The Glee Project - Casting Special and Individuality

Apparently, this is an “inspiration contest.” Bah haha. Ryan Murphy, get over yourself.  Here’s what we think of the final 14 after one special on how they were selected and the first episode of season two (Individuality). For the most part, they are really great. In fact, we wish they would just replace nearly the entire cast of Glee with these newbies. Keep Lea Michele and add in these 14, haha. We saw some people in the casting special with fantastic voices (and that one guy with the sweet dance moves) who might have been passed over in favor of Very Special People, which brings us to a significant complaint about The Glee Project.

What still sucks about this show is that the character is going to be based on the winner’s actual identity/persona so Ryan Murphy doesn’t actually have to write up a person. This is ridiculous and makes this less a talent competition and more of a contest to see who is the most interesting and special (read: gay, a social outcast, or handicapped). We don’t think this is a good twist for the reality show and it doesn’t make for a good addition on Glee. We think they should just find another actor. For the most part though, we love this show.

Our favorites so far: 

Dani, 23, from Orlando, Florida - Dani is one of those lesbians who looks like Justin Beiber (Ern originally wrote that she was "kind of" like that, but since "Lesbian who looks and sounds like the Biebs" was basically Dani's gimmick on America's Got Talent, there's no "kind of" about it). But she is likeable and seems so happy to be there. We also like her singing voice. We are excited to have a potential gay character on Glee that we might actually really like. (Well, Ern likes Kurt and Leah likes Blaine. But we don’t really like them.) She’s also a more believable lesbian than Santana and Brittany.

Lily Mae Harrington, 18, from Cape Cod, Massachusetts - We included her full name because “Lily Mae” is the name of the black maid who raised Ern’s dad. Yep, like on The Help. Ern comes from a family of Southerners. In memory of Lily Mae, Ern is now rooting for this contestant. Besides, the fat girl (Hannah) was robbed last time. ROBBED. It’s time for a bigger girl to win the spot on Glee. She started crying when she first saw Lea Michele, which is something we can respect. If we saw Lea Michele, we would start yelling at her to sing. We agree with Lea that Lily Mae is really beautiful. Heck, even without the name, she might be our favorite. We don’t like that she said she had a better voice than the other girls, because that’s debatable and her "Anything Goes" was a little pitchy. It’s a pretty good voice though.

Mario, 24, from Lanham, Maryland - He instantly said that he was “cute.” Then he said he was blind and that explained it. Ba-dum-ching, we’re going to hell. He’s so talented though, and all of the other castmates thought he was a ringer for top 14. He has a good voice, and we really hope he can rap. The show needs a rapping black guy, frankly. We are really impressed that he can play piano, dance, and learn choreography. His tragic backstory, eight siblings, good grandma, and classical training should put him over the top. We like how happy and laid back he seems, too. 

Shanna, 21, from Auburn, Alabama - Cute southern accent and a really good voice. She’s too much of a belter, but she’s not yelling so much that you can’t hear that she has something special underneath. We were shocked that Lea Michele couldn’t hit the last note in "Defying Gravity" four years ago, because it really isn’t all that high, but her advice was interesting. It’s true that you can work up to things with the voice. Lea’s mentoring will go a long way toward disproving the rumors that she’s a bitch. The stuff with Shanna's drug addict mom is interesting too. We like that she is wise enough to know when to limit contact. Leeard really wants to like Shanna, but she looks and sounds so much like Jessica Tyler (Jenna from Degrassi) that it's distracting.

Maxfield, 22, from Nashville, Tennessee - Big music town, Nashville. We had high hopes for Max because of this, but he just started singing six months ago and that’s not great. He was the first elimination. Dang, he was cute and sweet! Too bad he wasn’t born with a shriveled arm or something. Then Max might have stayed. A shriveled gay arm would be the best thing to have. How do you make a shriveled arm gay? He could cover it with rainbow tattoos or something. Kids, think about it.

