer 19 Tacoma, Washington 7th eliminated July 17, 2012 (2012-07-17) [49][50]
Charlie Lubeck 22 Chicago, Illinois 6th eliminated July 10, 2012 (2012-07-10) [51][52]
Mario Bonds 24 Lanham, Maryland 5th eliminated July 3, 2012 (2012-07-03) [53][54]
Tyler Ford 21 Boca Raton, Florida 4th eliminated June 26, 2012 (2012-06-26) [55][56]
Dani Shay 23 Orlando, Florida 3rd eliminated June 12, 2012 (2012-06-12) [57][58]
Taryn Douglas 22 Detroit, Michigan 2nd eliminated June 12, 2012 (2012-06-12) [59][60]
Maxfield Camp 22 Nashville, Tennessee 1st eliminated June 5, 2012 (2012-06-05) [61][62]
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Episodes

More information No. in series, No. in season ...
No. in
series		 No. in
season		 Title Original air date Overnight viewers
(millions)		 Eliminated
120"The Glee Project Season 2: The Final 14"[63]June 2, 2012 (2012-06-02)[64]N/AN/A

A casting special showing the selection process of the second season.

Note: Judges Robert Ulrich and Zach Woodlee made cameo appearances as themselves in the music video.

131"Individuality"[63]June 5, 2012 (2012-06-05)[64]0.389[65]Maxfield

Note: Iqbal Theba made a cameo appearance reprising his role as Principal Figgins in the music video.[67]

142"Dance-ability"[68]June 12, 2012 (2012-06-12)[68]0.474[69]Taryn and Dani

Note: Taryn withdrew from the competition prior to the homework assignment.

153"Vulnerability"[71]June 19, 2012 (2012-06-19)[71]0.487[72]N/A

No elimination this week

164"Sexuality"[71]June 26, 2012 (2012-06-26)[71]0.640[73]Tyler

Note: Mary Gillis made a cameo appearance reprising her role as Mrs. Hagberg in the music video.[74]

175"Adaptability"[75]July 3, 2012 (2012-07-03)[75]0.495[76]Mario

186"Fearlessness"[78]July 10, 2012 (2012-07-10)[79]0.507[80]Charlie

Note: Rock Anthony made a cameo appearance reprising his role as Rick "The Stick" Nelson in the music video.

197"Theatricality"[78]July 17, 2012 (2012-07-17)0.342[83]Nellie

Note: For the music video, each contestant was assigned the role of a musical icon: Abraham played David Bowie, Ali was Katy Perry, Aylin was Madonna, Blake was Boy George, Lily was Cyndi Lauper, Michael was Elvis, Nellie was Britney Spears and Shanna was Lady Gaga.

208"Tenacity"[78]July 24, 2012 (2012-07-24)[84]0.357[85]Abraham

219"Romanticality"[78]July 31, 2012 (2012-07-31)[32]0.339[86]Shanna

Note: Nuno Bettencourt from Extreme accompanied the contenders on guitar during the homework assignment. Iqbal Theba made a cameo appearance reprising his role as Principal Figgins in the music video.[87]

2210"Actability"[88]August 7, 2012 (2012-08-07)[88]0.447[89]Michael and Lily Mae

2311"Glee-ality"[78]August 14, 2012 (2012-08-14)[32]0.821[90]N/A

Note: Damian McGinty made a cameo appearance reprising his role as Rory Flanagan in the music video, as did all the previously eliminated contestants from the second season.[91] The eliminated contestants also sang backup for the homework assignment.[92] Winner of the series and earning a 7-episode arc on Glee: Blake Jenner

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Contender progress

More information Contestant, Episode ...
ContestantEpisode
1234567891011
Blake HIGH HIGH FIRST HIGH RISK SAFE HIGH HIGH W/R RISK WINNER
Ali HIGH SAFE LOW HIGH RISK HIGH W/F W/H HIGH RISK RUNNER-UP
Aylin RISK HIGH HIGH HIGH W/H RISK HIGH LOW RISK RISK RUNNER-UP
Lily Mae SAFE RISK RISK HIGH HIGH W/H RISK RISK HIGH OUT
Michael HIGH HIGH HIGH RISK HIGH LOW LOW RISK LOW W/O
Shanna W/F HIGH HIGH LOW HIGH SAFE HIGH HIGH OUT
Abraham HIGH W/L HIGH HIGH RISK SAFE RISK OUT
Nellie HIGH LOW W/L FIRST RISK RISK OUT
Charlie HIGH SAFE RISK W/R RISK OUT
Mario SAFE SAFE RISK HIGH OUT
Tyler RISK RISK HIGH OUT
Dani HIGH OUT
Taryn LOW QUIT
Maxfield OUT
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Key

 SAFE   The contender was not at risk of elimination.
 WIN  The contender won the homework assignment and was not at risk of elimination.
 FIRST  The contender was called first on the callback list.
 W/H  The contender won the homework assignment and was HIGH on the main challenge.
 W/F  The contender won the homework assignment and was first called back on the list.
 HIGH  The contender was called back without any notes.
 W/L  The contender won the homework assignment and was LOW on the main challenge.
 W/R  The contender won the homework assignment but was at risk of being eliminated.
 LOW  The contender was in risk of going to the bottom three but was ultimately safe.
 RISK  The contender sang for Ryan and was immediately safe.
 RISK  The contender was at risk of being eliminated.
 OUT  The contender was eliminated.
 W/O  The contender won the homework assignment but was eliminated.
 QUIT  The contender quit the competition.
 WINNER  The contender won a 7-episode arc on Glee.
 RUNNER-UP  The contender was crowned a runner-up.

International syndication

More information Country / Region, Channel ...
Country / Region Channel First aired References
 Australia Eleven July 15, 2011 [93]
 Brazil Fox Brasil June 26, 2011 [94]
 Canada Slice
Global		 June 26, 2011 [95]
 France W9 February 29, 2012 (canceled after episode 2) [96]
 Japan Skachan
Fox Japan		 June 29, 2011
September 25, 2011		 [97]
 New Zealand FOUR August 8, 2011 [98]
 Philippines ETC, Jack TV June 13, 2011 [99]
STAR World October 17, 2011 [100]
 Portugal Fox Life November 25, 2011 [101]
Southeast Asia
 Hong Kong
 Republic of China		 STAR World August 15, 2011 [100]
 Turkey Fox Life December 12, 2011 [102]
 United Kingdom Sky 1
PickTV		 July 13, 2011 [103]
 United States (original run) Oxygen June 12, 2011 N/a
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References

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