The Glee Project Recap: Tenacity

Welcome to my first recap of "The Glee Project"! This reality show is my summer guilty pleasure and I'm more obsessed with it than the actual series "Glee", but I'm sure I am not alone on that one. This week's episode, as warned by the contenders on Twitter, was definitely the most intense one of the season, so let's begin.

The episode starts with the remaining contenders (quick recap, that's Abraham, Ali, Aylin, Blake, Lily, Michael, and Shanna) chatting about how close to the end we are getting. Right away, I'm lamenting the lack of Nellie time. Nellie, eliminated last week, was my absolute FAVORITE contender this season and I really wish she was still here. Regardless, there are still some very talented singers here. Moving forward, the contestants respond with enthusiasm to this week's theme: tenacity. Ali says tenacity is "a very familiar word to me," because of her paralysis. The homework assignment is Survivor by Destiny's Child, definitely a great pick to go with this week's theme (unlike last week's rap disaster). While rehearsing in the dorms, Lily says they were "flat," and I can't tell if it is directed to Aylin or not. Clearly, the two do not get along and I'm itching for a cat fight.

On the day of the homework assignment, Amber Riley, who plays Mercedes, struts into the chorus room, sending the contestants into a whirlwind of never-ending happiness (although, to be fair, the guy who plays the piano for every song could walk in and these kids would go nuts). Shanna is happy to see Amber, saying she's another girl who can "belt to Jesus." Robert Ulrich points out Amber's tenacity by fighting through stress fractures in her feet. So, Amber = tenacity. Got it? Good. Amber apparently sang this song on Glee (which I don't remember), but the contestants start anyway.

In the homework assignment, Blake's acting seems on point, Shanna stuns with her voice and her attitude, Lily seems way too forced, Michael sings about "chillin'" and apparently does just that, Aylin sounds very good, Abraham is very dance-y and flamboyant and not at all keeping with the theme, and Ali is fierce, using her whole body. Overall, it goes great. Amber says Lily did not connect with the song, and she loves Ali's movement and picks her as the homework winner. This is two in a row for Ali, further proving her dark horse status in this competition. Next, her and Robert announce that the homework assignment is Survivor's Eye of the Tiger, which will be done in one single, continuous shot. Abraham says he will "hate the bitch that messes us all up," which leaves me thinking maybe he'll be the one to keep messing up.

It's time for vocals with Nikki, who admits to the mysterious Ryan Peterson, the studio engineer, that this song is not really comfortable in anyone's range. She is happy with Aylin and Ali's vocals, and I have to agree, given the small snippets we're shown. Abraham sounds very pitchy and he cannot hit it to save his life. Shanna impresses Nikki once again, and admits that she loves working with Blake and that he is "the one to beat...for the guys." Michael sounds very rough. Poor Michael, he really cannot catch a break in the studio week after week! Nikki says "Blake hit it," and I slowly see the battle lines being drawn between best buds Michael and Blake. In group sessions, Lily belts higher than everyone else...and she's off-key. Lily says this makes her insecure, and the rivalry between Aylin and Lily becomes even more drawn out. It's time for these two to go at it!

At the video shoot, we are taken step-by-step through the shoot. Ali's faces in the interview crack me up. It is crazy how much each of these kids has to do, and I can't imagine being a part of this shoot. I don't understand why they're making Ali take the last shot with the basketball, given that she is wheelchair bound. Her mentoring session with Amber is a lot of the same old, same old, but it gets Ali motivated. The first take is off and it takes about six seconds for something to go wrong. More emphasis on the Blake--Michael friendship, leading me to think it's about to come crumbling down. Lily falls after clumsily getting out of her pants. Zach asks Aylin to help Lily and she complains about having her enemy help her. I want to reach through the screen and yell "Welcome to show business!" Soon, we're at the jumprope section of the shot and it's a mess. Lily, Aylin, Abraham, and Michael are all having difficulties. Zach says they all look "defeated" and no one is taking control. Soon, the jumprope section is no longer double-dutch, just a single rope, and everything starts going well. Shanna takes a pretty funny fall, but Abraham upstages it by taking a similar spill seconds later. He says he twists his left ankle and says "if that's not tenacity, I don't know what is, baby." Commence my eye roll.  After the twenty-somethingth take, Shanna runs outside and gets sick into a trashcan but doesn't let it slow her down. On the contrary, Abraham forces his injury upon Erik and the rest of the contestants. Aylin comments that "Abraham [is] worrying about playing up his ankle" and it's "messing him up today." She adds, "that was rude...but true," and I have to laugh and agree. On take 29, Ali almost makes the net and we see that she is getting frustrated. After take 33, Ali suggests the other six contestants lift her chair up so she can dunk it and Zach and Robert comment on how great she is doing. Still, Ali gets emotional and cries "Why can't I get it?" but Shanna and Blake are there to ensure that she will do it. It seems to help because after take 34, we finally have a finished video.

