This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Andrew: We've got a mission to find the best song that's ever been on Glee.

[0:09] Andrew: There's no rhyme or reason to it, so don't get mad at me.

[0:18] Andrew: Gleek it by Gleek it, we'll rank everyone to see which song will move closer to spot number one.

[0:26] Andrew: Gleek of the Week, Gleek, Gleek, Gleek of the Week. It's Gleek, Gleek of the Week.

[0:34] Andrew: Okay, so this is the first recording that we're doing after the Gleeboot News, and can I just say this is for all of us. This was... This... Oh my gosh. Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi, we're recording this on Tuesday, October 27th. Gleeboot News has been out for like almost a week now.

[0:59] Andrew: I'm joined by Conor and Matt this week. Conor, where were you when the news hit you?

[1:06] Conor Burke: So I was having lunch and I quite simply just picked up my phone and I saw the post on Instagram. However, I had assumed that... I don't follow the Glee official Instagram page, and I had assumed it was just a suggested post from like... I'm so better than that. I assumed it was a suggested post from a fan account, and I was like, oh my God. And then I looked down, I was like, wait a second. And I was sitting with friends who I love dearly, but who I've only known for a very short amount of time. And they obviously know I'm involved with this podcast. They know about Gleek of the Week at Dublin Fringe, so they know I love Glee, but like... And I literally just said, I was like, guys, Glee is coming back.

And they were like, oh my God. And the way I delivered it did in no way match what was going on up here. I don't know about you guys, and I'm intrigued to hear about your experience, Matt, but I literally, in the space of around five hours that day, it felt like I had just got a really cool job offer and won a holiday. I was like, I literally, if you tied me to a blood pressure machine, or my heart rate was going like this, I'm literally not exaggerating. I was like, so... Listen, I have said on tape before on this podcast that a Glee reboot is inevitable, just because we live in a capitalist society and it's a product. It was a very popular TV show. They're rebooting everything. Let's call a spade a spade.

It was going to come back. I just... It's the whiplash of it all for me, going from Ryan Murphy talking on the red carpet on the American Horror Story season 13 premiere to just a simple Instagram post literally weeks later. Was anyone else like... I was like, what the fuck is happening? I never thought that it would happen whilst we were doing the Glockenspiel. Fucking crazy work. Because it's been nine years, 10 years, 11 years, who can count? And every step of the way within those years, it's obviously come up a million times to the point where I would just shoo off the conversation. Even if we had it on this podcast, we're just having it because we're having some Glee talk in the year 2020, whatever, the past couple of years.

[3:24] Matt Ligouri: Someone needs to do it, yeah.

[3:25] Conor Burke: Someone's got to talk about it, but it's like, it's not... Maybe it'll happen someday. I don't know that I was ever as confident that it was going to happen as you are, Connor, but if you asked me just yes or no at some point, will we see it? Yeah, sure. But so many things obviously have been getting rebooted from our generation, I guess, millennial type of shows that are coming back. And most of the time they've been coming back, in my experience, not the best. So I've also been in a place of if it comes back, I'll be a little bit afraid about it. And I imagine we're going to be talking about that a little bit here right now. But I was waking up. Andrew, you must have been, you know, we are in the same time zone. We had a lot about time zones today. What time was it that you, because for me it was lunchtime.

[4:13] Andrew: I think it was one o'clock when I saw it. So it must have been like nine your time, maybe, like right in the morning.

[4:20] Conor Burke: I think it was even earlier than that. I think it was. I woke up to it and I don't wake up late. I feel like it was like almost like 7am that it was like, it was dropped.

[4:31] Andrew: The normal time to drop this news.

[4:33] Conor Burke: Because, yeah, we're in one of those group chats or all the regular week contributors, and I posted it, posted it in, which like, which is.

[4:41] Matt Ligouri: Oh, wait, were you the first one to share it?

[4:44] Conor Burke: Yeah, I posted it in and I was like, how's everyone feeling? But then like, it was so funny because I think only three people read it straight away. And then maybe an hour or two later, people started to read it.

[4:53] Matt Ligouri: Connor's out to lunch while we're like wiping the crusties out of our eyes.

[4:56] Conor Burke: I know. Alison Alamode is even because she's on West Coast time. So she's like, how does it look like in the middle of the night?

[5:07] Matt Ligouri: What?

[5:08] Conor Burke: A little alarming. I mean, and then you just kind of have to sit there and process it because there's a million emotions that go into it. Excitement, of course, is one, but there's so much else come out over the past week, not come out, but just like that, I think, has gone into how we all feel about this besides the excitement.

[5:23] Matt Ligouri: So I don't know. I'm still digesting.

[5:25] Conor Burke: I think that the excitement really like sat with me. I think that it finally like a week later now, like it finally kind of fizzled out for me. Like there was like, I was really riding a high for a few days there that I was like, I started a new psychiatrist and I told the new psychiatrist that I was like, I'm fine. You have nothing to worry about with me.

[5:51] Conor Burke: I saw my mother later that day and I literally, she was at the other end of the house and I ran up the hall into the room that she was sat in and I was like, oh my God, she was like, what? I was like, Glee is coming back. She was like, you need to stop. You need help.

[6:10] Andrew: I just want to know, listen, we don't know any of these people, obviously. I just want to know, what's changed?

[6:22] Conor Burke: Well, I mean, not to be like, actually, it's funny. That you should say that morning when my phone was literally plugged into the charger and it was on fire, it was just an open flame being charged.

[6:36] Matt Ligouri: I thought mine might've been bad. I knew yours was worse, but like, you know, and this is from like my Glee podcasting years ago that my phone's still blowing up, but you're doing it today. I could only imagine.

[6:45] Conor Burke: Yeah. So I woke up to not only a DM, but a text message from Jenna Ashkowitz, just like checking in. She was like, hey, how are you feeling? And so I responded to that one and I was like, maybe like five minutes past waking up. And she was like, I'm going to call you in a few minutes. I can't share anything about that call, but we talked and I learned some information. That's all I'm going to say.

[7:12] Matt Ligouri: I know you can't tell us anything, but how did that information make you feel? Can you be vague? Okay, great. Can I tell you what I'm thinking?

[7:27] Conor Burke: And you literally can turn your camera off. I want you to know that the conversation that I had with her, it wasn't juicy or anything. It was just kind of general. I think because the reason that she felt compelled to reach out was because, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, that I was wanting to do an episode with her and Heather together. And I mentioned, I was like, hey, we can talk about GleekCon as well as these Gleeboot rumors. And they both said, hey, we don't really want to talk about Gleeboot.

[7:58] Matt Ligouri: I thought you were going to say, we don't want to talk together. I was like, ooh, drama already.

[8:07] Conor Burke: And they were like, we don't really feel comfortable talking about it, but maybe when we learn more, we can come back on. And so that was like her following up and being like, hey, this is why I didn't want to.

[8:17] Matt Ligouri: Yeah. Look, I mean, as far as where everybody was and what all of these people and what's changed type of thing, to me, and tell me if you guys think otherwise, to me, it's just Ryan Murphy decided that this is the time. I mean, I don't know what else could go into it. I feel like people with Ryan Murphy shows, because Lord knows there's a million of them, like I'm watching the season of American Horror Story for the first time. I'm invested back in American Horror Story because they went back to the witches in the coven. And so I care a little bit more.

[8:42] Conor Burke: I'm watching it too.

[8:42] Matt Ligouri: Yeah. And you see people's reactions to it all. And they're like, Ryan Murphy, this and that. I'm like, no, Ryan Murphy has nothing to do with this season. He might've gotten the calls in to get these people back on the show, but other people are writing it, directing the story. I don't think that Ryan has his hands on it.

[8:56] Conor Burke: I watched that first episode and I thought that he, did it not say directed?

[9:05] Matt Ligouri: He tends to do like the first episode and then bow out, no? Is that like a typical formula?

[9:10] Conor Burke: I think he's written or directed, I can't remember now, maybe three this season, but I completely agree with you, Matt. He is not involved in that.

[9:14] Matt Ligouri: I'm so sorry. I think like Ryan Murphy is such an enigma for every fan of any of his shows, obviously, but I also think that his life and his persona is kind of, it's a blessing and a curse in the sense that he gets all of the praise for all the good stuff, but anytime any of his work is bad, he gets the one, like he's synonymous with it. Even if he didn't direct it or didn't write that particular episode or whatever. And I feel like, look, he plays into that. He does play into it.

[9:55] Conor Burke: But another thing, the thing that kind of gave me whiplash about the Glee reboot announcement last week was that people also forget that not only is Ryan Murphy such a powerhouse writer and director, Ryan Murphy is a producer and producers sell, sell, sell, sell, sell. So a couple of weeks ago, when he was talking on the red carpet about the Glee reboot and he literally said, and I quote, I finished the script an hour ago, not even a few hours ago, an hour ago, wild shit to say, but you always have to remember that this man is a producer, producers sell, sell, sell, sell. So he knows how to fucking work the media and he knows what will get a headline. And I think people are, I always see the discourse online being like, this guy is just saying crazy shit.

Like, I'm so sorry. He is a much smarter person than you and I, and like, he knows exactly what he's doing in my opinion. But that's why I was also shocked when it actually happened so quickly after that infamous red carpet moment that he gave those, I was like, this is, and so, and there has to have been like, so much happened after the announcement in such a short amount of time.

[11:02] Conor Burke: Ryan's seen Kevin on Broadway, the Kevin comment on the Instagram post, the Diana comment, the Diana comment, Amber Riley's comment.

[11:08] Matt Ligouri: Oh my God, did you see Amber's comment?

[11:13] Conor Burke: Yeah, like all these people who are like, wait, what was Amber's comment?

[11:17] Matt Ligouri: So it was the picture of Ryan and Kevin and Amber commented something like, looks like two troublemakers to me with the laughing face emoji.

[11:25] Conor Burke: Yes, I did see that. And then also, Amber re-followed Diana.

[11:25] Matt Ligouri: Yes.

[11:25] Conor Burke: Re-followed Diana.

[11:31] Matt Ligouri: And Diana's engaging in Glee content. She's in the TikToks.

[11:35] Conor Burke: And then it's the Royal Albert Hall of it all on the Sunday prior to the Wednesday announcement. Coincidence or not, we don't know. He did have a lot of former co-stars, but then it's like Leah just being absolutely quiet. Although obviously how it works within the PR and media world is sources close to, but it's like, it's so interesting to see from a business perspective how certain people move in this space and how certain people don't.

[12:00] Matt Ligouri: But you see, my thing is, is that everything that those actors post from now until we find out more information is going to be related to Glee, even if it's not.

[12:07] Conor Burke: Yeah.

[12:07] Matt Ligouri: Leah put something on her story today and was like, filming something exciting today.

[12:11] Conor Burke: I know, I thought, filming something. I was like, no, don't.

[12:15] Matt Ligouri: It's probably, just stop this. And then, did you see the Diana post?

[12:18] Conor Burke: It's probably like a commercial.