Aylin, 19, from Chicago, Illinois - We agree with her that there are plenty of hot guys this season. Yayyy. She’s a flirtatious, Turkish Muslim who likes to be sexy. One of us likes her, even though she doesn’t want to play nice. She’s funny. She looks a little older than 19 at times, which isn’t good for someone trying to play high school. We see the spunk they are talking about, and her last chance performance was pretty flawless. It wasn’t as good as Lea Michele’s (admittedly over-autotuned) cover of "Without You", but it was pitch-perfect and clear. 

Nellie, 19, from Tacoma, Washington - Well, she seemed grateful. That's never a bad thing. We like her voice. It’s cool and unique, but still technically good. We’re anxious to see and hear (mostly hear) more. She's got a cool look and seems mysterious so far, since we really don't know that much about her. She is going to have to stand out more if she is going to win...and remain on our list of favorites. But who are we kidding? Our faves never win. 

We don't know how we feel about these ones yet:

Michael age 18 from Chicago, Illinois - Man, people are really representing Chicago this season. He needs “time to figure out who he is,” which is really all we know about him at this point. He's pretty cute, obviously, and that can't hurt. Leeard is a fan of any cute guy who loves math.

Blake, 19, from Miami, Florida - This guy seems kind of sensitive and kind of unintelligent, but that’s just a first impression. We’re pretty sure Aylin could get him, toy with him, have her fun, and then throw him back, easily. We hope a little he and Dani are the final two so that they can stand next to each other with the same Beiber hair. Get a new haircut, bro. That one is so five years ago.

Taryn, 22, from Detroit Michigan - If you think this is the girl Ryan Murphy is tapping to fill Mercedes' shoes, you would be wrong. She's not much of a power-soprano belter. But her voice is pretty good. We feel for her in missing her mom. We love our moms too. We also feel for her in her struggle against her nerves. Nerves are crazy and hard to control. Even if you are intellectually secure, your body might still shake. We hope she gets over them, but she's probably going home soon.

Charlie, 22, from Chicago,  Illinois - This is the guy with mild Autism and ADHD. He seems fine to us. His brain is just going to work a little differently from other adults and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It takes all types. He has been cool so far, if a little forgettable. He rose quickly as a leader on the show, making choreography for the challenge number. He's going to need to show us more talent along with that big, hyper personality. He's got likeability factor. Now he just needs to let us hear him sing. 

The ones we aren't digging:

Abraham, 24, from Queens, New York/San Diego, California- He let us know right off the bat that he thought he was “unique and talented,” which is never good on reality TV. Show, don’t tell. America hates when people speak well of themselves. You have to love his name though. His presence in our lives would present numerous opportunities for us to make the lame joke, "Where's Isaac?" He doesn’t have one of the show’s strongest voices or one of the most likeable personalities. We haven't heard much of a backstory yet either. Really, what we are looking for is talent, and his Adam Levine wannabe voice just isn't cutting it for us so far.

Ali, 24, from New York City - Great, just what we need. A blonde Artie. Ali is the contestant in a wheelchair. Artie needs a new girlfriend, after all. We guess. She reminds us of a real life Rachel Berry, the way she talks and enunciates and is really ambitious. We don’t like her voice though. She sounds like a human version of a Chihuahua. It’s so thin and plug-your-ears annoying. It doesn't blend well with other voices either. We do like her chair moves and attitude though. A small part of us is rooting for her. If we liked her voice, she'd be in the favorites category.

Tyler, 21, from Boca Raton, Florida - This diva is going to be Alex 2.0, we just know it. This guy is transgendered. It’s getting to where you have to be big boned, have some sort of physical disability, or be gay in order to get Ryan Murphy’s attention. We’re surprised one person doesn’t have Down’s Syndrome. (Oh, you just KNOW that's coming next season.) To Tyler’s credit, we would have NO IDEA that he used to be a girl. That’s a dude, no question. When he was a girl, he was pretty too, which is impressive and shocking because of how much he looks like a guy now. He can’t sing though and he’s a real whiner. He had too many excuses the first week and overuses the word “like.” Out of the bottom three, he was our pick to go home, not Maxfield. But we see why Ryan is interested in writing a transgendered storyline where a singer is struggling with his voice changing due to testosterone. Maybe Tyler will change our minds. They are always open. 

Who's your favorite so far?