9 Times "Glee" Correctly Portrayed What It Means To Be A Show Choir Kid And 9 Times They Definitely Got It Wrong
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The infamous musical comedy Glee is celebrating its 14th anniversary this year!
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Now, I know that some of us may not have been in show choir 14 years ago. But I was a singer-dancer between Season 4 of Glee in 2013 and through the series finale in 2015, and funnily enough, my group was also located in Ohio! So for me personally, this show had a huge hand in why I auditioned for show choir in the first place.
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As a former Gleek, I can now, as an adult, look back and think about all of the wild things that Glee probably had us imagining show choir would be like, and while some things were spot-on, some were definitely just very, very wrong:
WRONG: The complete absence of microphones and a number line
I'm not sure how many people are having their solos heard over a crowd, an entire choir, and a band, all while simultaneously dancing and singing. Too many choirs have been plagued by the excessive number of microphones on stage for there not to be at least five stand-up mics across the front of that stage at all times! They also never use a number line. When our choreography is blocked, a number line across the stage is the most efficient way to ensure you're always in the right spot amongst the 40+ other people who are also trying to maneuver their way across the stage. They somehow always knew exactly where they needed to go without microphones or a number line 🤔.
SPOT-ON: Show choir rivalries
Just like sports have rivals, show choirs do too! Like New Directions vs. The Warblers and New Directions vs. Vocal Adrenaline, these are so real. Most times, your rival will be the school that's closest to you, but it can also be another school that has maybe beaten you in the past that you're looking to take the grand champ from this time. Whoever your rivals are, the competition can definitely overtake you, just like it did the kids on Glee. I, however, wouldn't go as far as to say that kids are commonly going around and purposefully trying to blind each other with slushies; we'll leave that to the Warblers.
WRONG: School teachers/staff not making a bigger deal about the bullying
The Glee kids were coming to Mr. Schuester after being doused in slushies, publicly harassed in the school hallways, and terrorized by Sue, but the way he responded to the situations was always...bizarre. I can't imagine many show choir directors allowing not only children but also other staff members to terrorize their kids for six years, and the best they can do is turn it into an original song that wins regionals...or a t-shirt. I also can't imagine the custodial staff at Lima High School didn't have millions of complaints about that slushie machine!
SPOT-ON: Becoming friends with people you probably never thought you would be close to
This is SO correct. In high school, having a core social group or squad is huge. You always have those people that you meet up with in the hallway, eat lunch with, hang out with after school, etc. However, when you're in show choir, these are the people you'll be spending the vast majority of your time with (including weekends), and they're the ones who naturally become the people you're close with. My show choir had drama club stars (cast and crew), football players, cheerleaders, so many different "social groups", and people I never imagined I would've naturally been close with on my own, but because of us all finding this one extracurricular activity, it brought a group of people together that may have never crossed paths otherwise!
WRONG: Choir sizes and divisions
Since groups like the Warblers and Troubletones are small, unisex choirs, depending on how the competition is structured, it would probably be very hard for them to actually make the finals. A mixed choir like Vocal Adrenaline had 25+ people on stage, and in real life, that would still be a division two group due to their size. My choir had 50 people in it, and that was more of the norm for a large group. A choir that big competing against one that had 12 people in it would probably never happen, which is why competitions are usually split into divisions based on things like choir size, gender, and age!
SPOT-ON: Vocal Adrenaline
Vocal Adrenaline is the group that appears on Glee that's the most like a real competition show choir. A big group, flashy costumes, an elaborate set, and very real show choir choreography. Everything about Vocal Adrenaline is what you would normally see most competing show choirs doing. Vocal Adrenaline also does a great job of showing you how over the top you actually have to be to read well on stage. The wide eyes, the over-exaggeration of your mouth movements, the BURST of energy that can be felt throughout the auditorium when a dance break comes — they NAIL that. The only thing I will fault them for is that you probably wouldn't ever see entire shows centered around a single soloist. If this were real life, I think it would be kind of hard to find judges who support not giving other kids an opportunity.
Even still, I don't think New Directions would realistically ever beat Vocal Adrenaline in a normal show choir competition; that would be the upset of the CENTURY!
WRONG: Show choir competitions
Show choir competitions are usually very different from how they're portrayed on Glee. Unlike how we see it on the show, most competitions have two rounds: a preliminary round where everyone who is signed up — no matter if you're a unisex choir, middle school choir, or large division one choir — is competing for one of the six finals spots. Then, you have the finals round, which usually consists of the six best choirs of the day. After preliminary performances, you have midday awards, and this is where you find out if your group made it to the finals (they also would never put the results on a board like you're finding out if you got the lead in the high school play; this would be a ZOO)! You'll receive feedback from the judges and then have the time to correct or change any critiques. Usually, competitions are hosted by other show choirs! Every logistical aspect of the competition (judges, scoring, competition structure, divisions, etc.) is decided by the hosting group, and at a large competition, you can see upwards of 20 choirs there! So, when it comes to competitions, sectionals, and regionals don't exist like we see on Glee, but there are show choir nationals; however, it's not something that every group has to do or wants to do to get their fill of competition season. There are plenty of huge schools/choirs that host competitions that groups from anywhere in the US can compete in!
SPOT ON: Crowd reactions
The decibel level at show choir competitions needs to be studied. Glee did a really great job of showcasing how groups can and will be perceived by the crowd! Of course, every group has its own support system, and a lot of groups even have their own chants for fans and alumni to say before they hit the stage! The crowds at competitions are always so involved, and it's even better when other groups who went before you or went after you are able to cheer you on too! The best feeling is when the crowd goes absolutely wild during solos and dance breaks, and Glee does a great job of acknowledging that aspect.
