Disappointment

Okay, I am going to admit something that is a little embarrassing. I watch GLEE. Yes, I know, the gross amount of auto-tuning is horrible. And yes, I know that their target demographic is about a decade younger than me. But I love things I can sit and watch with D, and know that he is enjoying - and that limits me to videos with a lot of music, Blue's Clues and Pokemon.

I could blame it all on D, but that's not completely it. I also love Blaine. I mean, the character is neat, as far as characters go, but I have been a fan of Darren Criss since I first saw A Very Potter Musical. Which for those unfamiliar with it, is a 3 hour long musical parodying the Harry Potter book series. I always adore extremely creative and understated/under-appreciated musicians. (Don''t even get me started on Neil Innes...) I also enjoy seeing the interactions between Blaine and Kurt and the other characters. Some of the situations remind me strongly of elements of my secondary schooling, and I am happy to see somewhat decent role models in the spotlight for the younger generation.

Borrowed the pic from Perez, because it says it all. <3

When Darren Criss got a spot on GLEE, that is actually what made me check the show out for the first time. I liked the idea of them supporting and promoting creative individuals who deserve to be noticed. In that mindset, I got really excited earlier this month when I heard that another one of my favorite YouTube "celebrities", a girl named Tessa, auditioned and got a spot on GLEE. Tessa does some really fun parody and comedy videos on her channel tessaROXX TV and she has a beautiful voice. I looked forward to watching the coming episodes to see if I could spot her. Then everything came crashing down.

If you use the internet any little bit at all, you have probably heard of the scandal going on right now between FOX (the producers of GLEE) and a man named Jonathan Coulton. JoCo, as he is sometimes known, is yet another individual musician who really deserves to be recognized. In 2006, he did a very creative cover of Baby Got Back (originally by Sir Mix-a-Lot). On this week's episode of GLEE, Coulton's cover arrangement was used for a performance. No permission was asked and no credit was given. This is, by far, the furthest FOX could get from "supporting and promoting creative individuals" as possible.

Now, there is dispute that FOX used Coulton's cover of the song. Though, apparently most of it comes from deaf people and FOX's employees. I will let you determine the truth to this for yourself:

 

On top is a video of Coulton's 2006 arrangement of Baby Got Back, and below that is the clip from the GLEE episode "Sadie Hawkins" that aired on January 24th. The GLEE clip I linked for the episode is actually a cropped version of the song, leaving out the most damning evidence - such as the actual mention of Coulton - which can still be found in the version available for sale on iTunes anywhere outside of the US. But I used this clip for a reason. 

In the clip, Kurt is watching the NYADA show choir, named The Adam's Apples, perform the song in question. The song starts - and there is Coulton's cover. Cue moderate disgust. Three seconds into the video, you see a cute girl with an awesome pixie cut. That's Tessa. Awww, really? But, wait, I did a double take and had to rewind. Who was that other person I noticed? Why, the first person who started singing is none other than Joey Richter, another A Very Potter Musical alum and member of team Starkid. He was the Weasley to Darren's Potter. That is two very popular individual artists. Who I like. I was happy to see them, and to see that they got great screen time, but was very disappointed that it happened during the segment.

Which got me thinking even further. What would their opinions have been, going into this recording session, had they known that it was doing work stolen from another independent artist without his permission? Would their ethics have held them back? Or would they have been overridden by their desire for fame?

When I started asking myself these questions, and really thinking about it, it opened up the door to even more questions. Joey and Tessa are both quite popular on the internet, and have large followings. And, if you judge by the very debate over this song being copied from Coulton, it becomes evident that someone who works at FOX is no stranger to the internet, and what is popular on it. So, it begs to be asked - did these two very talented individuals actually win these roles completely of their own merits? Or did they get used? Were they chosen over more qualified actors because FOX knew that they could use their followings to rebuild the show's dwindling fan base?

To be honest, I would love to get a statement from Tessa or Joey about this. Sadly, I know that will never happen. What with contracts and fear of losing the job and all. But still, I would love to hear what they had to say on the subject.

I really hope FOX get's its act together. Because I want to keep my guilty pleasure, and not feel too guilty about it. I also wish for all the best for Joey and Tessa, and hope for them a long run with The Adam's Apples. How aptly named, The Adam's Apples. It has often been speculated that the apple was the biblical forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that Adam and Eve shared, opening their eyes to the knowledge of the world and getting them thrown out of their sanctuary in the garden of Eden. This bunch of apples also served to open many a person's eyes - to the curious and disappointing workings of the FOX network. What will they do with this knowledge?

Footnote: For more information on any of the artists mentioned, you can click on the link on their names and be brought to a page where you can check out samples of their work. Also, if you would like to show your support for Jonathan Coulton, you can buy a copy of his arrangement of Baby Got Back on mp3 here.