Business Unit News
Glee Devotes an Entire Hour to "The Power of Madonna" Tuesday, April 20, on FOX
Wednesday, April 14, 2010 – Glee pays
homage to Madonna and the power of her music with a full episode
devoted to one of the most revered and iconic musicians of this
generation. The sure-to-be-fan-favorite installment of
television’s most-loved new series will air in its regular time
period Tuesday, April 20 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
In “The Power of Madonna” episode, MR. SCHUESTER (Matthew
Morrison) is concerned that the girls in the Glee club
are being disrespected and bullied by the male members. Looking
to Madonna and her musical message of equality as inspiration,
he challenges the entire team to choose Madonna songs as their
next assignment in the hopes that the girls embrace Madonna’s
strength, independence and confidence so that the guys will see
the errors of their misogynistic ways. The Glee club
takes the assignment to heart and performs some of Madonna’s
greatest hits, including “Express Yourself” and “Like a Prayer.”
Meanwhile, KURT (Chris Colfer) and MERCEDES (Amber Riley) give
SUE (Jane Lynch) a vote of confidence with a Madonna makeover
that is definitely in “Vogue.”
Madonna commenting on the episode said, “I think Mr. Schuester
is very cute, and I’m glad he’s doing such a good job empowering
all the girls.”
“This episode is our love letter to Madonna, an artist who has
inspired me all my life. The hardest part was having to choose
which songs to include from her incredible catalogue, as there
were so many we wanted to do,” said Glee executive
producer and co-creator Ryan Murphy. “We send her our thanks for
her generosity with her music.”
If you missed last night's Chevy-sponsored world premiere of Sue
Sylvester’s version of “Vogue,” which will appear as part of the
Madonna-themed episode, watch it now at
hulu.com and
fox.com. Glee’s
“Vogue” features Sue, Kurt and Mercedes in an homage to Madonna
with a brilliant re-creation of the groundbreaking music video.
The soundtrack from “The Power of Madonna” episode will be
available in stores the same day it airs, Tuesday, April 20. The
album features Glee’s distinctive and unique take on
such classics as “Like A Virgin,” “Express Yourself,” “Vogue,”
“4 Minutes” and more.
Last night’s spring premiere of Glee posted a 5.6/15
rating among Adults 18-49 and achieved its highest-rated
telecast to date among all key demos. Glee is the No. 1
new series of the season among Adults 18-34, and last night’s
telecast was the highest rated of any new scripted show this
season among Adults 18-49.
Television’s most award-winning new series, Glee was
recently honored with a Peabody Award; a Golden Globe for Best
Television Series, Comedy or Musical; a Screen Actors Guild
Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy
Series; and a People’s Choice Award for Favorite New TV Comedy.
The music from Glee is an international sensation with
“Glee: The Music, Volume 1” and “Glee: The
Music, Volume 2” topping charts in Australia, the U.K., New
Zealand, Ireland and Canada. In the U.S., over 4.5 million songs
have been downloaded, and both albums have been certified Gold
for sales in excess of 500,000 units.
Glee follows an optimistic teacher who – against all
odds and a malicious cheerleading coach – inspires McKinley
High’s Glee Club to conquer the world one singing
competition at a time. Glee stars Dianna Agron, Chris
Colfer, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale,
Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, Mark
Salling and Jenna Ushkowitz.
Glee is produced by Ryan Murphy Television in
association with 20th Century Fox Television. Ryan Murphy, Brad
Falchuk and Ian Brennan are co-creators of the series. Murphy,
Falchuk and Dante Di Loreto serve as executive producers, while
Ian Brennan serves as co-executive producer.
Contact:
Tracey Raftery
310-369-1425
tracey.raftery@fox.com