[12:19] Matt Ligouri: Yeah. It's the, what's the medication?

[12:26] Conor Burke: Well, she did the, oh, I remember she did L'Oreal, but what was the medication that she did?

[12:31] Matt Ligouri: The medication. In America, you call it something different in America.

[12:35] Conor Burke: Oh.

[12:36] Matt Ligouri: We call it paracetamol. The medication that she, like, sponsored Instagram posts for.

[12:40] Conor Burke: I know what you're talking about, but I can't think of the specifics.

[12:45] Matt Ligouri: You take it when you have a headache.

[12:46] Conor Burke: Was it Advil? Tylenol?

[12:48] Matt Ligouri: Oh, Tylenol.

[12:49] Conor Burke: Yes. Then Diana put up, did you see the Diana Instagram post? Waiting for my cue. I'm like, girl.

[12:51] Matt Ligouri: Waiting for my cue. And I loved, someone commented on that video of Diana's, and I didn't think that it got enough love, but someone said, waiting for my cue, cue letter.

[13:05] Conor Burke: Yes, yes.

[13:06] Matt Ligouri: Which I thought was, oh, that was, I love that.

[13:08] Conor Burke: Did you see when, like, a Glee fan account posted, every breath you take, like, Santana Rachel, and Jenna commented on it.

[13:17] Matt Ligouri: They've just, they've all been so silent.

[13:18] Conor Burke: Underrated, or she said something.

[13:20] Matt Ligouri: No, yeah.

[13:21] Conor Burke: It's just so, I don't, I'm confused by that, but like, not in a bad way.

[13:27] Conor Burke: What I will say is, I've always been pro Glee boot, personally, and I've always felt in the minority, like, I just love the show.

[13:37] Matt Ligouri: Well, we're all minorities.

[13:38] Conor Burke: We're in the Glee club, but like, one of two things are either going to happen. It will come back and it's fucking amazing, or it will come back and it's shit, but it's still going to be iconic. Do you know what I mean?

[13:52] Matt Ligouri: Yes.

[13:52] Matt Ligouri: I have my concerns.

[13:54] Conor Burke: What are your concerns, Matt?

[13:56] Matt Ligouri: Well, just kind of, again, referencing, like, some other content that has come back, that hasn't been as good. Like, the first one for me, in a big way, was they were like, we're bringing High School Musical back, High School Musical, the musical, the series. Now, let me not go too far, because a lot of that was really good.

[14:10] Matt Ligouri: But it's not like what High School, it's not the High School Musical cast, even though some of them made cameos. So to me, I was like, okay, this is something different, but not the same thing. I haven't even watched Camp Rock 3 yet. I have not heard a single good thing about it. And so it's just like, I'm not compelled to go there. And I am obsessed with the first two Camp Rock movies. So it's just like, that kind of experience of these things coming back does scare me. Now, this, having the original actors attached, and the way that so many people have been pointing out that it's a Glee-vival, not necessarily a Glee-boot, or unless I'm getting that backwards, that it seems like with so many of the original cast members seeming like they're going to be involved, that this could be a continuation.

[15:19] Conor Burke: So from a TV production standpoint and just from having worked vaguely in that space in the years, I'm imagining that this reboot is, like, obviously I think most people will agree it's not going to be a 22 episode...I'm imagining it's some kind of mini-series. Let's just say 10 episodes because that's just like how television is nowadays, OK? Let's see how it goes. I think it'll be largely focused on the OG cast. That's personally...that's what I'm just thinking, knowing no information, OK? And I think within that there will be newbies. My thing is, I know loads of people don't want to continue with the story of, like, Kurt and Blaine and Rachel and Quinn and I get that, but it's also like, on the other hand, if it's just all a completely new group of people, well then that's just giving season four and season six.

And how did that go? So if we're going to do that, well, how are we going to do it differently? I think that there is...they've already, like, set up...and as they did effectively in a number of episodes in season four specifically, I'm thinking that they did the...like, new Rachel really divided the time really, really well. That if we get kind of like a first season where they divided the time between these new characters that I'm really hoping to see and also this, you know, alumni cast, then I would be really, really interested in that. I would be so interested in that, too, if they could get the balance right. Like, I think new Rachel is such a great example. I think if season four was as strong as that episode, I think that it would have been a completely different show.

[17:01] Matt Ligouri: I think in terms of what Matt was alluding to, just to say what I quickly think, Puck, number one, don't mention him. And it's not even because of the Mark Salling of it all.

[17:13] Conor Burke: Yeah. It's really not because of the Mark of it all. It's because I just don't...I think that, like, he wasn't that important of a character. I actually...there were so many moments of Puck that I really enjoyed. I really enjoyed Puck's voice. I think he had so many funny, cute moments. But, like, I think it was...I think it's fine to just completely ignore that.

[17:34] Matt Ligouri: Totally.

[17:34] Conor Burke: Literally completely ignore it. Santana? I think almost everybody's on the same page with that one, right?

[17:38] Matt Ligouri: Yeah.

[17:39] Conor Burke: Yeah. I mean, it's Santana. I mean, it's...how many times have I been on this podcast and on my own Glee podcast? Just, like, Santana was Glee for me. And so her Naya's passing was such a big deal, obviously in general, but also just as a Glee fan. And so, you know, I've seen every single possible opinion that I'm sure you both have as well of just, like, what they should do. And I don't know that there's a right answer, I feel like. And that's not the only question. There's the question out there that I've seen a lot of discussion. Will Kevin McHale come back as Artie? He said that he doesn't want to come back and he doesn't want to play that character again. He wants somebody to play that character that should be played. Like, there's just a lot of discussions and conversations about how they can handle certain things that I don't think we know yet.

[18:22] Conor Burke: I'm not nervous. We don't know yet, but I'm not nervous. Maybe this is just me being so naive and I'm saying it in recorded fashion now so people can drag me for it in the future. I'm not nervous about the way they're going to address Santana at all. I just think that that's the first question out of the cast's mouth. Heather, hey, Heather, come back for the Glee boot. What's happening with Santana? That's the first thing she asked.

[18:44] Matt Ligouri: Yeah.

[18:44] Conor Burke: I just know that for a fact.

[18:46] Matt Ligouri: It's a little weird.

[18:47] Conor Burke: I think the right decision is they have to keep her alive. I think you cannot have a television show called Glee and have a fictional character who would be in universe, what, 30? Also dead along with Finn. I just think it's too miserable for a TV show like Glee. The tough part is that they're dead with Finn. So it's like, you can see them going there too.

[19:14] Matt Ligouri: But no, but you see, that was when the show was airing though. You know, they decided within the moment that, like, they had literally two weeks off. They asked Liam Ashall. Liam Ashall said, there's hundreds of people working on this TV show and they have mortgages to pay and families to feed. We need to continue. Naya passed in 2020. And I think, I really, I just can't see people agreeing to come back if they kill the character off. I think it's more disrespectful to kill the character than not.

[19:50] Conor Burke: Yeah. I think that Ryan has learned as he's spoken about, that he's learned so much about the regrets of him doing the quarterback. And so I'm like, where do you, like, if you get the opportunity to do the quarterback once that it's like, oh, I learned so much from that. And like, here's how I would improve. Then he would have a fresh set of eyes on how to deal with Santana. I think that like Abby said in our group chat, I really love this idea. I thought it was very, very sweet. Obviously, we never got any Glee bloopers. And I think that, like, could you imagine at the end of like episode one or two, that is like more like Santana, like, Brittany, Britannia heavy, that at the end of the episode, it's like in loving memory of Naya Rivera. And they showed some bloopers featuring Naya in the Santana outfits. I think that would just be so beautiful.

[20:44] Matt Ligouri: Yeah, yeah.

[20:44] Conor Burke: I just think from a human level as well. It's like, hey, guys, come back to the Glee boot. Let's just imagine it's a 10 episode miniseries or whatever. Come back to the Glee boot. Okay, cool. And then all of a sudden, they're filming a really sad scene about Brittany crying about how Santana died. It's just not gonna happen. They can't do that. It's too grim. Like, like, again, not to sound obvious, it's a TV show called Glee. In my opinion, from just like a writing perspective, Santana, the only way to go about this is that Santana is alive in universe. And I think what Abby was saying there is so beautiful. And I think there's something to be said about like honoring the character, but in universe, not because the character is dead.

It could be like, it could be quite literally something about like, Santana living cross country. And then Brittany could just have a line about like how I miss her. And then someone says, well, she's always there with you, even if she's not here. And obviously, as an audience, we pick up on the double entendre of that. Do you know what I mean? It could be something very simple.

[21:39] Matt Ligouri: I think you might be pushing me in the other direction. Just not to say that you're not arguing your point. Well, I think I'm just finding myself feeling like the reality of the situation is the reality of the situation as far as the actress is concerned. Naya, you know, has passed. And so it feels like maybe the hope that they would keep Santana alive is us kind of clinging on to any semblance of kind of still having Naya here. And Connor, I'm not saying that you're doing this, but just like the general idea about it. And since Naya isn't here that we can't have her back on the show, part of me does feel like maybe I don't want them to spend a whole episode doing the quarterback all over again.

I don't think any of the actors want to do that. But if we can just have it be about Britney, maybe not about Britney's love life. And let's not get her into another relationship and go down that road. But if it's just here's Britney, however, she's back involved with the show, with the other characters, and maybe at the end of the episode, maybe at some point in episode seven as well, there's a little bit of like she opens up a locket and she looks at the picture and she has a moment of reflection and she has one line about it or something like that to still just have a little bit of a way to acknowledge and honor her. But I feel like if, especially if the show gets picked up for like a season two, three, four, and we're just lying forever and ever about why Santana can't be here. So part of me does kind of feel like that would get tired.

[22:53] Conor Burke: I know. I totally know what you mean. Like I totally know. Like I was talking to my boyfriend about this and he like I completely I don't agree with that. I agree with that last point about like if the show goes on and we just ignoring her the entire time, I get it. But like my boyfriend said, he made the point about how he said he was like, he was like, Conor, I find it more. I was like, I know it's really grim, he said, to deal, to have in the show that Santana is dead. But he was like, I kind of almost find it more uncomfortable that we just ignore it. That's also really uncomfortable, which I totally understand. I just think that like as we move forward now through the next couple of weeks, months, whenever the show is airing and we find out information, I just I can't imagine living in a universe where I open like Twitter or Reddit or Instagram and I see The Hollywood Reporter write about how Ryan Murphy is revealed in an interview that in universe Santana is dead. I just can't see that happening. I think I just I think I think the backlash would just be fucking immediate. Personally, it's just tough because that's like that's the reality, you know?

[24:02] Matt Ligouri: I don't want to get too depressing here, but like that.

[24:06] Conor Burke: No, you're right.

[24:06] Matt Ligouri: And so I want to refute it as much as I possibly can, just like I wanted to that day, that week, that month, that year. But I also don't want us to all be weirdly kind of lying to ourselves just for the sake of like holding on to that last bit of hope. I don't know that her family want that, you know, that kind of thing. So I don't know. But we don't have to stay here forever. It's just, of course, it's.

