New Directions battles the Dalton Warblers and their devious new leader, Sebastian, for the right to perform a Michael Jackson song at Regionals. Meanwhile, Kurt and Rachel receive news regarding their admissions process at NYADA, and things continue to heat up between Sam and Mercedes.

Okay, so it sounds like there really will be some plot! New Directions vs. Warblers, NYADA news, Sam/Mercedes developments…but really, I’m still mostly excited about the music! I’ve got the full songs for all 10 of the tunes in this week’s episode, so take a listen to them below:

Audio isn’t enough for you? I know, it wasn’t enough for me either! Check out the full performance of “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” (featuring Blaine) and “Smooth Criminal” (featuring Santana and Sebastian), plus a few preview clips and behind-the-scenes videos!

And, as always, I’ve got episode stills to wrap things up! Click on each image for the full-sized version:

Favourite Character: The glee clubbers were pretty strong as an ensemble this week, but all my love still has to go to Artie. Not only did he make me want to dance to a song I normally can’t stand, but he was also totally fantastic in all of his scenes with Becky. I absolutely loved how he stood up for his friendship with her to the rest of the glee club, and I’m actually really hoping that the two will be able to remain friends because they were really fun to watch together, and I think it would be good for both of them to have a friend who might better understand some of their struggles. On a related note, Sue was also fabulous in this story line as well, and I adored her last scene with Becky, and how the two of them will get through their heartbreak together! So sweet.

Favourite Song: While this episode was quite solid song-wise, I don’t think I’m in a rush to make sure they’re all on my iPod. Most of them really were particularly strong because of the full scenes, rather than just the music, like my two favourites, “Summer Nights” and “We Found Love”, both of which were super entertaining to watch. A synchronized swimming proposal might be ridiculously over-the-top, but it sure does make for good TV!

Favourite Quotes:

Becky: You may be wondering why I sound like the Queen of England. It’s simple. In my mind I can sound like whomever I want, so lay off, haters.

Becky: Is that a mohawk, Puckerman, or did someone glue a squirrel to your head?

Coach Roz: I won this bronze damn Olympic medal in Beijing, China for Individual Synchronized Swimming. I bet you didn’t even know there was a such thing as Individual Synchronized Swimming.

Becky: You should see my dance moves. My mom says I have Get Down Syndrome.

Guest Star Ranking: Oh my goodness, how hilariously fantastic was Helen Mirren as Becky’s inner voice? Seriously, Becky was just all kinds of win this week, and Helen Mirren’s guest spot was the cherry on top. I also want to give some love to Coach Roz Washington of the synchro swim team, played quite fabulously by NeNe Leakes of Real Houseswives of Atlanta fame. Admittedly, I was more than skeptical about her casting announcement, but she really was super funny and I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing more of her. I feel like she and Sue could scheme well together!

The Elopement & Proposals: First: Beiste got married! WOO! I mean, yes, I would’ve liked to see her relationship develop more on screen…but really, I love her way too much to complain about her getting such happiness in her life. That woman deserves love more than most anyone else at McKinley, and I’m so happy that her and Cooter spontaneously tied the knot.

Second: I’ll rant a bit further about Will in the “weak point” section below, but really, that was the most over-the-top proposal ever. Not that I should’ve expected anything less – and not that I didn’t find it super entertaining to watch – but I really do wish that Will had come up with his own proposal for Emma, rather than depending on the kids to do the heavy lifting for him. Still, it obviously wasn’t a big shock that Emma said “yes”…I’m only now wondering how much of the actual wedding planning we’ll see, how soon they’ll be setting the big day, and how many things can go wrong before they get there.

Third: Should’ve stopped when you were (somewhat) ahead, Glee. I saw the Finn/Rachel proposal coming as soon as the scene started, but I wish the episode had just ended on Will and Emma! Message to Finn: Proposing to your high school sweetheart is not the answer when your life is crashing down around you and your future is terribly uncertain! Plus, Rachel is not the marrying young type. We all know how important her Broadway dreams are, and as much as she loves Finn, I can’t see her staying in Lima for him. What would she do – work the front desk at Burt’s autoshop? It’s just not plausible to me that Rachel would say “yes” based on what we know about her character…but the show could still throw us a curveball. I only hope that if she does end up saying “yes”, that there’s some big twist involved with it that I’m not expecting. Because the Rachel I know shouldn’t be saying “yes” to Finn. But what do you think? This seems like an appropriate time for a poll, no?

