‘The Glee Project’ Recap: Contestants Demonstrate ‘Fearlessness,’ Charlie Sent Home

On this week’s (July 10) episode of ‘The Glee Project,’ the remaining contestants were asked to demonstrate their fearlessness, which they all did. Sadly, the charming character known as Charlie was sent home, since Ryan Murphy decided he is a performer and not an actor/singer, which is what ‘Glee‘ needs.

Theme: Fearlessness. Every good performer must have this quality in order to stand out and survive in the eats-its-young entertainment business.

Mentor: Jane Lynch, aka the tracksuit-wearing Sue Sylvester on ‘Glee,’ was there to teach the “wannaglees” about embracing fear, as opposed to running from it. She proved to be a softie under all that polyester.

Homework Assignment: ‘Now That We Found Love’ by the late Heavy D was chosen. It’s a quintessential ’90s rap classic and in our humble opine, an odd choice. But the kids did well with it, having fun with the song Lynch felt that Nellie held back, while Aylin was super into telling a story and acting with her performance. Lily made Lynch laugh and demanded her attention with her moves. Lynch ultimately chose Lily as the winner and her one-on-one partner.

Music Video: It was ‘Hit Me With Your Best Shot’ / ‘One Way or Another,’ a mashup of Pat Benatar and Blondie classics. But as Lynch said, it is not just a mashup. There was the addition of the slushie fight. Oh yeah, it was slushie time! The setting was a high school pool, with the swim team getting slushied.

It was a challenge for Ali, since she is in a wheelchair and had to be taken out of it to get slushied. She couldn’t move, so she had to just adjust to the frozen treats being thrown at her in rapid fire succession. Her body can’t take extremes, but she was doing well, until she got overly excited and couldn’t inhale or catch her breath. She quickly rebounded and that looked like fearlessness to us. Still, we can’t help but wonder if the producers were a bit irresponsible there.

The producers feel Aylin laughs whenever things get tough and they don’t like it. Nellie was intimidated by the crux of the assignment. Charlie blended in during the group number. Michael takes too long to get the right performances down, which wouldn’t fly on ‘Glee,’ since directors won’t be quite so patient and there’s not a staff of mentors.

Last Chance: Charlie and Aylin, the couple, were torn apart by having to do last chances! Drama. Was that scripted? It sorta felt like it. Did the producers have them do last chances to up the drama? We’re thinking they did.

Charlie had to sing ‘It’s Not Unusual,’ which showed his versatility. He was flying across the stage, sat in the row of seats with the judges and even improvised the lyrics about being in the bottom three a few weeks in a row and wanting to be on ‘Glee.’ He charmed us. But Ryan Murphy was mixed on Charlie’s marching to his own drum. It’s a quality trait but it also separates him from his castmates.

Aylin did ‘Take a Bow’ by Rihanna, which was flawless and strong, but not vulnerable. She could be a game changer, representing thousands of ‘Gleeks’ and making them feel like they have a voice and it’s hers! Nellie performed Beyonce‘s ‘If I Were a Boy’ and she just came alive. But that’s because she was solo. She fades in the group. It’s like they are asking her to be on ‘Glee’ and not the other way around, which is the whole point of ‘TGP.’

Some quick notes about everyone this week:

Abraham: He is always cute and fun.

Ali: She wants it so bad and was willing to endure the slushie tossing even though her body can’t deal with extremes.

Aylin: Her confidence is brimming. She wants to win. She laughs when she needs to be serious.

Blake: He’s so got this, seriously. He always sings and acts well.

Charlie: He is too distracted by hooking up with Aylin. He is too show offy but charming through and through. We’re sad to see him go.

Lily: She owned the video; it was hers!

Michael: He didn’t come to the forefront enough for the homework assignment.

Nellie: She needs constants encouragement or she sinks.

Shanna: Once again, she was one of the best.

We’re guessing Shanna, Aylin or Blake end up with guest spots on ‘Glee.’