[24:28] Conor Burke: Yeah, no, no, totally. I think everyone's thinking it much like it's like quite literally, like, let's just call a spade a spade. It was like the first thing I thought about. That's just a very human thing to think about.

[24:37] Matt Ligouri: Yeah.

[24:37] Conor Burke: But I do trust that, like, I am really excited. Ian and Lena put out a really, really great kind of recap summary of like where where we stand with the reboot and everything. And gosh, they just like the way that they what was the point that I wanted to say? We've got some great minds out here.

[24:56] Matt Ligouri: I haven't heard it yet. I'm going to download as soon as we're done.

[25:01] Conor Burke: Yeah, I just think that like, oh, they said that that the Ian Brennan hasn't worked on a lot of projects with Ryan at all as well in a while. And so I think that like the Ian Brennan is like kind of like the missing ingredient and that like that will just like tie everything up and just like make everything make sense. And then we'll look back at this conversation that we had and be like, oh, well, yeah, that is the right choice.

[25:27] Matt Ligouri: I just know.

[25:27] Conor Burke: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Like, I don't want to be parasocial because I truly am not. Like, I just know or I at least feel in my heart that like Kevin and Heather and Jenna and Amber, et cetera, they would have if they were all approached and if they've agreed to come back. I just know that that would be probably be the first question out of their mouth. What is happening with Santana? And I do believe that especially I listened to the Ryan Murphy and that's what you really missed first two episodes, like a couple of days ago after the Glee book was announced, especially even after listening to that episode, like as Andrew said, I feel like he has learned so much. And it's like I honestly believe it's not a Ryan Murphy issue. Like what showrunner was ever put in that situation, having a lead character die between seasons four and five, like from a drug overdose at the time when it was airing? Working with an already exhausted cast.

[26:22] Matt Ligouri: Yeah, like no one had been through that ever.

[26:22] Conor Burke: And I don't know, like time is like a weird thing. And like, we'll see how it plays out. Like that was part of the whiplash, guys. Like when I opened the conversation with, oh my God, I was shocked when I saw that. I was like surely those conversations, if he gave that interview like a month ago, what do you think that those conversations between the cast went down between that day literally he was on the red carpet?

[26:55] Matt Ligouri: So there's timestamps of, okay, so when it was, when Ryan went, there's timestamps. Actually, open your eyes and you'll see. There are timestamps of Ryan Murphy going on the red carpet talking about the Glee boot. That same 24 hours, Heather Morris posted to her Instagram story, a text conversation that she was having with Ryan like an entire month before that she was like proposing a song that she wants Brittany to do. So these conversations, it's not like, yeah, it wasn't like kind of like done as quickly as we're, like they've been working in silence for at least a little while. So yeah.

[27:37] Conor Burke: Yeah. I'm sure.

[27:38] Matt Ligouri: First time Leah will, my prediction is the first time Leah will mention it will, will be when a first promo picture of her or teaser trailer of her drops.

[27:46] Conor Burke: What does she need to say? I mean, the article came out before she could even say anything of like Leah Michelle confirmed to be back with Glee boots.

[27:51] Matt Ligouri: Oh yeah. Well that is, from a business perspective, that is her people. But what I'm saying is she has not acknowledged it herself publicly the way others have like, or like the teasing of it all. Like there's been nothing from her.

[28:04] Conor Burke: All I know.

[28:05] Matt Ligouri: She's playing the long game.

[28:06] Conor Burke: And the exciting aspect of this is like the usual suspects, they have talked, they have been involved in the discussions, the comments or whatever. The Diana of it all has really gagged me that she has had anything to do with the conversation. And it's not us being like, Kevin, please find out anything that you could tell us about, about what her involvement could be. Like it could still be nothing, but there is a level of hope there that I never would have expected. And so that fills me with some optimism going into this and, and also Chris, but I was like, kind of like Chris was the guy when we, so before even like the Glee boot news dropped, I'm sitting here thinking, okay, I got an episode of Gleek of the Week coming up.

We're going to be talking about their Chris Colford, Darren Chris concert thing that Darren had Chris at. And I'm like, that was crazy. I still can't believe like that. And then it's like, wait, the wheels have been spinning. These people have been talking. They're, they're already, you know, re-engaging. So we're in a different time.

[28:59] Conor Burke: And, uh, I am curious, bringing it to Glackett, that like, how the Glackett will, the Glackett is Glee song bracket. Each week we look at some songs from the original Glee.

[29:13] Matt Ligouri: The original.

[29:19] Conor Burke: And, um, Wait, is this season seven, by the way? Is what we're getting, are we calling it season seven?

[29:24] Matt Ligouri: Unless they call it like Glee new era or something.

[29:27] Conor Burke: It better not be season seven. I swear to God.

[29:30] Matt Ligouri: Season seven just doesn't feel right to me. Do you know what I mean? I acknowledge that it is. I think it'll be Glee.

[29:37] Andrew: Something. And then there have been questions about like how the Glacket will be affected. I'm also unsure of like how like the timing of it all. I'm like, do I speed up the Glacket process? Do I slow it down? Well, you don't know. I mean, I keep saying like the earliest that we would get an episode delivered to us to me a minimum a year, probably more from now. I'm thinking 2028. Are people thinking 2027? I could see the late 2027. Again, that's soonest. Maybe like a Christmas drop. I am ailing. I am ailing a Christmas 2027 drop. And I don't know the exact schedule of what's left on the Glacket. But like, I would probably try to wrap like that's a good place to make sure that the Glacket's done by, right? I know because personally, what I do not want to happen is to still be doing the Glacket by the time.

[30:30] Conor: You literally can't. No, Andrew, you are fine. Sure. How many songs are left in the Glacket? Like 50?

[30:35] Matt: Yeah. Yeah, there's about 50.

[30:35] Andrew: Yeah. No, you're not gonna get it in like half a year. But I'm thinking about slowing it down next round to be instead of, yeah, one competition per episode.

[30:45] Conor: No, go with your original plan. If something happens.

[30:52] Andrew: Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Go with that original plan.

[30:54] Matt: 25 episodes of that, which is half a year.

[30:56] Andrew: You're good. I mean, I don't know. I don't know. We'll see. We'll see. Don't hold me to anything. Much like the reboot or the revival, there's decisions that have to be made here.

[31:08] Conor: You see, what I need to do is I need to Google IMDB. I need to Google Ryan Murphy's upcoming projects. And I need to see him back on that red carpet again, because he is a talking minute. I know that Old Ferris season two is coming out. I don't know if he's doing any press for that.

[31:23] Matt: Wait, I thought that already came out.

[31:25] Conor: Oh, sorry. Okay. Well, I haven't. I don't watch that, but okay. I just need to find out what's the next thing that he is making that has him back in the spotlight. Because this whole business of, and look, it's the fun of it. This is what we've waited years for. We're probably not going to get anything for a while now. I'm predicting like, so it's the end of October now. I'm predicting like some scoop around Christmas time. Just because there's a little festive holiday treat. What was I going to say? Okay. What are we thinking? If this is like a 10 episode thing, are we getting a weekly release? I hope it's a weekly release.

[32:02] Matt: I hope we get, we do need, I was bringing it to a Glacket place, Connor, if that's okay.

[32:08] Conor: Okay. I'm so sorry.

[32:09] Andrew: I think that we can talk about, we can talk about the Gleeboot as we weave through.

[32:09] Conor: Yeah.

[32:09] Andrew: As we weave through. Do we have anything to say about the Glacket?

[32:18] Matt: Yeah.

[32:19] Conor: Okay. So that, okay. I would have went with maybe this time over to Sir With Love.

[32:28] Andrew: And why?

[32:30] Conor: So the reasons y'all gave for voting for Sir With Love, beautiful. Totally agree. This is the essence of the show. And I love to Sir With Love, but that is also my reasons for voting for maybe this time. My reasons for voting for maybe this time. As in, I feel like that song is the essence of the show. In terms of, it's sung, it's performed by these two characters who are kind of desperately sad figures trying to figure their shit out. That has always been Glee at its best to me. The Sir With Love side of it is about like the love for arts education, how you've changed my life. The maybe this time side of it is I'm a very sad person who finds comfort in performing. I am Rachel Berry, who's not been listened to in the Glee Club.

I'm April Rhodes, who is a washout and I need to get back into it. That entire thing is Glee to me. And that's, I think that's like Ian Brennan's original vision of Glee. And I just love that song. I'm always very moved by it. Absolutely adore to Sir With Love. Love that song. So I'm not like mad about it.

[33:45] Andrew: Would you be mad if Sir With Love could potentially win the Glacket?

[33:51] Conor: It's not going to.

[33:52] Matt: No, I wouldn't be mad, but I don't think it's going to win.

[33:54] Conor: It's not going to. No, I like the idea of like this could win. Like I like when we talk about songs in that context, but it's not going to.

[34:02] Matt: Yeah, I agree with Mash, totally. I also kind of crazy that Happy Days is gone.

[34:10] Conor: Yeah, I'm surprised about that too. Like both of the songs that Conor just mentioned are both on my list of like to discuss, but not because I'm like, I'm just literally shocked that maybe this time and Happy Days are both gone. I just expected those to be in the end. I don't know. It's so interesting. I've always wanted to do the exercise, like the way you kind of definitively know your top favorite Glee songs. Like I really need to sit down and do that one time. But I know for a fact Happy Days, Get Happy. It's probably my top 15.

[34:40] Andrew: I think it was an easy activity. I just I started with the whole playlist of everything. As I listened, I would kind of remove the songs from the playlist and like narrow it down and then keep listening through the playlist until I had like three or whatever it was. And I was like, this is it. I can't cut any more of these. I just think like for me, Happy Days are here again, Get Happy. Do you know when, I'm sure you have this with obviously a lot of Glee songs, Happy Days, I've got like a memory attached to it. I remember like so randomly when the episode was airing, my dad walked in to the room and Happy Days was on. And it was like literally the final 15 seconds of it. And he was just like beaming at the television.

He kind of like popped in and out of watching Glee, but he was just so like, oh, he was just so like, I could just tell it was so like he was like, he was happy, just like they're just so brilliant aren't they? Like, and I just, I love that song so much. I don't know, like no air, crazy work when you think about it, because it's like, yeah, but I'm not mad. I feel like I feel like you're not mad about it.

[35:45] Conor: You know, when Finn's like, wait, is there a fire? No. And that's the point. There is no fire. I never would have expected no air to get this far. Like I was fully expecting it to be gone here. And I was like, that's fine. Fair enough. But like, I'm here for no air to make a surprise appearance in the top 50. I truly have not. But why do we remember? Didn't no air like knock out You Can't Stop the Beat?

[36:06] Matt: You did. Yes. That's why it's my op. I, the one thing about me is that I love You Can't Stop the Beat. And I feel like maybe that's.

[36:12] Conor: No air, it's like classic season one dramatics. And so it's really dramatic. I really, I love what you said about it in the last episode that it feels like they're pretending like they're in a music video.

