“Oops, I did it again.” “‘Cause this is Thriller.” “Like a Virgin.” Some of the most memorable episodes of Glee are from when the cast and crew paid tribute to musical legends. Entire episodes are devoted to a specific musician or band, including seven or eight covers of the iconic songs.
The show had tribute episodes to Britney Spears, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, The Beatles, and many more. Some of these homages are better than others, but they all have one or two performances that fans still today. Take a look at ten of the best tribute episodes, ranked according to their IMDb scores.
Glease (8.0)
Grease is undeniably one of the best movie musicals of all time. It’s also popular for high school productions, and Glee’s McKinley High School is no different. The brand-new of New Directions tackled the musical in the season four episode “Glease.”
Throughout the episode, characters performed their own rendition of popular songs from the musical, including “Greased Lightning,” “Look at Me I’m Sandra Dee,” and a climactic performance of “You’re the One That I Want.” During the performance, Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) imagines herself on the high school stage, and she’s surrounded by the original cast . The episode’s closing number proved that Glee was always best with the original cast.
Wonder-ful (8.1)
Life gets exciting for the characters towards the end of the show’s fourth season. For one thing, Rachel has a final callback for the Broadway musical Funny Girl. The New Directions are preparing for the regionals competition, and they decide to pay tribute to soul king Stevie Wonder in “Wonder-ful.”
The episode features beloved characters who received less attention that season, including Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley). She sings a gospel version of Wonder’s hit “Superstition.” Other memorable performances include “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)” and an elaborately choreographed song and dance version of “I Wish.”
The Rocky Horror Glee Show (8.1)
Let’s do the time warp again! The season two episode “The Rocky Horror Glee Show” helped introduce a new generation to the 1973 musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The glee club stages a production of the risqué musical, and the show has shot-for-shot remakes of famous scenes from the original musical.
The episode features a guest star appearance by John Stamos, who performed a fun, rock version of “Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?” Other memorable performances include Mercedes starring as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “Sweet Transvestite,” and the cast coming together for “Time Warp.”
Britney/Brittany (8.2)
The second season of Glee had some of its best episodes, including the tribute to Britney Spears in “Britney/Brittany.” The pop princess revolutionized music in the late ‘90s and early 2000's, so it’s fitting that the show would pay a tribute to her. In fact, Spears even had a cameo in the episode.
The episode features some of Spears’ most famous songs of all time, including “Stronger,” “Hit Me Baby One More Time,” and “Toxic.” However, many fans say Brittany Pierce’s (Heather Morris) music video to “I’m a Slave 4 U” stole the show. Morris recreated Spears’ music videos, and it was a thrilling performance they still nearly ten years later.
Rumors (8.3)
In the season two episode “Rumors,” New Directions paid tribute to the 1970’s rock band Fleetwood Mac. All of the songs came from the band’s 1977 album, Rumors. Throughout the episode, glee club sing covers of hit songs, including “Songbird,” “Dreams,” and “Go Your Own Way.” The songs relate to the episode’s plot, in which the glee club find out Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet) is living in a motel after his father lost his job.
The episode (guest-starring Broadway legend Kristin Chenoweth) introduced new fans to the music of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. The episode concludes with a hopeful, playful rendition of “Don’t Stop.” You can’t help but feel happy while watching the performance.
Love, Love, Love (8.3)
Glee kicked off its fifth season with a tribute to The Beatles. The show performed many covers of hit Beatles’ songs in previous seasons, but this episode was a homage to the most iconic rock band of all time. Glee club advisor Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) assigns everyone to sing a song from the Fab Four, and the performances are a perfect tribute.
The episode includes covers of “Yesterday,” “Drive My Car,” “Help!”, “A Hard Day’s Night,” and “I Saw Her Standing There.” Finally, the episode ends with Blaine Anderson (Darren Criss) proposing to his longtime boyfriend, Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), during a beautiful rendition of “All You Need is Love.” Spoiler: Kurt says yes.
Dance With Somebody (8.5)
Just two months after Whitney Houston ed away in 2012, Glee paid tribute to the pop star in the season three episode “Dance With Somebody.” The glee club were upset about Houston’s death, so they performed her songs to express their grief and also realize half of them would soon be graduating.
The episode opens with a hauntingly beautiful a cappella version of Houston’s dance number “How Will I Know.” From there, the cast performs covers of “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” “Saving All My Love for You,” and “My Love is Your Love.” Every song is a moving tribute to a legend who inspired many of the cast .
Theatricality (8.7)
“Theatricality” is perhaps one of the more recognizable episodes from the first season of Glee. Will encourages the glee club to express themselves through Lady Gaga’s songs. Rachel sings a duet version of “Poker Face” with her birth mother, Shelby (guest-starred by Broadway legend Idina Menzel).
In addition, the glee club girls and Kurt recreate several of Lady Gaga’s famous costumes for a cover of “Bad Romance.” It’s a fun episode, and Glee would continue to feature Lady Gaga’s songs in other seasons.
Michael (8.8)
In the season three episode “Michael,” the glee club paid a tribute to Michael Jackson. In previous seasons, Glee performed covers of Jackson’s hits, including “Thriller,” but this entire episode includes nine songs. Performances include “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” “Bad,” “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” “I Want You Back,” and others.
But who could forget the brilliant, energetic rendition of “Smooth Criminal”? Accompanied by 2Cellos, Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) and rival Sebastian Smythe (Grant Gustin) battled it out in this high-energy cover that even the King of Pop would have enjoyed. Now that’s how you perform a cover song.
The Power Of Madonna (8.9)
You can’t get any better than Madonna, and Glee’s tribute to the Queen of Pop is still one of the best episodes from the entire show. The season one episode combines a great storyline (inspiring female empowerment) with poignant, moving performances. The episode includes covers of “Like a Prayer,” “Vogue,” “Express Yourself,” and, of course, “Like a Virgin.”
The glee club girls learn how to be a Material Girl—all while staying true to themselves. In this episode, Glee respected Madonna’s music, demonstrating the only way to make a tribute episode.