Weak Point: Aside from what I’ve said before about both of the episode’s proposals, I also had a big problem with Will asking Finn to be his best man…and then undercutting this person he supposedly respects by blindsiding him with a parent-teacher-student meeting. Will really should’ve warned him before doing that – it’d be courteous no matter what your relationship with the student is, let alone one you just asked to be your best man. (And on another note, I also think it’s rather sad that Will has no close male friends other than Finn, but that’s a whole other point.)

Next next week: Glee‘s taking a week off, but they’ll be back on January 31 and ready to knock your one white sparkly glove off! That’s right, it’s Michael Jackson tribute episode time! Check out the preview below:

When Will tries to plan a special surprise for Emma, he enlists the glee club to help him sweep her off her feet. Meanwhile, Becky sets her sights on Artie, and Finn makes an announcement about his life plans after high school that surprises the glee club.

Yes, that’s right, gleeks – Will is finally going to be proposing to Emma! How will it go, you ask? Well, you’ll need to watch the episode for the answer to that, but it seems that wedding bells aren’t just being considered by these two. In a teaser-filled post on TV Line, spoiler-lover Michael Ausiello reveals that another couple apparently elopes in the episode! I have no idea who this might be…what do you think, gleeks? Read some more teasing spoilers over on TV Line. Also, did you hear that Helen Mirren is going to be providing the “inner voice” of a character in this week’s episode? I’d love to hear who you think she might be providing a voice for…let me know in the comments! But moving on to one of the other most important parts of the episode: who’s singing what! I’ve got audio for all six of the songs in this week’s episode, so take a listen below:

Audio isn’t enough for you? Check out the full performance of “Moves Like Jagger/Jumpin’ Jack Flash” featuring Artie, Mike and Mr. Schue, plus a preview clip featuring Sam and Mercedes, a behind-the-scenes video on the making of “Summer Lovin’”, and a couple promo videos!

And, as always, I’ve got episode stills to wrap things up! Click on each image for the full-sized version:

What do you think of the new promo gleeks? Any scenes/moments/songs that you’re particularly excited about? Let me know in the comments!

Really, I don’t think this song could be more perfect for Santana’s voice. She really knocks it out of the park. But what do you think, gleeks? Let me know your thoughts on the performance in the comments! Do you agree with the decision to cut it from the episode, or do you wish it had stayed in the final version?

Happy holidays, gleeks! Hope you are all able to spend it with those you love most!

Favourite Character(s): I’m not sure any character particularly stuck out for me in this episode, but I did love seeing Artie in the director’s chair again, and I’m really pleased that Glee has effectively continued that character development straight from season 1 when he helped with Rachel’s “Run Joey Run” music video. I really hope that Artie applies for film school next year, when they once again deal with post-grad options for next year’s batch of seniors. Also on my favourites list this week are Kurt and Blaine, who I thought did an excellent job as hosts of the TV special.

Favourite Song: One of my complaints about this episode was that they constantly eschewed logical plot developments in favour of packing in more and more songs. This was an incredibly heavy musical episode, and I only really loved a few of them, unfortunately. Mercedes was fantastic on the opening “All I Want for Christmas Is You” number, and Kurt and Blaine were super adorable in “Let It Snow”. I enjoyed Rachel’s version of “River”, but it was a bit boring to watch. And let’s, for a moment, talk about the appropriateness of “Do They Know It’s Christmas” being sung at a homeless shelter. Yikes, Glee. This is one of my all-time favourite holiday songs, but the line “Tonight thank god it’s them instead of you” as always rubbed me entirely the wrong way, and actually singing that directly to the children at a homeless shelter? Terribly inappropriate and offensive, in my opinion.

Sue’s Corner: Even though she only had a few short scenes (after being completely absent last week), Sue was quite the spotlight stealer for me. The scene in her office with Artie, Kurt and Blaine was full of comic gold (particularly calling Blaine a “Young Burt Reynolds”!), and I loved watching her during the “Do They Know It’s Christmas” performance. So lovely and heartwarming.

Favourite Quotes:

Sue (to Artie, Kurt and Blaine): Everyone knows that Christmas is a time for forgiveness, so I have decided to forgive you for having no talent and ruining the American songbook one mash-up at a time.

Sue: I made plans to shoot reindeer from my helicopter with Sarah Palin, but she canceled. Apparently Todd gets fussy when she misses his ballet recitals.

Kurt: This is my, um, best friend and holiday roommate, Blaine Anderson.