[36:27] Matt: Yeah. Between that and Bohemian Rhapsody, I feel like those are the songs that really encapsulate like the season one Quinn Finn Rachel drama of just like songs that are left. And maybe I'm forgetting one, but like, love that that's included for such a prominent Glee storyline to still be here. Just while we were talking about maybe this time, and this is my last thing that I'll have for you both here today is this might be my first time being on since the news dropped of Kristen Chenoweth being on The Traders next year.

[36:52] Conor: Oh, say something. Either of you have thoughts about that? I mean, I don't I never like I've discussed this upcoming Traders cast in depth and we'll do so much more. But like Traders cast is usually for reality TV people, maybe your random actor or two. Dom Monaghan from Lost is going to be there. That's also a big shock. But to me, Kristen Chenoweth is the biggest name on the season and on the series thus far. I'm blown away that she did it.

[37:21] Matt: When does that premiere?

[37:21] Conor: You're probably not familiar with the British version of The Traders.

[37:27] Matt: Oh no, every episode I've seen. But like, that's big names on purpose.

[37:33] Conor: Yeah, like the big the celebrity version of the celebrity British version of The Traders. They genuinely have such big names. But yeah, the American one. Yeah, it's really interesting. She's obviously I'm obviously going to be watching. I think that she could be I think that she could go for quite frankly, just knowing everything about her.

[37:51] Matt: See, I my prediction was that almost the opposite. I think that she's going to be a traitor because they are not paying her to paying Kristen Chenoweth to be on their show, to not have her in a featured role where she can kind of control her own fate. But I do think that they're going to catch her early just because it's like, of course, they're going to make Kristen Chenoweth a traitor. That's my prediction. Anyway, and also as of this, so does that mean that she's does that mean that she's not back for the Gleeboot? She's campaigning. She'll be back in the Gleeboot. I feel really confident that her and Gwyneth are both back for the Gleeboot. And just as of this recording to one more reality show, Harry is still on Dancing with the Stars.

Have either of you consumed any of the dances? You've seen some of the dances? Okay. I mean, still not thinking he's maybe the strongest candidate to win, not based on dance performance, just based on like the overall vibe of the show and the contestants right now. But I just would be remiss to not at least acknowledge his continued success so far.

[38:51] Matt: Yeah, for you with that in mind, when you watch like the Amber season live, did you feel pretty confident going like throughout the season that it was like, this is kind of the winner?

[39:01] Conor: I guess a little hard to say I was a lot younger watching with a little bit less, you know, focused eye on how this all works.

[39:09] Matt: I mean, do you usually know who the winner is kind of like?

[39:11] Conor: Yeah, I mean, Robert Irwin last season, it's like, okay, we knew that from day one. Amber, I do feel like had that winner energy to the point that like we were we like I was not surprised at all when she got the win. She was the first black woman to win the show. So it was a pretty big deal. And unfortunately, to this still today is the only black woman to win the show from a celebrity perspective. So yeah, I mean, that was probably a little bit more obvious to the point where Harry, I think he just totally got screwed on the season that he's on with so many good dancers and popular people that I don't think he's going to end up being the winner here. But he has been a lot of fun. His dedication night performance was made me cry a lot.

[39:47] Andrew: Wait, how far how far into the season is it?

[39:50] Conor: As of this recording, we're about halfway actually tonight is the double elimination on horror movie night. I think he'll make it through. I would be surprised if he doesn't.

[39:58] Matt: So I'm thinking.

[39:59] Conor: Is this episode going to age well? Well, I guess we'll find out.

[40:01] Andrew: I guess we'll find out. But I'd be really surprised. There's a lot of people that are like ready to go from the audience's perspective.

[40:07] Andrew: This is when editing Andrew comes in. Sorry, guys. I hate to break it to you guys, but I think he's okay this week, maybe by the time this episode comes out, because that'll be next Tuesday. And there's Disney. Actually, no, he could. There's two episodes by the time this episode comes out, at least on. Oh, wow. Disney night is next Monday because of the election.

[40:28] Conor: Oh, hey, can I ask quickly before we jump in? What competitions were last week? Because I've not listened to that episode.

[40:38] Andrew: The competitions last week were rumor has it someone like you versus touch a touch a touch me. What would you vote for?

[40:44] Conor: Rumor has it, obviously.

[40:46] Andrew: Yeah, yeah. Okay. Okay. I just wanted to.

[40:49] Matt: Duh, Andrew, idiot.

[40:50] Andrew: God, Andrew.

[40:51] Conor: And then dog days are over versus father figure.

[40:55] Matt: Sorry, Roger.

[40:56] Conor: Okay, dog days are over. Better have got through or I'll actually fucking scream.

[41:00] Andrew: Yeah, it did. You don't need to scream.

[41:02] Conor: Okay. Okay, that was last week.

[41:04] Andrew: Was that an unanimous vote?

[41:07] Matt: I think it was unanimous. Yeah.

[41:10] Andrew: Okay, good.

[41:10] Conor: You might have voted a sympathy vote for father figure. You've been making crazy moves lately.

[41:15] Matt: Genuinely, you've been making crazy moves. And that's why I had to clarify.

[41:21] Andrew: I've been really acting up, keeping everybody on their toes.

[41:24] Conor: What do you want today?

[41:26] Andrew: I want to be important today. I want to make a big decision.

[41:26] Conor: Big decision.

[41:31] Matt: Conor, you want to make a small decision?

[41:33] Conor: I want to make a big one.

[41:34] Andrew: Yeah, I'm in the mood to fuck shit up.

[41:37] Conor: We have to, every time, from every episode I'm on, from here on out, I'm assuming that someone who's a producer or like a writer on Glee is listening.

[41:47] Andrew: So anything that I want, you're making a case for yourself right now.

[41:51] Conor: Basically, yeah.

[41:52] Andrew: Hey, guys. Love this show. Gosh, you guys never fail. Every time I watch this.

[42:00] Conor: You need another Irish character on Glee.

[42:04] Matt: Um, okay. It's gonna be...

[42:09] Conor: Damien McGinty coming back.

[42:09] Matt: Unfortunately not.

[42:13] Conor: Damien McGinty is coming back.

[42:14] Matt: Oh, hell no.

[42:15] Conor: Oh, no.

[42:15] Matt: No, he did not.

[42:15] Conor: Okay. I'm ready to get down with this.

[42:18] Andrew: Not this first.

[42:18] Conor: I just want everybody to know that Damien McGinty did not DM me that he's coming back.

[42:22] Andrew: Okay.

[42:22] Conor: Andrew, I texted you about this to check on its status in the Glacket before.

[42:27] Andrew: Well, and you know what this is.

[42:29] Conor: Oh, I'm wide awake and ready.

[42:32] Andrew: You're wide awake because it is wide awake. Here we go.

[42:34] Conor: Go back into open.

[42:37] Andrew: May I?

[42:39] Conor: Yeah, go ahead.

[42:40] Conor: First and foremost, I know I at least connect with Andrew over this. I don't know, Connor or anybody else. Where's Jacob Artist amidst all this news?

[42:49] Matt: Posting thirst traps on Instagram just where we want them to be.

[42:52] Conor: So...

[42:53] Matt: And I'm thirsting for them.

[42:54] Conor: Every time.

[42:55] Matt: And they're working.

[42:56] Conor: Um, whatever comes up next, I'm voting for this.

[43:03] Andrew: Really?

[43:03] Conor: Yeah, whatever comes up next.

[43:05] Andrew: Your definitive list.

[43:07] Conor: Where does this ring?

[43:07] Andrew: Do not sway me.

[43:08] Conor: Um, I have to double check.

[43:09] Andrew: Okay, well, there's just all the dramatic tension leaving the room.

[43:14] Conor: Yeah, and I'm a podcaster. I should know better. But, um, I, I can't, I can't, I'm not being honest with you if I don't say that here. I just, and like, this is not my number one Glee song of all time. It's up there, but I just have felt such a passion towards it as we get deeper into this project that I need and I want to protect it with everything within me. I just, like, not many other songs make me feel the way that I feel while listening. It's like the biggest eargasm that I think the show has to offer me, just from those voices blending together in the most beautiful possible way. On my list, it is, uh, number, number eight.

[43:56] Matt: Number eight, because they ate down.

[43:58] Conor: Okay.

[43:59] Andrew: And honestly, a bunch of songs above it probably are already eliminated.

[44:02] Conor: So this isn't going to be that hard for me to vote for it. Um, wait, this, this hypothetically against, and this could happen hypothetically against Don't Stop Believing.

[44:10] Andrew: Yeah.

[44:10] Conor: Easy.

[44:12] Andrew: Easy?

[44:13] Conor: Easy.

[44:13] Andrew: Really?

[44:14] Conor: Easy.

[44:15] Andrew: That's wild to me.

[44:17] Conor: Yep.

[44:17] Andrew: Wild?

[44:17] Conor: Don't Stop Believing is not on my top 25.

[44:20] Andrew: No, but you're just saying we're, we're doing the Glocko. This is a, this is a group activity.

[44:24] Conor: Anyway.

[44:24] Conor Burke: Wow. Connor, what do you think?

[44:26] Conor Burke: What I would think is the first thing I thought about was Becca Tobin saying that the Glee reboot gives her diarrhoea. So iconic. This is the mess that I'm here for. Like, I just love all of this. I'm a gaga. I took the Buzzfeed quiz. I'm a gaga. This is a gorgeous arrangement. I'm slightly bored there. I'm not going to lie. I don't know whether it's because I'm just in a weird headspace. I think it blends well. Sometimes, ever since, even though I love Jacob Barrett's voice, ever since that person on the internet said he sounds like Kermit the Frog, I can't unhear it. Even though I don't personally agree and I think he sounds beautiful. I would be intrigued to know what this beat out to get to round four.

[45:14] Andrew: Let's take a look, actually. It won against You've Lost That Love and Feeling in round one.

[45:19] Conor Burke: In round two, it won against It's My Life Confessions.

[45:25] Andrew: We're good so far?

[45:27] Conor Burke: Yeah.

[45:29] Andrew: Okay. In round three, Wide Awake won against Hung Up.

[45:35] Conor Burke: Okay, that's fine. And here we are in round four.

[45:39] Andrew: No questions here.

[45:41] Conor Burke: It's kind of had an easy ride, though.

[45:43] Andrew: Kind of. I think that It's My Life Confessions was probably the hardest one for it to get over, but now it's here. It's such an unexpected group for me. Of course, you get it, that all of these kids are still here in the Glee Club at this point in time. But I mean, season five, first of all, right? That's where we're at here. It's just like so many sleepers in there for me, music-wise. And this episode in particular has, you know, no misses. Banger, banger, banger. Banger, banger, banger, banger. And again, I never would have expected this one to come. Like, no offense to at least Becca Tobin or Jacob Artist, that nobody was really expecting them to be a part of some of the best vocal performances out there. But when you blend them together with Alex Newell, with Jenna Ushkowitz, it just produced. I could never be bored with this. The way I stand, the way I rise for everybody talks, though. Some people don't get it. I always have.

