What was never one of my favorite songs by the Material Girl turned out to be one of my very favorite cover recordings by the boys in the New Directions Glee Club on Glee. Obviously, it made bittersweet sense in context if you knew the show, but the fact that boys are singing What It Feels Like For A Girl, and the fact that they’re singing it beautifully with sweet harmonies, helps the lyrics pop the way they were intended. So much about Glee resonated with me but when the perfect song was sung just perfectly, as was demonstrated in my 51 to 51 countdown with Rachel (Lea Michele) Berry’s version of Firework, it was hard to not take notice. The producers sometimes chose just the right song, and then it was sung as beautifully and as moving as this one. It’s no wonder a person could add it to their list of favorites. And then there’s Rachel Berry’s moving and personal cover of the ages-old Make You Feel My Love. You’ve heard this song done by many artists, notably Adele and Billy Joel, but this version was recorded for the show just after the death of cast mate (and real-life boyfriend of Lea Michele) Cory Monteith, and it aired during their memorial episode to the character Finn. As I’m writing this I am tearing up remembering those emotions: sadness for a life, full of richness and hope, snuffed out by fame and addiction. The actors were acting, but were they really? I bet they didn’t have to act as much as feel.
From the historical writing archive. Original date: December 14, 2019. Recovered from local source material; editorial review is still in progress.
