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A Katy or a Gaga

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"A Katy or a Gaga"

"A Katy or a Gaga" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 92nd episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on November 7, 2013. The episode features the music of Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, the debut of guest star Adam Lambert as Elliott "Starchild" Gilbert, and the return of special guest star Demi Lovato as Dani, Santana's (Naya Rivera) girlfriend.

In this episode, the glee club is challenged to perform music from either Katy Perry or Lady Gaga, which makes Marley uncomfortable when she is assigned a Lady Gaga song. Meanwhile, Kurt decides to form a band.

The episode was watched by 4.01 million viewers, and received mixed reviews from critics, with most praising Adam Lambert's performance.

Plot

Glee club director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) announces that the main competition in Nationals is Throat Explosion, and divides the glee club between those who identify themselves with Katy Perry and those who identity themselves with Lady Gaga. He then instructs each group to perform a song from the other group's inspiration, in order to strengthen their weak points.

In New York, Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) recruits Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) and Dani (Demi Lovato) to his band, and schedules auditions at NYADA. The only applicant is Elliot Gilbert (Adam Lambert), an overtly bold performer who calls himself "Starchild" and impresses Santana and Dani with a rendition of "Marry the Night", but is rejected by Kurt, who fears Starchild might be too edgy for what he hopes is a mainstream band. Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) later tells Kurt he shouldn't change his artistic views to adapt to expectations, and Kurt reconsiders his decision and invites Starchild to join the band. Kurt also convinces a reluctant Rachel to join the band, which she names "Pamela Landsbury".

In Lima, Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet) is surprised to find out that Penny Owen (Phoebe Strole) has an unlikely appreciation for bad boys, and takes over the Gaga assignment in hopes of showing her a different side of himself. Meanwhile, Jake Puckerman (Jacob Artist) becomes frustrated with his relationship with Marley Rose (Melissa Benoist). Bree (Erinn Westbrooke) invites him to help her choreograph a dance routine for the Cheerios, and Wade "Unique" Adams) (Alex Newell) becomes concerned Jake might become attracted to her. Marley refuses to change for Jake and joins Sam, Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale), Blaine Anderson (Darren Criss) and Ryder Lynn (Blake Jenner) for a performance of "Applause" dressed as Katy Perry. The number turns out disappointing, and Will suspends Marley from glee club for a week for breaking the rules of the assignment.

Penny confesses to Sam that she doesn't really like bad boys, and only dates them to prove to herself that she is not a boring person. Sam confesses he has similar interests and they kiss. Sam then takes her to the auditorium to watch Jake, Unique, Kitty Wilde (Becca Tobin) and Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz) perform a stripped-down version of "Wide Awake". Jake later convinces Marley to dress up like Katy Perry for him, but they get into a fight when Marley claims she is not yet ready to have sex with him. The following day, Jake seduces Bree and they have sex in the school grounds. Bree also informs Principal Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) of the assignment, and Sue suspends the entire glee club for a week for dressing inappropriately on school grounds. Will refuses to back down to Sue despite her new position, and New Directions later meets at the auditorium, where they perform "Roar" in defiance, simultaneously to the band in New York.

Production

This episode marks the first appearance of Adam Lambert as Elliot "Starchild" Gilbert

Shooting for the episode began by September 23, 2013, after a hiatus following the completion of the previous episode "The Quarterback", which dealt with the death of character Finn Hudson.[1][2] Cast members began recording songs and rehearsing dance numbers for the episode in the middle of the preceding week.[3][4]

Adam Lambert debuts in this episode in the recurring role of Elliott "Starchild" Gilbert.[5] According to Chris Colfer, who plays Kurt, Lambert's character will be Kurt's nemesis.[6] Late on September 26, Lea Michele tweeted a photo from the set featuring herself, Lambert, Colfer, Naya Rivera and Demi Lovato singing in front of a band.[7]

Special guest star Lovato returns as Dani, Santana's fellow waitress and girlfriend.[5] Other recurring characters in this episode include cheerleaders Becky Jackson (Lauren Potter) and Bree (Erinn Westbrook), and McKinley nurse Penny Owen (Phoebe Strole).[5]

Co-creator Ryan Murphy stated that the episode would have many "great costumes" and "great set pieces".[8] Four songs from the episode are being released: Katy Perry's "Roar", featuring singers including Lovato and Lambert, and "Wide Awake"; and Lady Gaga's "Applause" and "Marry the Night", the latter featuring Lambert.[9] Media reports in mid-September incorrectly stated that Lambert would be performing "Applause";[10] Lady Gaga tweeted that Lambert was "perfect for the song cause he's glammer".[11]

Reception

Ratings

The episode was watched by 4.01 million American viewers and received an 18-49 rating/share of 1.5/4, placing third in its timeslot and ninth for the night.[12] This is the lowest watched episode of the series to date, and tied ratings lows with the fourth season episode "Dynamic Duets."[13]

Critical reception

The episode received mixed reviews from critics, though most critics praised Adam Lambert's performance. Miranda Wicker of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 3 out of 5, signifying moderate reviews, saying the return of the series post-Cory Monteith "was sure to be a bumpy one. The right amount of pathos needed to be balanced with a healthy dose of moving forward." She then commented positively on Adam Lambert's role as Starchild, saying "Anything that gets more Adam Lambert on my screen is okay by me."[14] MaryAnn Sleasman of TV.com also gave the episode a moderate review, saying "Despite being "the most annoying thing they've ever done" (IDK, Sue, I bet if we really thought about it, we could come up with something way more annoying), "A Katy or a Gaga" was a genuinely fun episode with a Glee PSA that wasn't completely lost in translation for once."[15]