[46:49] Matt Ligouri: I hear you, Adam.

[46:50] Conor Burke: Oh, no, it started with a whisper? Hello? It started with a whisper. And it ended with me clapping, yeah. And it ended with a standing ovation. No, I think that, like, this is fully me not looking at a list and I'm saying whatever I want right now. But I really do think this is maybe all four of their best vocals in the series. Like, literally.

[47:14] Andrew: Okay, that's wild now. Let's just unpack that for a second. I'm not saying that you're wrong, but let's just unpack that. Do you think that that's Unique's best vocal?

[47:22] Conor Burke: It's, like, really good. I mean, like, what? Yeah, I understand, like, if I were a boy, I know where I've been. Yes, but I think this is, like, this is good.

[47:31] Matt Ligouri: Yes.

[47:32] Conor Burke: I can also say, but I think that, like, more realistically, I think this is Becca Tobin's definitive best vocal. You can't bring anything else up.

[47:44] Matt Ligouri: No, no, I'm not saying I disagree. I'm saying I'm thinking.

[47:48] Conor Burke: Yeah, I'll give you that. Is this your favorite song, Andrew, in Acacia or Gaga?

[47:54] Andrew: Yeah, I think it is. I remember, like, watching this episode with my mom. And my mom fucking hated this episode. She hated the beginning of the episode. And I just remember being like, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait until you get to Wide Awake. Just wait. Just bear with me, please. And she did not make it to this performance. She missed out.

[48:15] Conor Burke: Wow. I love Roar.

[48:16] Matt Ligouri: I think I love Roar more.

[48:20] Conor Burke: Roar is cute. I quite simply can't have Adam Lambert, Demi Lovato, Lea Michele and Naya Rivera on the same track. I'm just not loving it.

[48:28] Matt Ligouri: And Alex Newell, lest we forget.

[48:29] Conor Burke: Come on. And Alex Newell. But I would have loved to have seen that little grouping in New York.

[48:36] Matt Ligouri: Yeah, but that grouping in New York when they're singing together, though.

[48:39] Conor Burke: Oh, sure. That's it for me. Every Katy Perry song they've ever done is better than the original.

[48:44] Matt Ligouri: Oh.

[48:45] Conor Burke: Put that in the carousel. Every Katy Perry song they've ever done is better than the original. Teenage Dream. Firework. Wide Awake.

[48:52] Matt Ligouri: I'll push back on Firework.

[48:53] Conor Burke: No.

[48:54] Matt Ligouri: Yeah, I'm pushing back on Firework.

[48:55] Conor Burke: No. Firework. Lea Michele's a better singer.

[48:59] Matt Ligouri: Ah, yeah.

[49:00] Conor Burke: Oh, wow. Wow, wow, wow.

[49:02] Matt Ligouri: No.

[49:03] Conor Burke: Still better. There are better singers than her. Lea Michele's a better singer than Katy Perry.

[49:07] Matt Ligouri: Yeah, she didn't sing Last Friday Night.

[49:09] Conor Burke: That's Darren.

[49:10] Matt Ligouri: Yeah. Well, Connor's argument was that Lea Michele's a better singer.

[49:15] Conor Burke: Oh, wait. And then also, I hated the 2009 arrangement that they did of I Kissed a Girl.

[49:21] Matt Ligouri: Sure.

[49:22] Conor Burke: Awful.

[49:23] Matt Ligouri: I love that.

[49:24] Conor Burke: I don't get it.

[49:25] Matt Ligouri: I don't get it.

[49:26] Conor Burke: I loved it. Experimental.

[49:28] Matt Ligouri: That was so emotic.

[49:30] Conor Burke: Okay, wait. I think that, like, okay. So this is the last song from Katy Gaga, and Katy Gaga is obviously a very, very important episode to me. I do want, and then, like, I want someone to hold me to this, to have an event with the Gleeks one day where we all do Katy Gaga together. Everyone takes the Buzzfeed quiz. We watch the episode together, and we all get drunk off our damn ass taking a drink every time that they say Katy or Gaga, dependent on what you identify with. This has certainly happened. Like, I'm positive this discussion has happened at some point, but now that we know the Glee Boot is happening, I do feel like we need a definitive answer of, like, what that episode is in the Glee Boot, because it won't be Katy and it won't be Gaga, but, like, what artist today?

[50:14] Matt Ligouri: Oh, someone, I think Eduardo shared in the Patreon group chat that it was, like, Brat or Showgirl, which I thought was funny.

[50:21] Conor Burke: Yeah. I don't think that Showgirl was kind of, like, at the same level, at least for me, that Brat was at. There's a lot of options, but...

[50:29] Matt Ligouri: Yeah.

[50:30] Conor Burke: Yeah. I was also thinking, I wrote down, I have four notes here. Two of them are Nurse Penny. I just wrote down Nurse Penny twice, because I really do want to unpack Nurse Penny and see... I feel like she's going to be the downfall of this song, at least for me. Is that terrible to say? Do you think she'll be in the Glee Boot?

[50:48] Matt Ligouri: That is such a valid point. That is such a valid point. Nurse Penny is the downfall.

[50:54] Conor Burke: Well, yeah, I said as the song started, for those of you not listening on Patreon, she was one of the ten who was contacted. She confirmed.

[51:04] Matt Ligouri: Yeah, I'll save being annoyed that you just said that until after the next song gets pulled.

[51:11] Andrew: So wait, Matt, is this the winner of your glocket then, looking at a list, looking at your list?

[51:16] Matt Ligouri: No, but right now I'm prepared for it to be. Today.

[51:20] Andrew: Okay. Yeah. I think it's got a good chance. Let's see. Today I'm prepared to fight for their honour.

[51:27] Conor Burke: Oh, this is interesting. Interesting.

[51:30] Matt Ligouri: Are you doubting mine? Is it going to give you diarrhoea, interesting?

[51:36] Conor Burke: No, I'm just like, I'm happy with either option kind of thing. I'm kind of like a really cool vibe about things right now.

[51:43] Andrew: Okay. Um, so.

[51:46] Conor Burke: It's going to be a song I like and I'm going to have to find ways to put it down.

[51:49] Andrew: So let's. That's the challenge for me.

[51:51] Matt Ligouri: Oh, you know. This first thumbnail. This is going to be another case of Andrew and I agreeing with one another.

[51:56] Conor Burke: This first thumbnail.

[51:58] Andrew: Okay. Are you ready?

[52:02] Conor Burke: Yeah. It's me against the music.

[52:04] Andrew: Here we go.

[52:05] Conor Burke: Pepsi's Pepsi.

[52:07] Matt Ligouri: What are you talking about?

[52:08] Conor Burke: Um. Um.

[52:10] Matt Ligouri: I started this saying, Matt, you're going to hate me.

[52:12] Conor Burke: I was like.

[52:13] Matt Ligouri: Audio.

[52:14] Conor Burke: Hey.

[52:15] Matt Ligouri: Yeah.

[52:16] Conor Burke: Audio medium. Matt looks like Matt. You look. You look worried.

[52:21] Matt Ligouri: I went into this thinking like, okay, I'm happy with either one winning. I really, really. I really liked that a lot. Really, really. On a scale of one to 10. How mad would you be at Andrew or I voting this through?

[52:27] Matt Ligouri: The camera's gone. I was like.

[52:52] Matt Ligouri: I. You but, I'll be really upset. Honestly, I can't lie. Like when it comes to sat in terror performances. There are obviously so many good ones. I'm looking at the black right now. What's gone through? We still have hand in my pocket. I feel the earth move. We still have landslide is in there. We are under represented with them and I might even be missing women. So I'm not going to feel a type of way by losing a Britney and Santana duet here. I will feel a type of way about losing the beauty. That is those four season, four or five glee club members singing a beautiful, beautiful song, keeping a Katy or a Gaga alive here in the Glackett for the final round or not final round, the final, the next round and just letting those beautiful vocals move on for another day. I would be upset.

[53:45] Conor Burke: This competition really is like just kind of sitting with the vocals versus high production value.

[53:54] Matt Ligouri: Well, yes, it is the vocal versus high production value. But I would also argue that to know what Glee was to me, Glee was like Glee was top of the pops. Glee was a commentary on the culture. And I love when people love culture. I love when people love culture. I think the physical labor that went into the creation of this episode is so like moving just because, yes, not a lot happens. Yes, it is funny. Yes, it is high production values. But like the recreation of the music videos like is such for me, it's such a ode to the artists that they pay tribute to. And I find that like really moving, even though it's inherently very silly. Like you can just tell that Heather and Nia adore Britney. You can tell that Ryan Murphy really loves Britney. You can tell that as a cultural icon, Britney is really held in high regard. And it's like it's such an ode to Britney. We can talk about Britney 2.0 at another time.

[54:51] Conor Burke: And whilst I do take on into Matt's, I do take Matt's opinion totally on board that this is such a unique arrangement. It's absolutely gorgeous to listen to wide awake. Those voices blend so beautifully together. We never hear those people sing. I just and there's one side of me that's like little devil on my shoulder, like being like Connor, come on, you should give the vote to wide awake. But it's just it's tough. It's tough for me to not go the other way.

[55:20] Matt Ligouri: What I'm also kind of grappling with, if this happens, is that and, you know, not putting words in anybody's mouths here, because I feel like this has been a wide sentiment for all of us of like that we want it to be a song that wins the glacket that represents Glee. And I feel like the recreation of the music video is just like a cool thing. I know. I know. Whereas how many times do we like, no, but you see, I don't think that we does with these beautiful vocal arrangements with their actors, that some of them aren't even notorious singers, but they still make them sound on a whole other level. They don't need that production value to just put four incredible voices up on that stage together and each one lifts another one up to a point of just making it unforgettable.

[55:39] Conor Burke: But you see, I totally agree with that. Every syllable you just uttered. Totally agree. However, whilst I do think that like if a mashup comes up, for example, I do think it should get points because it's a mashup for and, you know, it's unique and it's I don't totally subscribe to the idea either that just because something is a recreation of something or an ode to something that it should lose points. And I've actually never agreed with that. In a way, I actually think it should gain points just in terms of like I find the Vogue Glee cover to be very impressive to look at as like a recreation. I find I find this as a very pop, like a very impressive thing. Like I don't like the discourse of like, oh, we should take points off of it simply because it's a it's a recreation of the OG music video, which I feel like we do fall into that discourse sometimes.

[56:55] Matt Ligouri: Yeah. I understand what you're both saying. It's really, really fascinating.

[57:00] Conor Burke: Me too. I feel like you're really making me look very inward right now because, yeah, I have been a long kind of testifier of like the winner of the Glackett should be kind of like around camaraderie is the big word, but like, you know, that they're doing something different and special than the original doesn't do. Whereas with me against the music, of course, we're looking at recreation. I do say to that, that like they're they're they're putting so much money and effort into me against the music. And also you can see that, like, everyone's on board. Naya and Heather are like they're you can see them like very specifically following specific movements, but also like making it their own as well. I think it's all.