So, about that video. The single take comes off great and it's clear how much work went into this video, the contestants and the crew too. Blake, Shanna, Aylin, and Ali are my favorites in this week's video. I spy Abraham loosing focus and forgetting to sing multiple times. Lily's faces are truly frightening at some points, and I can't tell if it's the best acting choice. Michael does a pretty fair job, but isn't totally memorable (although I am curious how he got through that tire in the beginning of the video, I could never do that). I predict a bottom three of Abraham, Lily, and Michael.

The judges commend Ali, Shanna, and Blake's performances and they are the first three through to the next round, rightfully so. The entire jumprope crew is left, but one of them will be safe. Zach calls the jumprope section "an utter failure." Nikki says Michael struggled the most out of all the contenders and Abraham also had some flat notes in the studio. Robert says Lily has some great moments in the video, but Nikki says Lily has to blend. Zach commends Aylin for not tipping over a hurdle in any of the 34 takes. With that, the bottom three is announced and it's...surprise surprise, my predictions are true...Abraham, Lily, and Michael. Robert says "[Ryan] has asked us that you try to be yourself and not kiss up to him." OUCH! I laugh out loud at my TV, it was very indirectly harsh. In rehearsal, Michael and Lily seem focused, but Abraham sounds throaty and very emotional.

We get a very confusing insert about jockstraps, but Ali's concluding face is HILARIOUS. I really love her personality.

The first Last Chance performance is Michael, and before he's even on stage, Nikki tells Ryan he is not as good as Blake. We are really getting smacked in the face with this new Blake--Michael rivalry. Michael sings a song called Brick that I've never heard before, and he sounds good, but even I worry that it may not be "showy" enough to convince Ryan to keep him around, but it appears Ryan is smitten by Michael's charm. Ryan says "Blake never would have stumbled" if he was a part of the "jumprope fiasco," which I find kind of rude of Ryan to say, but subtlety has never been Mr. Murphy's strong suit.

Abraham is next, singing Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson. He sounds okay, but I've never really been a big fan of Abraham's voice. Also, let's talk about those platform maroon knee high boots. Yowza, for someone who says he's not an androgynous performer, he really makes it hard for us to be convinced he's telling the truth. Abraham and Ryan have an awkward moment when Abraham says he is not using his injury as an excuse, and Ryan snipes back with this zinger: "Anyone who says "I'm not using this as an excuse" is using it as an excuse." Abraham says he fought through the shoot and the potential battle escalates no further.

The last performance is Lily singing I'm The Greatest Star from the musical Funny Girl. It's easily my favorite performance from Lily, whose personality has always kind of turned me off, and I know almost instantly she won't be eliminated. Ryan and Lily have a bit of a gossip session about Aylin's comment about Lily in vocals, and it's like watching two middle-aged women gab about a woman they both pretend to be friends with.

Ryan says he can see all three of the final contenders on Glee, proving to him that the competition is getting harder. Suddenly, Abraham is walking back out on stage. ...What?! The mentors and Ryan are kinda stunned when Abraham apologizes for his performance and calls it his "worst," but says he is not leaving the stage "until I win this competition or you write a role for me on Glee." Bold, and a bit pretentious. Ryan says he was turned off by the fact that Abraham used his injury as reasoning, rather than Abraham just admitting he had a bad week. It's an awkward confrontation and Abraham's limp becomes more and more exaggerated. Oh boy.

The mentors comment about all three finalists and I think it's pretty obvious that Abraham is the one headed home as Ryan is smitten with Michael and Lily. Robert comes into the dorm, looking like he just ran over his wife's favorite cat, and announces the callback list is up. Lo and behold, Abraham is sent home, and says, through his tears, that he is "a little surprised to be leaving." Cue the elimination song and our look at the final six: Ali, Aylin, Blake, Lily, Michael, and Shanna.

Next week's theme is Romanticality! A fun one! The mentor is Darren Criss, and the pairs are Aylin and Shanna, Michael and Lily, and Blake and Ali. From the preview, we can see that someone forgets the words during a Last Chance performance, and one pair, left unidentified, struggles, leaving Robert to question "Should we put them both in the Bottom Three?" With Abraham gone, there is really no weak link in this cast. Below are my power rankings:

1. Shanna
2. Blake
3. Ali
4. Aylin
5. Michael
6. Lily

Of course, this is all conjecture and we have to wait and see who shines and who falls next week. Until then, comment on this week's episode in below and let me know who you think will rise and crumble next week. Thanks for reading my first "The Glee Project" recap, I know it's a little lengthy, but hopefully I've provided some great insight :)

Evan