Can't stop the music

Everyone is singing along with 'Glee'

By PAIGE ALBINIAK

"Glee"s music is not only driving the show, making it the freshest program on broadcast television, but it's also driving revenues. "This is a new sort of model," says Executive Producer Ryan Murphy. "It used to be with TV that you would have the show, then foreign sales, then DVD sales and then syndication sales, but DVD sales have really taken a cut out of syndication. This is a whole new way for Fox to earn revenue on a show."

Five of "Glee'"s songs are already currently in iTunes top 100. At No. 10, Rihanna's "Take a Bow," as sung by Rachel (Lea Michele) at number 10. At No. 28, "Don't Stop Believin'." Kanye West's "Golddigger," sung on the show by Will (Matthew Morrison), Mercedes (Amber Riley) and the "Glee" club, is at 45. Salt 'N' Pepa's "Push It," sung by the cast, is ranked 88 REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight this Feelin'", as sung by Finn (Cory Monteith) is number 89.

But it doesn't stop with iTunes. Five cast albums are already planned. Volume one will include early hits like "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Golddigger," comes out on November 3. Volume two is scheduled for a December release, after the series' 13 episodes have run. A compilation of 75 songs from the show's first season will come out in May, says Murphy.

Next summer, the "Glee" kids will tour the country.

"We're going to do what 'American Idol' has done and put the kids on the road," says Murphy. "It all equals revenue streams for Fox."

Like everything Murphy does, selecting the songs and inserting them into the show is a very thorough process. Before they write an episode, Murphy and his co-producers and writers - Brad Falchuk and Ian Brenna - decide on the episode's theme.

"We have the whole season plotted out in terms of what the big events are. We sit in a room and come up with what the episode's themes are. As we write, we earmark which character gets a song," Murphy says.

While writing, Murphy and his fellow producers listen to CDs - a Murphy playlist that covers everything from contemporary pop to Broadway and golden oldies. By the time the scripts are completed, the songs have been selected and inserted.

Music Supervisor P.J. Bloom then works with the artists to clear the songs. Not only does Bloom have to get rights to perform each song in the show, he also has to secure rights to put "Glee"'s rendition on iTunes and to put the song on future cast albums.

Meanwhile, Music Producer Adam Anders begins creating demos of the songs, using studio musicians that sound like the cast members. After the demos are completed, he creates background music and vocals. At that point, the actors are brought in and they lay down their tracks, which can take many tries before it's perfect.

Afterward, the actors work with choreographer Zachary Woodlee. Once they've worked to get the moves down - most of the actors aren't dancers - the episode is shot.

"No phase moves forward until I've approved everything," says Murphy, who says each episode includes five to eight songs. "It's like doing a movie musical every week."

With a heady debut, "Glee" is likely to receive a full-season order. Says Murphy: "Fox ordered the show so early that I was able to spend a lot of time on it. It's a very unusual show and had to be done with a lot of care. Each episode gets better and better."