[57:54] Matt Ligouri: Yeah. And it's also the parasocial of it all, like, sorry to sound like a weirdo, but it's just like this was really their first time to shine. And you can tell just as a fan, like how much this means to them. But on the other hand, I completely know what Matt is saying. Like I feel like my head right now is telling me where Connor for all the reasons like vote wide awake. But on the other hand, I'm just like.

[58:18] Conor Burke: To the point that I made and I'll just make it again of like there are other Santana and Britney duets on the Glock. It's still going forward. No, you're. There's also another performance. I'm staring right at it. That feels to me in a very similar spot of what you just said about the first time to shine Valerie season two. It's for for both of those two for Naya Rivera, Heather Morris and, you know, Harry Shim Jr. just like here's their breakout time to show what they can do with the Glee Club. It's right around the corner for the two of them. So I feel like that can kind of represent that I'm just further like because I'm not happy to have to vote against me, against the music here. But I just feel like there are other performances here that can kind of cover what I want to have existed in the next round and the final rounds of this competition. Nothing else could come in and replace wide awake or be what wide awake is. No other song on this competition. These competitions are getting so hard now.

[59:13] Conor Burke: It's like the other week when it was Four Minutes versus New York State of Mind. I went on to the Instagram polls afterwards. I voted in the first competition and then I stared at the screen. I was like, I don't know if I'm voting for Four Minutes or New York State of Mind. I had to swipe out and go back. This is, for me, this is one of those competitions because I feel like they're on the same level. Actually, let's just say they're on the same level for me, but it's just whatever direction I'm facing. And everything that every, as I said, every syllable that Matt has uttered, I agree with. But there's just something within me. I think it's because, not to sound too deep, but I think it's because the way we love this show, I get the vibe of they love Britney in that way.

And I think that that comes through the performance. I don't know what it is. The amount of work that went into this, I don't know. There's something about it that is so visceral to me and it pops off the screen. Final argument—Matt, are you mad?

[1:00:23] Matt Ligouri: Yeah. Final argument is just that—

[1:00:26] Conor Burke: But wait, I don't know which way is Andrew going to go.

[1:00:29] Matt Ligouri: Why would Andrew be asking me if I was mad if he wasn't going to vote against Wide Awake? I don't know. Final argument—

[1:00:36] Conor Burke: Audio medium, Andrew's not making eye contact with the camera.

[1:00:39] Matt Ligouri: Andrew's like, can you guys just shut up and let me talk?

[1:00:42] Conor Burke: No, my final thing is that this cover of Wide Awake, it's a new song. This is not the Katy Perry song. I mean, I know that a cover directly is just recreating a song, but there are so many Glee covers that just kind of do it a little bit better. This took it, created a whole new song, a whole new sound, and something that I stream one million more times than I will ever hit that Katy Perry play button for. That's all. Go ahead. Do what you got to do.

[1:01:13] Matt Ligouri: Are people going to hate us?

[1:01:14] Conor Burke: I do.

[1:01:17] Matt Ligouri: Hate? You're saying hate? That's big.

[1:01:19] Conor Burke: Well, Connor said it. I just agreed.

[1:01:21] Matt Ligouri: Okay, wait, can I just ask? This is maybe an inappropriate question, Matt.

[1:01:25] Matt Ligouri: Mm-hmm. Oh, boy.

[1:01:28] Conor Burke: But can you defend Nurse Penny's involvement in Wide Awake?

[1:01:33] Matt Ligouri: No, but I just want to knock that out of you. Between that and the—what's the freaking song? The season six mashup, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, Head Over Feet, and you can't get over the clips playing in the background. But that's also where this comes into play. You've been re-watching these performances time and time again for the past couple of years. You're watching the MP4. I, for the past however many years, I've been listening to this podcast in my ears when I'm not on it, and I'm hearing the song, so I'm not seeing Nurse Penny. And that's like, I think a pretty solid way that people are consuming it as well. So I don't need to worry about that or the Klain clips in Will You Love Me Tomorrow, Head Over Feet. That sound will carry me through the rest of the season.

[1:02:17] Conor Burke: That's true. But I suppose the point is, is that people have historically taken the MP4 into consideration in the past.

[1:02:25] Matt Ligouri: I just don't. So that's why it's like—

[1:02:26] Conor Burke: And not just for this song either. Do you know what I mean? I feel like there's been people who've said in the past, I like the MP3 of this song, but I like the MP3 and the MP4 of this one.

[1:02:35] Andrew: So what's the third song, Andrew?

[1:02:38] Conor Burke: Yeah, I know.

[1:02:39] Matt Ligouri: What do you stream more, Andrew? Do you stream Me Against the Music more?

[1:02:42] Conor Burke: We know what his answer is. He's just trying to not, you know, just—

[1:02:45] Andrew: Yeah. Okay. Me Against the Music has my vote. Okay. I'm going to vote for Me Against the Music just so that that's documented. I'm so sorry, guys. I know people are going to dislike me for that, but—

[1:02:57] Matt Ligouri: Okay. I'm really sorry.

[1:02:59] Conor Burke: What's next?

[1:03:01] Andrew: I know that he—just quickly before we move on, in so many ways, I know you're right. So I do apologize, but—

[1:03:08] Matt Ligouri: Double check my text messages and see when I last asked you about Why Do We Extat Us? Because I was just listening to it one day, and I was like, I need to know.

[1:03:15] Andrew: This morning.

[1:03:20] Matt Ligouri: It was February 5th of this year. I said, can you remind me of Why Do We Extat Us on the Glackett? And you said, still yet to be told.

[1:03:27] Andrew: So you don't care about it that much, then.

[1:03:28] Matt Ligouri: And then I said, need her safety with two hearts, and Andrew heart-reacted.

[1:03:35] Andrew: The heart-react.

[1:03:37] Matt Ligouri: The heart-react.

[1:03:38] Andrew: Okay. Next competition. We're looking at Sue in her office. It's about to cut to a performance. Anybody know what this could—

[1:03:45] Conor Burke: This is season one, isn't it?

[1:03:47] Andrew: Yes, it is.

[1:03:49] Conor Burke: Is it season one B?

[1:03:51] Andrew: No, season one A. It is—I'm just going to reveal it. It's True Colors.

[1:03:56] Conor Burke: Oh. Okay.

[1:03:58] Matt Ligouri: But they're back on stools.

[1:03:59] Conor Burke: Two Sir with Love's Sister.

[1:03:59] Matt Ligouri: Yeah.

[1:04:03] Conor Burke: So you were saying Best Genre Vocal Wide Awake and not True Colors?

[1:04:09] Matt Ligouri: I know what you mean. I'm talking about the, yeah, in this. So good.

[1:04:09] Conor Burke: So good.

[1:04:22] Matt Ligouri: I want to do a little check-in with you. I don't feel good about what happened. And I think that you continue to be the martyr of the Glackett.

[1:04:33] Conor Burke: I have to look up that word.

[1:04:34] Matt Ligouri: That means that like you're kind of—you're dying for a good cause.

[1:04:40] Conor Burke: Yeah, just being stabbed and stabbed and stabbed and stabbed and stabbed.

[1:04:40] Matt Ligouri: Judas!

[1:04:45] Conor Burke: Can anybody out there actually—I'm okay. Can anybody check my records of this podcast? How many times have I been outvoted? And then how many times have I been outvoted on a competition where I'm really passionate about my vote?

[1:04:58] Matt Ligouri: Remind me of another time that you've been outvoted. Just two times.

[1:05:03] Conor Burke: It's every time that you're on an episode with Patrick.

[1:05:06] Matt Ligouri: Yes, because I feel like it's happened also with Ian, but I don't think we disagree that much. I don't feel like I disagree with you a lot, Matt, actually, now that I think about it.

[1:05:16] Conor Burke: But I do remember one time, actually, Matt, not to kick you while you're down.

[1:05:16] Matt Ligouri: Well.

[1:05:21] Conor Burke: You did. You voted for Break Free over Happy Days Are Here Again.

[1:05:28] Matt Ligouri: That's crazy work. You see, can I just—I was about to say, and I mean this as the biggest compliment. My Glee opinions are the most vanilla, boring fucking opinions ever. And if you have more interesting opinions, like you do, I fear that's just going to happen. But I don't know. Give me two examples of times you've been outvoted other than just five minutes ago.

[1:05:53] Matt Ligouri: I don't remember what I had for breakfast, so I really can't answer that for you right now. I'm one of those people with a really bad memory, unless it really mattered to me, which tells you enough that I am okay. You know, when we get off these calls, I'm fine. But I want to double check that episode that you're talking about, Andrew, because that might have been the episode that I just went full petty in the last song and said—

[1:05:53] Andrew: Oh, I remember.

[1:06:14] Matt Ligouri: I have a big one that you were there for. You voted for Fighter above Summer Nights.

[1:06:23] Conor Burke: Um, which I absolutely felt—

[1:06:26] Matt Ligouri: I fully agree with that opinion.

[1:06:29] Conor Burke: Thank you.

[1:06:30] Matt Ligouri: Fully agree with Matt on that one.

[1:06:32] Conor Burke: So where's Break Free? Uh, la la la la.

[1:06:35] Matt Ligouri: Break Free did—that did happen. You did vote for Break Free above Happy Days Are Here Again.

[1:06:40] Andrew: Do you have the vote for that episode? For all the matchups?

[1:06:43] Matt Ligouri: I just—I'm not pulling up the vote document right now, but I just remember that off the top of my head.

[1:06:49] Conor Burke: Because I'm looking at the other matchups that happened there. Anything goes—anything you can do versus Here Comes Santa Claus.

[1:06:55] Matt Ligouri: I know I would have voted for Here Comes Santa Claus there.

[1:06:57] Conor Burke: You did, yes.

[1:06:58] Matt Ligouri: And then Human Nature, Centerfold, Hot In Here.

[1:07:01] Conor Burke: I don't know. I mean, I guess I might have voted for Centerfold. Because again, I remember an episode where I was—

[1:07:05] Matt Ligouri: You did.

[1:07:05] Conor Burke: Okay. So at that point, I must have just been being petty. But I also don't care that much about Happy Days, Happy Days Are Here Again, whatever. Get happy. Happy, happy, happy. I just understand that a lot of people do. So like, again, when we were talking about it at the beginning of this episode, I was like, I'm shocked that it's gone. But I'm okay with it. Like, it's really—and it's grown on me a lot over the years, like a lot more than it ever had been.

[1:07:27] Matt Ligouri: What song are we talking about? True Colors?

[1:07:29] Conor Burke: Yeah, True Colors.

[1:07:29] Matt Ligouri: Yeah, let's talk about True Colors.

[1:07:31] Conor Burke: I just wanted to do a little check-in with you. I'm glad to hear that you're okay.

[1:07:34] Matt Ligouri: Yeah, I'm fine. We gotta, you know, we gotta get to Dancing With The Stars tonight. We gotta, you know, we gotta regroup.

[1:07:39] Conor Burke: We do need to get to Dancing With The Stars.

[1:07:40] Matt Ligouri: Whatever's not, you know, we gotta be okay.

[1:07:43] Conor Burke: Let's talk about another Jenna that isn't Jenna on Dancing With The Stars. Let's talk about Jenna Auschwitz. What did you think about her performance in True Colors, Matt?

[1:07:52] Matt Ligouri: This is just in the same vein of To Serve With Love. Just, like, really, really pretty. Jenna's vocals in it, the entire Glee Club. It's one of those, like, this does bring me into the episode and have me feeling like a special type of way of just, like, it feels so good to end an episode of Glee. I don't remember if this one is the exact end or if there was, like, some scenes afterwards.

[1:07:52] Conor Burke: It is.

[1:08:17] Matt Ligouri: Okay. To Serve With Love, is that not the case there?

[1:08:19] Conor Burke: I feel like one of those two.

[1:08:21] Matt Ligouri: To Serve With Love is not the end of the episode.

[1:08:23] Conor Burke: Yeah, it's not the end. But, like, when we go out on an episode, and like, sometimes we go out with, like, these big flashy performances, and it's like, oh, that was so cool. That was Glee. But also, this canon is the same thing of just, like, finishing on such an emotional note that makes you really feel something. And that's what this damn show's about.

[1:08:23] Conor Burke: Yeah.

[1:08:43] Matt Ligouri: Connor, what are you thinking?

[1:08:45] Conor Burke: Yeah, so gorgeous. I love the different colour t-shirts. Just so iconic. Could be a great gay Halloween group costume, personally. The thing with me about True Colours is that I just prefer Lean On Me. True Colours and Lean On Me are, like, are siblings to the extreme.

[1:08:45] Matt Ligouri: Oh, that's interesting.

[1:08:45] Conor Burke: Okay.

[1:09:08] Conor Burke: Yeah. And I think it's just because they're so close in the series, both end of episode musical performances, that I just can't separate the two.

[1:09:17] Matt Ligouri: They're all banding together.

[1:09:19] Conor Burke: They're all banding together. They're doing the same thing in a different way. But then also, I understand what you mean. Because with Lean On Me as well, as well as True Colours, there's, like, these, like, little, like, cut-to's, like, the characters, like, looking at each other, like, hmm, I'm not so sure about you. Oh, I'm looking at you because I'm interested in you, but that person's not looking at me.

[1:09:19] Matt Ligouri: Yeah.

[1:09:39] Conor Burke: Yeah. I will say I do like it. I don't stream it.

[1:09:44] Matt Ligouri: You don't stream?

[1:09:45] Conor Burke: I don't stream True Colours.

[1:09:47] Matt Ligouri: But again, it's more of a I don't like the song thing.

[1:09:51] Conor Burke: That's even untrue. I don't dislike the song. I just don't. It just doesn't do it for me.

[1:09:57] Matt Ligouri: What did it win against?

[1:09:59] Conor Burke: Let's go through.

[1:10:02] Matt Ligouri: And then we do need to speed round out of here so we can get Matt out.

[1:10:07] Conor Burke: In round one, True Colours won against Push It.

[1:10:07] Matt Ligouri: Interesting.

[1:10:12] Conor Burke: True Colours in round two won against Whatever Happened to Saturday Night.

[1:10:12] Matt Ligouri: Yep.

[1:10:12] Conor Burke: Correct.

[1:10:19] Matt Ligouri: Yep, yep, yep.

[1:10:20] Conor Burke: And then in round three, True Colours won against Something's Coming.

[1:10:26] Matt Ligouri: Yeah, that's, that's correct.

[1:10:27] Conor Burke: Okay, yeah, across the board.

[1:10:27] Matt Ligouri: Okay.

[1:10:29] Conor Burke: Yeah, I'm also not streaming True Colours, but, like, I'm acknowledging its beauty.

[1:10:35] Matt Ligouri: Yeah, I agree. I think that she sounds, she sounds really, really great. I do like, it does feel, this is the thing I want to say before we pull the last song, that I just really think that it's, like, very purposeful that, you know, they were at the end, this is at the end of episode 12, they're being very purposeful about, like, hey, we realize that we haven't utilized this character, Tina, for hardly anything so far, or, like, anything major. Let's give her this song at the end of the episode. It just feels like a good utilization of her, where this could have been a Rachel solo, or even just, like, an Amber solo or whatever. But I think it was, like, very purposeful that they gave it to her.

And I'm so glad that she had this. She doesn't have, like, a tried and true, like, solo. Like, she has I Follow Rivers the next season, that she gets cut off because you love me as a dream. And then Gangnam Style is Gangnam Style. And then I guess, like, the next one after that is, like, I Don't Know How to Love Him. So she doesn't really, like, have a solo solo for a very long time after this. So I'm glad that she has it.

[1:11:43] Matt Ligouri: This is her last solo of the Glackett, as you could probably imagine. And I really am rooting for her.

[1:11:50] Conor Burke: Yeah, yeah.

[1:11:51] Matt Ligouri: Best of luck, girl.

[1:11:53] Conor Burke: Best of luck, girl. Love you so much.

[1:11:56] Matt Ligouri: I do think that they do a little bit too much cutting between the other characters, though. We don't see enough of her actually singing the song.

[1:12:04] Conor Burke: So let's see. Cal surprise. How many songs are left?

[1:12:04] Matt Ligouri: Ish.

[1:12:09] Conor Burke: Do you know?

[1:12:13] Matt Ligouri: There should be, at the end of this episode, one, two, three, four. There should be eight songs left.

[1:12:13] Conor Burke: Wow.

[1:12:19] Matt Ligouri: Is that crazy?

[1:12:20] Conor Burke: Oh my god. Two more episodes in this round?

[1:12:21] Matt Ligouri: Wait, is that? No, there's four more episodes after this.

[1:12:25] Conor Burke: Eight songs.

[1:12:26] Matt Ligouri: Wait, no. Oh, whatever.

[1:12:29] Conor Burke: No, I mean, 16.

[1:12:29] Matt Ligouri: Whatever.

[1:12:32] Conor Burke: There's eight songs?

[1:12:35] Matt Ligouri: No, wait, what am I saying? There's one, two, oh, four. There's four episodes where there's four songs.

[1:12:43] Conor Burke: Okay, so there's 16 songs.

[1:12:45] Matt Ligouri: So sorry.

[1:12:46] Conor Burke: Okay, I was really confused.

[1:12:49] Matt Ligouri: This is a really interesting competition. It also is the first, the same first two letters as true colors as they bring it up. Any, any guesses?

[1:13:01] Conor Burke: Trolley song?

[1:13:02] Matt Ligouri: I try a little tenderness.

[1:13:04] Conor Burke: It is try a little tenderness.

[1:13:06] Matt Ligouri: Trolley song was a good guess though.

[1:13:08] Conor Burke: So good at this.

[1:13:11] Matt Ligouri: Um, this vote is really, really hard for me. Anybody else?

[1:13:11] Conor Burke: Really?

[1:13:16] Matt Ligouri: Is that sarcasm?

[1:13:17] Conor Burke: No, I'm being honest. It really is.

[1:13:21] Matt Ligouri: I don't know what I'm doing.

[1:13:24] Conor Burke: No, I don't know what I'm doing either. So I don't even, and honestly, I don't even know which one Connor is making. It seemed like is the obvious.

[1:13:29] Matt Ligouri: I know. Yeah, wait, Connor, what are you making the case for?

[1:13:32] Conor Burke: Oh, I'm just, will I just say it straight out? I'm just, I'm just voting for try a little tenderness, personally.

[1:13:32] Matt Ligouri: Interesting.

[1:13:40] Conor Burke: Yeah. I can see, I can see the, the, the love for true colors. I, I, you know, but I just, the second I guessed what song it was, I was like, I kind of know.

[1:14:02] Conor Burke: I like this song a lot. Glee the Music, Volume 6, Okay, The Marquee. And I just think it's really special. And it kind of got me excited for, even more excited for, The Glee Booth. Because I'm thinking about, like, Funeral as an episode is really interesting because it really trots out four characters and kind of lets them sing a song that is kind of just their entire vibe. And I just like... Which really shouldn't work, yet it does. I know. And it's so fun to just sit down and watch these characters kind of make a case for themselves. And I'm like, I really just want to watch a new crop of kids kind of do this kind of act of singing their vibe kind of thing. So yeah. But I'm thinking about True Colors and I'm like, am I, would I be voting for True Colors because I'm voting for the Tina representation when I really do stream Try A Little Tenderness more? I don't know. Matt, what are you thinking?

[1:15:13] Matt Ligouri: I gotta say I'm afraid to tell you what I'm thinking because I'm just scared. Yeah, I'm scared to be left out regardless of how this goes. But no, I'm fine. So I'm just looking back at the history of this song a little bit. I'm like, okay, it took out Crush. That's kind of a pretty big accomplishment for it, considering how far Crush went in this competition. Back to Stop In The Name Of Love For Your Mind. It's like, I'm kind of 50-50 on that. I like both. Round one is where I think my biggest grievance is with this song. I would have voted for Let It Be over this. I love Let It Be. Yeah, Let It Be is very good. And I feel like we, yeah, that was out way too early. Yeah. I don't know. It's just like, I revisit songs from the first two episodes of season five.

And I'm like, there are some hidden gems in here, but I don't know. I think where I'm at is that it's also kind of a hard vote just in the sense that like, Try A Little Tenderness is a never stream for me, but that's Mercedes solos. I've been on record before of how much I want to see them do well. And then sometimes I vote against them. Whereas True Colors, it does have that essence of beautiful, full Glee Club number, as I was saying earlier. But that is already also here. And I was just making that argument in the last competition of like, you know, do we already have one of these in the next round? I don't know what Mercedes solos we have or don't, but Two Sir With Love being there, again, True Colors is sister. She's there.

[1:16:40] Conor Burke: Yeah. Well, I think that Two Sir With Love and True Colors are not as, I think that they're similar in kind of like visuals, but I think what they're saying is very different. You see, I'm like, I'm just trying to get out of the headspace of being like, oh, I shouldn't vote for that because we all, we also have that representation going forward. I'm trying not to do that anymore because I'm just trying to take the competitions at face value. I think I did that for like parts of rounds two and three. But now that I feel like I'm into the nitty gritty, I really need to get out of this headspace of like, oh, we've got that though. Because I think particularly with Mercedes solos, like people have literally said in the past, like someone said ages ago, like this Mercedes solo is just not up to the standard of Mercedes, but it's like, it's not her fault that she's fucking iconic.

Like, I'm sorry. Do you know what I mean? Like, it's true though. It's like, it's not her fault that like basically all of her solos are great and then maybe one of them is just good. Do you know what I mean?

[1:17:58] Matt Ligouri: Yeah. I'm looking up and down just because I do kind of care about, you know, what's already in and what's not as I keep bringing up. And I do see a good amount of Mercedes songs that I'm happy are through this round. So I do feel like I'm comfortable to vote against Try A Little Tenderness and give it to True Colors. But also this doesn't have the same level of passion as the last one. So if I am voted against here, then I'm even more okay than I wasn't last time.

