In last week’s episode of Glee, the Warblers came to an end when Dalton Academy burnt down in a fire. We pay tribute to the legacy of the blazer by counting down every single Warblers performance over the years.
During season 2 of Glee, we were introduced to the Dalton Academy Warblers, a rival Ohio show choir. Fronted by Blaine Anderson – the internet-popular StarKid superstar Darren Criss – the Warblers knocked the Glee fandom’s collective socks off when they performed Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” to a bewitched Kurt Hummel. The song, the club, the character, and the ship became an overnight sensation.
The explosive popularity of the Warblers was unpredictable, but they went on to dominate season 2, especially after Kurt transferred to Dalton Academy to benefit from the school’s no-bullying policy. Led by Blaine, the group did enough hit performances to release their own Glee soundtrack album, they appeared on Ellen and the Today Show, and they were invited to participate in the “Glee Live!” world tour. Dalton and the Warblers launched their own passionate sub-sector of Glee fandom. The blazer was everywhere.
This all-male private school group was a game changer for the show. There were a few scandals, but the Warblers were a far cry from the ruthless Vocal Adrenaline – they represented fairness, classiness, history, camaraderie, loyalty, honor. Their group meeting scenes often bordered on farcical in terms of both tradition and enthusiasm, but they were endearing, noncompetitive and loveable. They looked different to anything we’d seen on the show, and they sounded different to anything we’d seen on the show, with most of their early numbers being arranged and recorded by world-class collegiate a cappella group the Tufts University Beezlebubs.
Darren Criss, obviously, went on to become one of Glee’s leading players, and was made a series regular after following Kurt to McKinley, but fans eagerly awaited any return to the elegant Dalton halls – the Warblers and the school itself appeared at least once a season. During season 6, Blaine returned to his roots – once a Warbler, always a Warbler, as the close-knit cast liked to say – as Dalton’s coach, a job he seemed to be very happy in.
However, in last week’s episode, “The Rise and Fall of Sue Sylvester,” tragedy struck. Dalton Academy burnt to the ground, Blaine was left dumbstruck, and his students were left without a school or a glee club. Some of the Dalton students were forced to transfer to McKinley, and the remaining Warblers joined New Directions, with Will, Rachel, Kurt and Blaine teaming up to direct the combined group.
Glee only has three episodes remaining, and the Warblers as we knew them are no more. But we’ll always love them, so we’ve decided to give them a proper send off by ranking every single one of their 25 musical performances – the great and the not so great. Let’s get started.
25. ‘Candles’ from ‘Original Song’
Not only is this by far the Warblers worst competition number, but it’s maybe one of Glee’s bottom performances of all time. Those harmonies are genuinely painful to the ear, and it’s a break-up song, which makes no sense for Kurt and Blaine’s big ‘we just hooked up’ duet. “Oh God, no. No more candles.”
24. ‘Whistle’ from ‘Thanksgiving’
Purely objectively, this sounds great. The arrangement and the whistling is flawless. But the song itself is super gross – “The Warblers would never!” we want to yell – and the showy moves in this number are a mark of the performance enhancing drugs that Hunter has put the team on. Pass.
23. ‘My Sharona’ from ‘The Hurt Locker, Part 2’
We only got a short clip of this song as part of the season 6 Invitational, where the theme was retro. It’s tight, and the harmonies work, but there isn’t much to judge from, and “My Sharona” is a creepy, nasty song in pretty much any context. Not a favorite.
22. ‘You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)’ from ‘The Hurt Locker, Part 2’
Another one from season 6 Invitationals, it’s better than “My Sharona,” but we don’t really know anything about these kids (not even the lead soloist got a name) so there’s not much to be invested in. They’re basically just Blaine’s toys, but he isn’t even part of the scene – he was trapped in Sue’s creepy elevator.
21. ‘When I Get You Alone’ from ‘Silly Love Songs’
Remember when Blaine got his Gap employee crush fired by attempting to seduce him with a pre-“Blurred Lines” Robin Thicke number in public? That was awkward. The performance itself was actually pretty awesome, but sometimes second-hand embarrassment is weightier than skill. Ouch.
20. ‘Animal’ from ‘Sexy’
Almost as embarrassing as The Gap Attack was watching these boys ham it up while trying to prove their sex appeal to a bunch of private school girls. There’s foam. There’s “sexy dancing.” There’s Kurt solos on an indie rock number. There’s way too much autotune. Ouch again.
19. ‘Stand’ from ‘On My Way’
There is absolutely nothing wrong with this performance, and the song has a really nice message – particularly for this Regionals set dedicated to suicide awareness – but it simply wasn’t that memorable. It lacks some of the more complex vocal layers needed for a good Warblers number, as well.
18. ‘Glad You Came’ from ‘On My Way’
More interesting than “Stand,” the second part of the Warblers season 3 Regionals set is a bit of a departure from tradition – it’s very heavy on synth and not what we’d strictly call a cappella. It’s very showy, more like a boy-band number, which is exactly, in fact what it is.
17. ‘Bad’ from ‘Michael’
This is a dynamic performance featuring excellent use of live, stompy, percussive dance moves, but it’s more of a Warblers backing track with New Directions soloists. This Michael Jackson showdown leads to some bad blood between the groups as well, which we’re not fans of!
16. ‘All You Need Is Love’ from ‘Love, Love, Love’
Like “Bad,” this one isn’t strictly a Warblers performance – it’s Blaine’s proposal song to Kurt, including contributions from four different show choirs, but it takes place at Dalton and it is very Warbler-centric in style and arrangement, which is fitting, given how the pair met.
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