Katy Kroll of Rolling Stone gave Adam Lambert's performance of "Marry the Night" a positive review, saying "The scene is basically a four-minute music video for Lambert where he struts, pouts, poses and literally swings from a chandelier. Lady who?"[16] Jocelyn Vena of MTV also gave the performance a positive review, saying "he blasts out like a real rock star. It includes him swinging from a chandelier in a top hat. It's an A+ performance that would make Gaga proud."[17] Rae Votta of Billboard, though was not particularly positive of the episode, commented positively on Adam's audition, saying "He puts previous over the top audition numbers on the show to shame with air humping, table posturing, and literal swinging on chandeliers with no regard for structural integrity. Despite being a pretty straightforward interpretation, his "Marry The Night" trumps the other Gaga number of the episode, but this is also Adam Lambert and he could cover Gaga in his sleep."[18]

Derek Chavis of the Baltimore Sun gave the episode a more negative review, saying "While it seems the productions of each number are getting bigger, the show’s spirit gets smaller. Does Ryan Murphy think that because American Horror Story is amazing he can slack off on Glee? I hope not. It was officially announced recently that Glee will end after next season (Season 6) so let’s end this show as great as we started it, shall we?"[19] Lauren Hoffman of Vulture gave the episode a 2 out of 5, signaling mixed to negative reviews, saying "The main problem with last night’s episode is that “Are you a Katy or a Gaga?” isn’t a particularly interesting question. I’m not even sure what that question is asking. Lady Gaga and Katy Perry certainly aren’t the same [...], but they’re not exactly polar opposites." Despite negative reviews of the episode's theme, she did comment positively on Adam Lambert's role, calling his audition "undeniably great."[20]

References

  1. ^ Dos Santos, Kristin (August 23, 2013). "Glee Cast Begins Production on Cory Monteith Tribute Episode: 'You Will Cry From Beginning to End'". E! Online. NBCUniversal. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  2. ^ Potter, Lauren (September 23, 2013). "Twitter / @TheLaurenPotter: Just got to set and already having a blast with my Glee family! ‪@DarrenCriss‬". Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  3. ^ Ushkowitz, Jenna (September 18, 2013). "Twitter / @JennaUshkowitz: Been a nice break, now back to the studio w ‪@alxanders‬ for two awesome songs!". Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  4. ^ Jenner, Blake (September 18, 2013). "Twitter / @Blake_Jenner: Great rehearsal with ‪@brookelipton‬! You're the bomb Brooke!". Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  5. ^ a b c "Listings – Glee on Fox". The Futon Critic. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
  6. ^ Mariano, Maureen (August 7, 2013). "Adam Lambert to Play Chris Colfer's Nemesis on Glee". RyanSeacrest.com. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
  7. ^ Michele, Lea (September 26, 2013). "Twitter / @msleamichele: On set now with the amazing ‪@ddlovato‬, adamlambert, ‪@chriscolfer‬ & ‪@NayaRivera‬! ‪#gleeseason5‬". Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  8. ^ Ausiello, Michael (October 17, 2013). "Glee's 'Inspirational' Lady Gaga/Katy Perry Episode to Cover Hits 'Applause' and 'Roar'". TVLine. PMC. Retrieved October 17, 2013. {{cite web}}: no-break space character in |title= at position 145 (help)
  9. ^ "Glee Cast – MP3 downloads". amazon.com. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  10. ^ Rudolph, Christopher (September 19, 2013). "Adam Lambert Will Sing Lady Gaga's 'Applause' On Upcoming 'Glee' Episode". The Huffington Post. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  11. ^ Lady Gaga (September 20, 2013). "Twitter / @ladygaga: ‪@CissatrixShow‬ yes I heard Adam Lambert is doing it I'm so excited! He's very talented and perfect for the song cause he's glammer". Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  12. ^ http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/11/08/thursday-final-ratings-elementary-scandal-the-vampire-diaries-the-voice-the-millers-sean-saves-the-world-parenthood-the-m/214283/
  13. ^ http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/11/27/thursday-final-ratings-the-x-factor-adjusted-up-final-football-numbers/158882/
  14. ^ Wicker, Miranda (7 November 2013). "Glee Review: Roaring Applause for Starchild". Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  15. ^ Sleasman, MaryAnn (8 November 2013). "Glee "A Katy or a Gaga" Review: Rope Swings for Everyone!". Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  16. ^ Kroll, Katy (8 November 2013). "'Glee' Recap: Katy Perry or Lady Gaga?". Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  17. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (8 November 2013). "Katy Perry Vs. Lady Gaga: Which Performances Ruled On 'Glee'?". Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  18. ^ Votta, Rae (8 November 2013). "'Glee' Recap: Katy Perry & Lady Gaga Episode Spells a Return to Fun". Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  19. ^ Chavis, Derek (8 November 2013). "'Glee' recap, Are you a Katy or Gaga?". Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  20. ^ Hoffman, Lauren (8 November 2013). "Glee Recap: Loincloths and Vine-Swinging Notwithstanding". Retrieved 8 November 2013.
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