WRONG: Groups not doing costume changes
I won't take away the fact that they indeed got it right when it comes to the style of the costumes and the uniformity that's needed down to the color of your lipstick; those are all spot-on. So, it was great to see how much attention they paid to that because it definitely has a sway on any group's scores. However, a huge part of any show is the costume change; without it, you wouldn't have a chance of winning "best costumes", and your score would more than likely be affected. Typically, groups will have two to three costumes throughout the duration of a 15- to 25-minute show. You'll usually have an opener costume, a ballad costume, and a closer costume. Groups staying in the same costume throughout their entire show would probably never happen.
SPOT-ON: Live bands
Groups live and die by the greatness of their bands! They're the backbone of the whole performance, and Glee definitely got it right by including them in all of the performances. Well, okay, they got it right in terms of every group besides the Warblers because they were in fact an a cappella group and not a show choir and somehow kept getting away with it! Every choir needs a band; there are no pre-recorded tracks or karaoke situations. You'll be heavily judged on your band, and they can also be up for the "best band" award! They wouldn't usually be on stage with the singer-dancers like we often see on the show, but the band is vital, and Glee does a great job at making sure they showcase them in everything.
WRONG: When they never actually practiced the show they would be performing for competitions
Most of the time, we see the Glee Club doing these spontaneous one-off performances that in no way served as preparation for these competitions, and then somehow they show up in the season finale with full choreography, blocking, and sheet music learned and ready to go. Some of these in-class performances were actually SO iconic that it was almost criminal that they never hit the stage. Regardless, the lack of practicing in the show is totally inaccurate. All choirs are different, but, for me, we auditioned while the school year was going on, bonded over summer break, and learned the show the week before school started. We also followed all of this work up with daily (during school) rehearsals and weekly after-school rehearsals (OF THE SAME SHOW), which led us up to the beginning of our three-month competition season that starts in January of the following year!
SPOT-ON: The absolute gag when you don't win or place lower than you thought you would
The competitive nature that comes with this activity is so intense, and Glee does a great job of showing how high the stakes are. A huge amount of time, work, and money, from not only students but parents and directors as well, goes into getting everyone prepared for a show that (depending on your choir) will only be performed about 12 times during six competition days over the course of three months. To do all of that work and then lose is a devastating experience. I've shed my fair share of tears for my group not placing where I thought we could or should have. Every competition episode, Glee does such a great job at displaying what that range of emotions really feels like and the aftermath that comes with it.
WRONG: The "celebrity" judges
Every competition we saw New Directions go to had this panel of "esteemed" celebrity judges; this would absolutely never happen. Even when they had icons like Josh Groban and Olivia Newton-John, that would still more than likely be considered a big no. Competitions are usually judged by former directors or other educators involved in the show choir community. So, honestly, it would've made more sense for the former Glee Club director, Sandy, to be a judge at competitions than many of the others we saw on the show.
SPOT-ON: The random love stories that happen inside and outside of your group
Now, I was a late bloomer when it comes to relationships, but I was never one to miss out on some hot gossip. There's something about stuffing a bunch of high school teenagers in an auditorium all day and night that clearly screams love story and that was noticeable every weekend. We spend so much time together, of course, people just naturally build romantic relationships. Then you allow them to branch out and meet people from different schools, and that opens a whole new avenue of relationships to be had. So yes, the cross-choir relationships (just like Rachel and Jesse or Kurt and Blaine), and the many relationships within your own choir are SUPER common and very spot-on.
WRONG: Spontaneous performances throughout the school
No. Just no. Can you imagine trying to get to class while Rachel Berry is scream-singing down the hallways about Finn? Absolutely not. Or when you're casually trying to eat lunch and the show choir kids show up jumping on your table and singing "Empire State of Mind", like, please no. There are no daily assignments of choosing a theme and singing a solo in front of the whole group; people are far too stressed about competition season to even begin to worry about any type of curriculum!
SPOT-ON: The difficulty of finding an equal number of girls and boys to be in the group
I'm sure so many groups have their own secret ways of finding enough boys to be interested. Back in the day, my choir had the rule that if you were a girl, you couldn't audition for the group until you were a sophomore, while boys could audition right out of middle school. So when Finn had to go around begging his football buddies to audition for the Glee Club, it was pretty accurate in its own way.
WRONG: Drama club and show choir basically being the same thing
I'm sure every school is different, but at my school, the show choir and drama club HAD to be differentiated. They weren't the same, nor were they run by the same person like we see on Glee. Of course, a lot of show choir kids were also members of the drama club, but, no, shows for drama club were not specifically cast only using show choir kids! I also will never believe that in a large public high school like Lima High, the same 12 kids who are always singing and dancing are the only ones who want to be in musicals or plays!
SPOT-ON: Show choir equals family
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Glee does a phenomenal job of showing how close you really do become to your show choir family. When you start, you're so nervous, and you're mixed in with people who may have been doing this for the last three years, and it's scary! The coolest thing is, though, that you're a team. You spend day and night together, weekends together, class time together, and you win together and lose together for however many years you have the privilege of being in your group. That love and protection just continues to build, no matter if you're in a 20+ person group or a 50+ person group. To this day, I still have so many great friends from my own choir and other show choirs I competed against.
No matter if you're a current or former show choir kid, we all can come to an agreement that Glee is the only show that remotely understands what it means to be in show choir. They didn't always get it right, and some things were just downright outlandish, BUT when it clicked, it definitely clicked, and now it serves as a reminder of a time that we'll all forever hold close to us!
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