Not only is Glee actor/crooner/hot piece of tail Darren Criss adept at covering songs by other artists, he's also quite skilled at covering magazines these days, too.
Following his Entertainment Weekly spread (ahem!) with Golden Globe-winning co-star Chris Colfer last month, Glee newie Darren is splashed front and center on the new issue of Out magazine. Yes, Out—which is published by those fuckers Regent/Here, who still owe me a hundred bucks from two years ago. That Out. But I'm not holding a grudge.
What the hell are we talking about? Oh, yeah—this:
Here are the pics of Glee's cute as all hell "Teenage Dream" croonerDarren Criss and Golden Globe-winner Chris Colfer from inside their Entertainment Weekly cover story. I just got the issue in the mail yesterday—with the 'Gay Teens On TV' special report—and it got me thinking about EW's 'The Gay '90s' feature, which was the cover story in the September 8, 1995 issue.
I had a subscription to the mag the whole time I was in college back then, and for whatever reason, I grabbed that issue and a couple others when I was back in Pennsylvania in February last year.
Here's an interesting bit—if only for the quaintness of it all—from the "What's Out Now" music section in the 1995 article:
"Just three years ago, even a self-proclaimed drag queen like Boy George felt it threatening to identify himself as anything more than 'bisexual.' Yet in the mid-'90s, Erasure and the Pet Shop Boys—both featuring gay vocalists—have won over as many fans for their dance beats as for their gay-themed lyrics, and despite Michael Stipe's ambiguous sexual stance, R.E.M. has seen no drop-off in its arena drawing power. Kurt Cobain moved rock a step forward by proclaiming in the liner notes to Nirvana's Incesticide that he didn't want homophobes buying the group's albums, and country golden boy Garth Brooks' album The Chase included 'We Shall Be Free' in support of gay rights. Small wonder that it's hip to have a band member announce an alternative lifestyle (including players in the Breeders, Sugar, Luscious Jackson, Kitchens Of Distinction and Faith No More)."
The moral of the story? The Breeders = good, good times.
"Gay Teens On TV" ... played by 23-year-old Darren Criss and 20-year-old Chris Colfer. But anyway, let's not get technical. Very cute cover (and very timely, given Colfer's Golden Globe win for Glee on Sunday).
Some interesting trash going on in the Billboard Hot 100 this week, starting with the fact that Rihanna and Drake's "What's My Name" plummets from #1 to #7. And I know I said last week that it's one of her most forgettable singles, but—dammit!—that effing song is actually growing on me now. I think if it had Drake stripped out altogether, a la how she's been performing the tune during her TV appearances all week, it would take on a whole new dimension of pop radness. Alas—well, dropping to #7 says it all, really.
That brings us to Pink, whose "Raise Your Glass" hops up from #7 to #4. It's shocking to think that, if we don't count the collaborative 2001 cover of "Lady Marmalade," this is really only Pink's fourth Top 5 hit, following "Most Girls" (#4, 2000) "Get The Party Started" (#4, 2001) and "So What" (#1, 2008). I, for one, have been jamming all week to her Greatest Hits...So Far!!! Yeah—she got my cold hard cash for that one. She's gonna need it to buy that kid she has on the way some leather or brass knuckles.
Debuting at #8 is Darren Criss' Glee cover of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream," a week after the original version dropped out of the Top 10. So far it's become the best-selling single during a one-week period from the Fox series, even though it didn't quite land as high as "Don't Stop Believing" (#4, 2009) on the Hot 100.
Here's Darren performing "Teenage Dream" at L.A. venue The Mint last weekend:
On a final note, the Black Eyed Peas' absolutely wretched "The Time (The Dirty Bit)" debuts at #12. If ever there was an uninspired, rushed single that deserves to flop...
The U.S. Top 10:
1. "Like A G6" - Far*East Movement *3 weeks* 2. "Only Girl (In The World)" - Rihanna 3. "Just The Way You Are" - Bruno Mars 4. "Raise Your Glass" - Pink 5. "Just A Dream" - Nelly 6. "We R Who We R" - Ke$ha 7. "What's My Name" - Rihanna feat. Drake 8. "Teenage Dream" - Glee Cast *new* 9. "Firework" - Katy Perry 10. "Bottoms Up" - Trey Songz feat. Nicki Minaj
That cover of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" that was performed by Darren Criss (aka "Blaine") on Glee last week didn't just have the gays fizzing with excitement. (Though, admittedly, I fizzed.) Billboard reports that the a cappella rendition had the best one-week sales ever for a single from the show after racking up 214,000 paid downloads. (That beats previous record holder "Don't Stop Believing" from the series pilot episode.)
With little to no radio play, I find it hard to believe this version of "Teenage Dream" will debut at #1 on the Hot 100 tomorrow. But at least Criss is now signed as a full-time regular Glee cast member.
