Glee "The Power of Madonna": No so Madge-ical

What that an episode of Glee, or a creative infomercial to promote the sales of the music of Madonna? It's debatable, really. Sure, there was some fine musical moments (like use of marching band and Cheerios for "4 Minutes"), but at what cost to the story? The shot-for-shot remake of "Vogue" was also kind of cool outside the episode, but it kind of loses its luster in the context of the episode (which, in turn, made it the perfect clip to pull and promote the series this past week). An artist-centric episode isn't the problem here, though. It's the shoe-horning of the artist into the plot that makes this episode fall kind of flat. The girls aren't feeling good so let's give them Madonna?

As far as the music goes, Madge recordings are actually a good fit, in part because Madonna already uses blending and auto-tune on her vocals, so the processed sheen that is associated with Glee's production feels right at home. FOX and Columbia Records are on the spot releasing an EP of the songs this week (Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna), instead of the usual weekly singles.

Playlist: Glee - Episode 1.15 ("The Power of Madonna")
"Ray of Light" - Madonna
"Express Yourself" - Glee Cast with Jonathan Groff
"Burning Up" - Madonna
"Borderline / Open Your Heart" - Glee Cast
"Frozen" - Madonna
"Vogue" - Glee Cast
"Like A Virgin" - Glee Cast with Jonathan Groff
"4 Minutes" - Glee Cast
"What It Feels Like For A Girl" - Glee Cast
"Like A Prayer" - Glee Cast with Jonathan Groff

Previously: Episode 1.14 ("Hell-O")