If you follow my Twitter, you'll know that I was very disappointed with the results of The Glee Project on Sunday night. Why? Because I had this post planned to perfection centered around Hannah's inevitable victory and BAM!--Ryan Murphy says she's the easy choice for elimination. This after her praising her to the heaven's for being what the show is all about, having natural appeal, and acting the crap out of anything she is given. I'm beginning to like the "Ryan Murphy chooses the loser at random" theory floating around the Internet. But I digress. There are still four contenders left who are in the running for a seven episode arc on Glee. That's not true, either. Ryan Murphy has mentioned in a few different interviews that if he's particularly impressed with any of the contestants, he might get them onto the show anyway. There are rumors that a few of the eliminated contestants are going to pop up during some of the musical numbers and become students at William McKinley High. We won't know until The Glee Project finishes airing and they let the winner on the set.
The four contestants left are: Alex (super high tenor diva guy), Damian (already a professional singer from Ireland), Lindsay (musical theater belting perfectionist), and Samuel (rocker guy). Here's a breakdown of each contestant, a potential story arc, and who I think will actually win the show in the end. Alex
Strengths:
- That voice. This kid can sing.
- The bamness of it all. He has a big personality and knows how to make it pop.
- His type. Alex was willing to go out in drag to impress Ryan Murphy and killed it.
Weaknesses:
- The attitude. Alex comes off as being better than the show a lot.
- Likability. He rubs a lot of contestants on the show the wrong way.
- Focus. This kid struggles to deal with the distractions on set like no one left in the contest.
Story Arc: Mercedes still doesn't have a rival at McKinley High. She does now. Enter the new plus-sized diva Alex joining the Glee Club. He can sing all the same songs and do all the same sass. As the competition escalates, he even goes against Mercedes for female solos dressed as a woman. There's something fun and campy about having a new Rachel/Kurt rivalry with two people who basically are the same type.
Damian:
Strengths:
- The training. He's toured professionally for almost 5 years in a small vocal ensemble.
- The life experience. He's from Ireland and has been all around the world. That gives him more perspective.
- The look. He's the leading man type and Ryan has mentioned wanting to find a new Finn.
Weaknesses:
- The training. Damian does something that a lot of professional singers do: he uses his eyebrows to stay on pitch. That's distracting on film and he was called out for it on the latest episode.
- The acting. He's as flat as the current Finn.
- The dancing. He's not good even by Glee's low step-together-step-together "hide the bad dancers" school of choreography.
Story Arc: A new exchange student comes to McKinley High. He's mocked by the jocks because of his accent and finds solace in the Glee Club. They accept him before they even hear him sing then are blown away by his beautiful voice. He builds up the confidence through the club to confront his bullies and be a stronger person. A different spin on a familiar theme for Glee.
Lindsay
Strengths:
- The acting. This girl is a wonderfully trained actress and can handle anything they ask for.
- The range. Though not as seasoned as Damian, Lindsay his great control of the full range of her voice--pitches, emotion, and tone.
- The look. Ryan Murphy has said he wants a new Lea Michele. He even said he can see Lindsay in that role on the latest episode.
Weaknesses:
- Fake. She comes across as a big phony to a lot of people she meets.
- Perfectionist. If trying to be perfect at all times is her only goal (as she admitted), she's going to crack on the set of Glee. They shoot weekly and settle for "good enough" all the time.
- The Lea Michele Factor. Does Ryan Murphy really want to deal with another actress playing the exact kind of character that is polarizing for a lot of people? From another perfectionist who quite a few people believe is very fake? That's a liability.
Story Arc: Thanks to finally admitting her backstory on camera, Lindsay made a potential arc rather clear. Lindsay is an absolute perfectionist at everything. This drives Rachel insane because they're suddenly in all the same classes and clubs together and Lindsay is out-doing her. We eventually learn that Lindsay only acts this way because she is adopted and her family is disappointed in her disinterest in sports. This causes Rachel to accept Lindsay as a friend and pull her into the Glee Club in the hopes of building up her confidence about her adoptive family. It could be very sweet if handled right.
Samuel
Strengths
- He's Christian. Ryan Murphy kept around a much worse singer, actor, dancer, and performer solely because he was a conservative Christian. Samuel is, too. Ryan says he wants to create a believable conservative Christian character who sticks to his morals this season.
- Rocker. We don't have an actual rocker on the show right now and Samuel can actually sing the music with style and technique.
- Type. Unlike all the other contestants, Samuel looks nothing like anyone else on Glee. He's bound to stand out.
Weaknesses
- The acting. It's not that he's not talented. He's not trained. He has one intense look and needs a lot of coaching to get beyond it.
- The voice. He attacks every style of music the same way. He needs training to expand his knowledge of music.
- The look. Is he really the type that Glee fans will embrace as a high school underdog? Shouldn't he be with the cool kids or the jocks and not the club?
Story Arc Thanks to his desperate admission of his faith to stay on the show, we have Samuel's arc. Ryan Murphy point blank said he envisioned the conservative Christian character having a relationship with Rachel, leading to a big blow out over morals versus passion. Samuel's character has never been kissed because he chooses not to be kissed on account of his faith. He feels such strong feelings for Rachel that he's forced to confront his morals or lose the girl he might think is the one. And if Ryan Murphy isn't lying, conservative Christian character will not betray his morals. That's brand new for Glee.
The Winner
Alex is too similar to Mercedes and Kurt to win. Lindsay is too much of a perfectionist, though I totally see Ryan Murphy writing her a part anyway later in the season. Damian is a bit too sleepy onscreen. That leaves Samuel as the winner, riding that wave of "I want a conservative Christian character this season" to victory.
What do you think? Who will win The Glee Project? Sound off below.