Blaine: Why, they’re candy cane-striped capri pants! And you know what the best part is? I actually don’t already own a pair, if you can believe that.

The Christmas Special: It was campy, it was ridiculous, and it was way too long…but still, my favourite part of the episode was the black-and-white PBS Christmas special. I do wish that it had been somewhat shorter, but I thought that all of the characters involved were incredibly charming and funny, particularly Kurt, Blaine, Rachel and Mercedes. The inclusion of Finn as Luke Skywalker and Puck as Han Solo was also a cute way to work in Artie’s Star Wars love. Overall, I thought this was a really fun tribute to the Christmas specials of the past.

Weak Point: In addition to some of the points I’ve made above about there being too many songs in this week’s episode, one of which was terribly inappropriate, I also had a huge issue with Rachel’s characterization. Despite all of her shortcomings (and believe me, I know she has quite a few), Rachel is one of my favourite characters on the show. I know she can be selfish and incredibly diva-esque, but I really felt that the writers insanely over-demonized her this week. She was so terrible in her demanding of bling from Finn, that he even referred to her as Kim Kardashian. And while in this episode, I can’t actually blame him for nicknaming her as such, I really don’t think that I would’ve let him get away with such a reference prior to now. One thing we’ve never seen Rachel being is terribly materialistic, and it made me incredibly angry to see her characterized this way for this episode. And, on top of that, she was being materialistic in wanting not a Hanukkah present, but a Christmas present! The entire episode completely ignored Rachel’s Judaism (and Puck’s, for that matter), with maybe the exception of Rachel saying “Happy Hanukkah!” at the very end of the episode when ringing the Salvation Army bells with Finn, Sam and Rory. But to be honest, I really don’t even think that counts.

Next, next, next, next, next week (January 17): Glee’s back in January with lots of big announcements – Will’s proposing to Emma, Finn’s meeting with a recruiter for the army, and Sam’s joining the synchronized swim team! Check out the preview now – and then go share your thoughts on this week’s episode and the next one…in the comments!

New Directions will be performing "Summer Nights" from Grease in episode 10!

After tomorrow’s holiday extravaganza for episode 9, “Extraordinary Merry Christmas”, Glee will take its usual winter hiatus, with no new episodes until January 17. But just because we’ll have a month of no Glee, doesn’t mean that new scoop won’t still be coming our way! To help keep you in the loop on the most important Glee news, here’s a quick rundown of what’s to come:

• More New Faces to the New Directions Family Tree: Following the news that Gloria Estefan has been cast to play Santana’s mom in an upcoming episode, comes the announcement that Fox is now in talks with rapper Pitbull to play Santana’s older brother! Entertainment Weekly also reports that Estefan’s episode will no longer be the same episode as Ricky Martin’s, likely to make room for a big family number featuring both Estefan and hopefully Pitbull. And in even more exciting family casting news, the same EW article claims that Fox is finally beginning to cast for Rachel’s gay dads! Finally!
• Get Ready for More MJ: It seems that New Directions’ Sectionals performance was just a taste of what the next half of this season has to offer! Glee‘s first tribute episode of season 3 will indeed honour the King of Pop himself, Mr. Michael Jackson. Airing on January 24 (the second episode back after the winter hiatus), TV Guide says that the episode will feature 10-12 songs from MJ’s extensive catalogue…the only question now is which ones? In addition to “Man in the Mirror” last week, Glee has also previously performed “Thriller” and “P.Y.T.” in season 2.
• Episode 10 is called “The Proposal”: And yes, there will indeed be a proposal! In this episode, the first one back after the winter break, TV Line reports that Will is going to propose to Emma…but what we don’t know is if she’ll say yes or not! I, for one, am a little weary of the fact that this will be Emma’s third engagement in the same number of seasons. Yikes. But fear not, non-Wemma fans, this episode will also feature “Summer Nights” from Grease, as part of the storyline that’s pushing Sam and Mercedes back together! Check out some more great photos from the “Summer Nights” filming, over at The Daily Mail.

What do you think of all these developments, gleeks? Are you excited to meet more of Santana’s family, and finally meet Rachel’s dads? Who do you think should play Rachel’s dads? What Michael Jackson songs do you hope Glee will cover in its tribute episode? Do you think Emma will say “yes” to Will? And how excited are you about New Directions performing a Grease song? Share your thoughts in the comments!

