10 Things: Favorite Glee Songs

GLEE RETURNS TONIGHT!

And in honor of that joyous occasion (even though I will be watching it later, since I owe my devotion to Lost in its final season... sigh), I bring you the first installment of "10 Things" with "10 Favorite Glee Songs."

Now, "10 Things" is subjective, unless otherwise noted. Nobody's favorites are the same, and it's hard to objectively decree something as "the best!" without being shaded by personal preferences, etc. But here's my stab at my 10 Favorite Glee songs from the first 13 episodes...

NUMBER 10. DON'T MAKE ME OVER, Amber Riley.

Already I'm kicking it off with an unorthodox favorite. But here's the thing: Amber Riley is a fantastic singer, and she's largely (and rightfully) used on the show as a powerhouse voice of belt-tacular proportions. But "Don't Make Me Over" highlights a lovely restraint in her voice, and it's just as mesmerizing as hearing her hit the crazy high notes. Sadly, only an instrumental version of this song was used in an episode. But it's on Vol. 2 of the soundtrack!

NUMBER 9. MAYBE THIS TIME, Kristin Chenoweth and Lea Michele.

I fail to see how I need to explain a duet between Kristin Chenoweth and Lea Michele. But I'll try. Um, it's amazing. Does that work for you?

NUMBER 8. HATE ON ME, Amber Riley.

This song is excellent. So many of the Glee songs have a theme of self-empowerment and this one is one of the most direct: Hate on me hater! Combine that with the fact that it's being performed by all the minorities in the club and you've got an excellent song full of sass and mojo. Also: werrrrk, Amber Riley!

NUMBER 7. ENDLESS LOVE, Matt Morrison and Lea Michele.

I'm one of those people who loves this song in a completely un-ironic kind of way. So it's shmaltzy! So it's kind of a joke that this is a duet between teacher and lovestruck student! I DON'T CARE. It's beautiful, largely because it's the two big Broadway voices of the cast together. I love Cory Monteith to pieces, but it's nice to see Lea Michele have a duet with a male voice that's just as strong as hers.

NUMBER 6. DON'T RAIN ON MY PARADE, Lea Michele.

I love this song, full-stop. So I was a bit nervous that the Glee cover would not be able to stand up to Barbra Streisand's original. Goodness, was I wrong. Lea Michele is pretty much pitch-perfect in this cover, and it's hard not to get goosebumps listening to her blast this to the rafters.

NUMBER 5. JUMP, the Glee Cast.

True, the merits of this song might be due in part to the joyous mattress-jumping dance sequence, but I defy anyone to not get a big stupid grin on their face by the time Cory Monteith does his rebel yell. You'll want to jump around on mattresses too.

NUMBER 4. IT'S MY LIFE / CONFESSIONS PT II, the Glee Boys.

For me, it was little contest who won the Girls vs. Boys showdown in "Vitamin D." These two songs blend together surprisingly well both musically and thematically, and the boys KILLED this performance. It's electrifying to listen to. Bonus points for Kevin McHale sounding sexy and for invoking the visual of Cory Monteith dancing ridiculously.

NUMBER 3. KEEP HOLDING ON, the Glee Cast.

One of the more notable moments of Glee's first thirteen episodes was the Glee club's support of Quinn and her pregnancy. I was pleasantly surprised to see a group of people be so forgiving towards someone who was awful to them. "Keep Holding On" is the embodiment of that emotion, and combined with the cast's vocals and the song's message, it's a rather touching rendition. It's a good example of a Glee cover that's better than the original song. (Sorry, Avril.)

NUMBER 2. DON'T STOP BELIEVIN', the Glee Cast.

It's the song that started it all. It was the perfect song to kick off the Glee kids' run, and because of that it's always a goosebump-inducer for me. The only reason this is #2 and not #1 is because it only involves the original six Glee kids, with only two lead vocals, and while I love them, I'd much rather hear the full twelve.

NUMBER 1. SOMEBODY TO LOVE, the Glee Cast.

This is probably no surprise to anyone who's watched the show. Several of the castmembers even cite "Somebody to Love" as their favorite performance because it was the first time the twelve main Glee kids came together. From Cory Monteith's first high note to Amber Riley killing her section at the end, this song is perfection. Lea Michele is predictably amazing, and in the full version of the song, Kevin McHale has an excellent solo. This is theatrics at its best, especially with the chanting of "Find... me... somebody to love" leading up to the song exploding with Amber Riley's divine high notes. Epic song is epic. Watch the live performance on Oprah (sans Kevin's solo, boo) for full effect:

There you have it. 10 Favorite Glee songs. What'd I leave off that should be on there? I'll tell you, if I could expand it to 11, I would have included "Sweet Caroline." I'm fairly confident that as the show marches through more and more episodes, this list will be harder and harder to make. But that's not the worst thing.