[1:18:27] Conor Burke: Yeah, I do. Like, on the one hand, I do kind of like, I like, I want the representation. Like, I'm like, I want there to be like two or three strong mashups in the final round. I want there to be two or three strong whatever solos. But it's just like, for me, it just comes back to what I think the better Glee performance is. And for me, it's clear. It's, I do like the other one. Yeah. But I think you're, you're locked in, Connor. And I think I think I'm locked in.

[1:19:02] Matt Ligouri: Yeah. Yeah. I feel good. So that means I need to make a decision.

[1:19:07] Conor Burke: You don't have to, but I think I do.

[1:19:07] Matt Ligouri: You do have to.

[1:19:14] Conor Burke: Um, I think, oh my god, I really don't know. Wait, can you make Connor, one minute on the clock, make your case for Try A Little Tenderness. And then Matt, one minute on the clock, make your case for True Colors. Can that work?

[1:19:35] Matt Ligouri: Okay. Okay.

[1:19:35] Conor Burke: I'm truly okay with either with either way to have this conversation.

[1:19:39] Matt Ligouri: I know, but I really don't know. I don't know what I'm...

[1:19:42] Conor Burke: Andrew, you said you stream Try A Little Tenderness?

[1:19:45] Andrew: More. Yeah.

[1:19:48] Conor Burke: I think I am leaning toward Try A Little Tenderness because I stream it more. It like, electrified me a little bit more. True Colors, like, feels a little bit disjointed. And kind of like, hey, we're giving this solo to Tina. But we're also, we also need to cover our bases with all of these other characters that I'm like, then is it even a Tina number still? So I, as much as I would love for like, this to be like, sweet transvestite, instead of Try A Little Tenderness, because I miss, I miss her really, really bad. I think, I think I'm gonna vote for Try A Little Tenderness.

[1:20:31] Matt Ligouri: Like I said, I'm not attached to True Colors. So this is fine. I mean, I'm really though not attached to Try A Little Tenderness. So you know, if you do have any investment in that song making it past round five, you really don't want me on that episode.

[1:20:47] Conor Burke: Okay. All right. Okay. Matt, I'm really sorry about, about this. But I think that we're all friends still. I think the polls are going to be very interesting.

[1:20:59] Matt Ligouri: I know. I'm really excited to see the polls for this, this episode.

[1:21:03] Conor Burke: Yeah. And look, you know, there are people out there. I'm not saying the majority, of course, I don't know that. But there are going to be people that agreed with my vote on the first competition. And, you know, the only solace that I can take is being happy to represent those people since they couldn't be here to defend Wide Awake themselves.

[1:21:22] Matt Ligouri: No, and you did such a wonderful job, because I think your argument was my head. My argument was my heart. Because everything you said about Wide Awake, I agreed with.

[1:21:37] Conor Burke: Like, if I just cut that out of the episode and listen to it back, I'm like, agree, agree, agree, agree, agree.

[1:21:41] Matt Ligouri: Sounds like you want to change it up.

[1:21:48] Conor Burke: Oh, my God. Matt, put down that gun. I mean, if you just agree so much with what I said.

[1:21:46] Matt Ligouri: Put down that gun and stop pointing it at me.

[1:21:51] Conor Burke: Right. Matt, I want to let you go, because I know that you need to do your thing before Dancing With The Stars.

[1:22:00] Matt Ligouri: Yeah, Dancing With The Stars tonight. Crazy.

[1:22:03] Conor Burke: Enjoy. Best of luck. What do you want to leave the Gleeks with? And then I'll let you go.

[1:22:09] Matt Ligouri: Well, the aforementioned Dancing With The Stars, podcasting about that on RHAP with my good friend Sasha. We're talking about it every week. We know DancingWithTheStars.com takes you to all of that. Of course, the Diary Room podcast, a direct ripoff of this podcast, but instead of Glee songs, we are doing Big Brother players. We're about halfway through our second round of that competition. So, you know, making our way through, myself and Amon, that's the deal there. And I'm also on the Free Agents podcast, another one of my own podcasts, my friend Brian Scali, where we're talking about all different reality shows we're watching. The Challenge is coming to an end about right now, but then we watch all the old seasons. We're watching The Traders whenever that's on. We're currently checking out a new show called The Mob. I don't know if either of you have seen anything about that.

[1:22:54] Conor Burke: Oh, I've heard of this.

[1:22:57] Matt Ligouri: Parker Posey is hosting it, and it's got a handful of names that I'm sure you would know.

[1:23:04] Conor Burke: Matt, have you been watching Big Brother UK this year?

[1:23:08] Matt Ligouri: I haven't. I'm not always checking out BB UK. I know I should, but Traders UK has been a lot of fun. Tiffany New York is going in in a couple of days.

[1:23:20] Conor Burke: I know. I know. And that's going to make me turn it on.

[1:23:23] Matt Ligouri: Yeah. Oh, she's going to be fucking British. I just know she got a big check. Deserved.

[1:23:28] Conor Burke: Oh, of course. Yeah. But that's it. Thank you, as always, Andrew.

[1:23:32] Matt Ligouri: Lovely seeing you, Matt.

[1:23:35] Conor Burke: Yes. And excited to chat with you guys and our fellow Gleeks as the Gleeboot news keeps on coming through. So, fun stuff. Fun time to be a Gleek. Really excited about this little community that we have.

[1:23:43] Matt Ligouri: Yeah.

[1:23:47] Conor Burke: Okay. Bye, Matt.

[1:23:49] Matt Ligouri: Oh, I leave now?

[1:23:48] Conor Burke: Yeah, you can leave. You can leave because I know you need to go, and then I'll ask Connor what he's doing.

[1:23:55] Matt Ligouri: All right. Thanks. Bye.

[1:23:54] Conor Burke: Bye. Okay. What do you have to say to the Gleeks?

[1:23:58] Conor Burke: What do I have to say to the Gleeks? Hey, Gleeks. Firstly, I want to say I love you all. Secondly, I want to say I hope that all of you are like, and I mean this seriously, I know it sounds like a joke, taking a deep breath after the Gleeboot news, because for me personally, it was genuinely a lot to process in both a great, fun, amazing way, but also in a, I honestly believe I'm about to have a panic attack way. I know that sounds so hyperbolic, but it was a lot for me last week. I literally had to put down the phone for an hour. Seriously, I know that sounds so over the top, but it was just whiplash, so I hope everyone's doing okay. I know there's a lot of emotions attached to this as well, as we were talking about at the top of the episode, so that's what I want to say first. And then, yeah, you can find me at IamConorBrick on Instagram. I'm always chatting away to the Gleeks in the DMs about competitions and stuff like that, so you know where I am.

[1:24:55] Conor Burke: And you're dusting off TikTok.

[1:24:56] Conor Burke: Say that again?

[1:24:57] Conor Burke: You're dusting off your TikTok to-

[1:24:59] Conor Burke: I'm dusting off my TikTok. Yeah, I'm trying to post some Gleek content, because I said this to you privately. I was thinking to myself maybe three months ago, when Andrew's podcast comes to an end, now that Recovering Gleek's over, and that's what you really missed, and Gleek of the Week, it will be the first time since the age of 14 that I will have no Gleek content in my life. And I was like, what the fuck am I going to do? That's so weird. Like, and now this has happened.

[1:25:30] Conor Burke: And here we go.

[1:25:32] Conor Burke: And here we go. We're going to be 53 and still have some Gleek content in our lives.

[1:25:41] Conor Burke: And then at the ripe age of 54, will we finally be free?

[1:25:46] Conor Burke: I don't want that future for us. Do you know what I mean? I don't want that future for us.

[1:25:53] Conor Burke: So you want, like, Diana to still be teasing, like, a fourth Gleeboot.

[1:26:00] Conor Burke: She just keeps posting over and over again, waiting for my cue.

[1:26:00] Conor Burke: Waiting for my cue.

[1:26:09] Conor Burke: But I, yeah, and for the first time, I've started to re-watch Glee. I've never, I'm not a re-watcher like you are. Do you know the way you always talk about, oh, Elias and I went out for a drink the other night, we popped on Choke. I don't do that. I never casually watch Glee. My Glee content is this podcast, the music that I listen to sometimes and discourse on TikTok. So I actually watched the pilot a couple of days ago and I'm like.

[1:26:34] Conor Burke: Hold up.

[1:26:35] Conor Burke: Like, seriously, I, hold up. I, great pilot. I am, I'm watching an episode a week because I need to get back into the frame of mind. And I'm, it's going to be one a week, just me, myself and I talking to no one about it, just digesting it myself. And then once I find out a date for this Gleeboot, I will pick up the rate of episodes just so I can get all nice caught up. This is including the Glee project and Glee, the 3D concert movie.

[1:27:05] Conor Burke: Oh, that's great.

[1:27:03] Conor Burke: So you have the entire universe.

[1:27:05] Conor Burke: Yeah.

[1:27:05] Conor Burke: Yes.

[1:27:05] Conor Burke: That's great.

[1:27:06] Conor Burke: Thank you. And yeah, I just hope everyone's, look, there's going to be so much said now in the next couple of weeks. I, it almost felt like last week, didn't it? That you needed to call like an emergency summit, like the UN convention on Glee.

[1:27:21] Conor Burke: We all need to be in the same room.

[1:27:23] Conor Burke: Yeah.

[1:27:24] Conor Burke: We all need to be in, well, I was only saying to Stephen the other day, I was like, I genuinely, like, I'm seriously considering flying to New York, like for the first episode, like genuine, like I'm actually, I just feel like I can't, like I simply can't just sit at home and watch it by myself. That's depressing as fuck. Do you know what I mean?

[1:27:43] Conor Burke: To be an event. It needs to be an event. I totally agree. Yeah. I don't know what it would look like, but yeah.

[1:27:49] Conor Burke: And also how is this changing? Sorry, I know we're over time. Just quickly, the Gleekcon of it all in Paris, how is that event going to change, if at all?

[1:28:01] Conor Burke: Um, I was curious about that, like them being like asked. I don't know. Yeah. I have no idea.

[1:28:10] Conor Burke: Very exciting times we're living in. Exciting times we're living in.

[1:28:16] Conor Burke: Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? Me at the Glee event in Paris.

[1:28:22] Conor Burke: Anyway, thank you so much for having me.

[1:28:24] Conor Burke: Thank you. I'm going to go have some din-din, but thank you so much.

[1:28:27] Conor Burke: You go have some din-din.

[1:28:28] Conor Burke: Really crazy, crazy competitions. I'm very curious how this will be reflected. I think we're going to get some pushback because I think in many ways, Matt was right, but...

[1:28:41] Conor Burke: And we'll see.

[1:28:42] Conor Burke: We'll see. Ta-ta, everyone.

[1:28:45] Conor Burke: Goodbye.

[1:28:46] Conor Burke: It's Gleek, Gleek of the Week.