When New Directions is asked to perform at two different events on the same day at the same time, they have a tough decision to make. Will they choose correctly and spread Christmas cheer, or will their ambition get the best of them?

So it’s Christmas cheer vs. stardom: which will New Direction choose? Well, you’ll have to watch the episode to find out, but until then, here’s another big scoop: everyone’s favourite wookie, none other than Chewbacca himself, will also be appearing in this week’s episode! Click here to read more about his appearance! You’ll also want to check out the music for this holiday special – a whopping nine songs will appear in this week’s episode, all of which can also be found on Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album – Volume 2. Listen to them all now:

Audio isn’t enough for you? Check out the full performances of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and “All I Want for Christmas is You”, as well as some more preview clips and behind-the scenes videos, including a special feature on the making of “Do They Know It’s Christmas” with interviews from Bono and Sting:

And, as always, I’ve got episode stills to wrap things up! Click on each image for the full-sized version:

Favourite Character: I don’t know how to praise just one character this week! This episode was so strong because it was truly an ensemble affair. Sam’s return was excellent (and I wasn’t much of a Sam fan last season, but I thought he was really great this week, especially with his fight to get back Mercedes), Quinn showed amazing range from crazy psycho and all the way back to the lovely girl we used to know, Rachel was also really wonderful in her scenes with Quinn…and let’s not forget about all the amazingness that was Tina and Mike Chang. That girl deserves mega-props for not only going to talk to Mike’s dad, but also secretly submitting his dance school applications!

Favourite Song: Just like last week, this episode was super strong musically. I think my favourite has to be “ABC” just ’cause Tina was so fabulous and the whole group was so adorable, but really, all of the songs were great. “Red Solo Cup” was also super fun (best part: Kurt mouthing to Blaine “What’s wrong with you?”), “Buenos Aires” was stunning (best part: Kurt and Rachel lip syncing and grooving along), and I loved “Man in the Mirror” just because it’s one of my favourite MJ songs. I also thought that vocally the Troubletones’ performance was really excellent, but what was up with their frenetic hand movements? I found it terribly distracting, and not in a good way.

Favourite Quotes:

Finn: Even homeless people have Facebook.

Kurt (to Sebastian): I don’t like your obnoxious CW hair.

Kurt (to Sebastian): You smell like Craigslist.

Puck (on which band members are joining New Directions for Sectionals): It looks like Floppy-Haired Bass Dude, Chapped Lips McGee, and Johnny Tromboner.

Santana (to Sam): I just heard the news that Trouty Mouth was back in town. I’ve been keeping a notebook, just in case this day ever came. Welcome back, Lisa Rinna. I’ve missed you so much since your family packed their bags, loaded them in your mouth and skipped town. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to enjoy a crisp pickle, but couldn’t find anyone to suck the lid off the jar. I assume you’ve been working as a baby polisher where young mothers place their infants’ heads in your mouth to get back that newborn shine. So glad you’re back. I haven’t seen a smile that big since a claymation abominable snowman got his teeth pulled by that little gay elf dentist. Love, Santana.

Rory: Girls smell better than ham. And when they’re dancing and bouncing around, you can’t help but watch them.

Santana: It was that damn Trouty Mouth. Even I felt a little something in my lady loins when he did that magic sex dance.

The Results: I don’t think anyone was particularly surprised by the Sectionals results…or the rejoining of the Troubletones with New Directions (complete with Sugar Motta…I can’t wait for more of her hilarious background moves!)…but regardless of how predictable it was, I still thought the ending was very well done. Quinn’s speech to the girls in the bathroom was perfect: it was tender, it was realistic, it was straight from the heart. As fun as the Troubletones were, I really am glad that all my favourites are back in one club again – and how cute were they all during the final number?!

Guest Star Ranking: I may have not been your biggest fan the first time around, Trouty Mouth (except for your nickname, which I was always a fan of), but Sam Evans was a very welcome addition to this episode. His return was done incredibly well, and I’m really looking forward to seeing him fight for Mercedes. Even though they only had a brief scene, his parents were both quite perfect for their parts, as well.

Weak Point: I really don’t have much to complain about in this episode (so sue me, I’m a sap!), except…where was Mike’s mom?! When Mike’s dad came in and was being shown to a seat, I thought he would’ve sat next to Mike’s mom which would have produced a lovely moment right then, too. Instead he sits next to Sebastian? How incredibly weird.

Next week: Are you ready for an Extraordinary Merry Christmas? It’s holiday time at McKinley, and you can check out the preview below: