Stars struck by “Glee”

Welcome back to William McKinley High School—home of  New Directions, the most famous glee club in America! If you haven't heard of "Glee," no doubt a couple of "gleeks," loyal fans to the show, would be glad to drag you to watch a rerun of the season two premiere "Audition," which just aired Tuesday, Sept. 21, and guest starred Cheyenne Jackson and the international Filipina recording artist Charice Pempengco. The musical comedy's popularity has spread quickly in the U.S., creating a loyal fan base that's bound to include some of your fellow classmates and friends. But wait! It seems that not only teenagers and young adults are into the show.

Stars such as Justin Bieber, Zac Efron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Javier Bardem and Britney Spears have joined the club of loyal gleeks. These superstar fans not only rave about the new show but are also lined up for guest appearances in the second season. Spanish actor Javier Bardem "requested it, it's in the second half of the season." According to creator and writer Ryan Murphy at the Television Critics Association fall press tour, "Javier watched the first thirteen episodes on DVD. He became obsessed with it and said it was like crack." Canadian pop star Justin Bieber also met with the producers this summer. 

Previous guest stars on "Glee" were mostly pulled from the Broadway community. They included a variety of talented performers, such as Kristen Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Molly Shannon, Josh Groban and Neil Patrick Harris. John Stamos, an actor, singer and dancer who performed in four big Broadway musicals, sent the creator Ryan Murphy clips of himself in "Cabaret" saying "I'd like to do this [‘Glee']" and has gone as far as to take daily singing and dancing lessons. Stamos, who will play the role of a dentist in season two, said on the red carpet, "These blessings rarely drop in your lap and when they do, you just go, ‘Wow.'" 

What other big names can you expect to see in "Glee" in season two? Creator Ryan Murphy has revealed that future guest appearances will include Jennifer Lopez, Susan Boyle and Gwyneth Paltrow. The second episode of season two featured pop superstar Britney Spears. What is it about a television program featuring a choir group that attracts so many big names?

In its first season, "Glee" won numerous awards and garnered even more nominations, including the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series—Musical or Comedy, People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Comedy in 2010, four Primetime Emmy Awards from The Academy of Television Arts and Science in July 2010 and five Satellite Awards in 2009. The award-winning cast has appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," performed at the White House and graced the covers of "Entertainment Weekly" and "Rolling Stone." Stars gain fame and win awards for appearing on "Glee." Guest stars Mike O'Malley, Kristin Chenoweth and Neil Patrick Harris were all nominated for the 2010 Primetime Emmy outstanding guest actor awards. Harris took home the Emmy for "Outstanding Guest Actor" and actress Kristin Chenoweth won the 2009 Satellite Award for "Special Achievement for Outstanding Guest Star."

"Glee" is also a commercial success with over seven million digital sales of single releases and more than ten million song downloads in total. In the last year, the cast came out with two certified Gold albums. The "Glee" cast had twenty-five singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, more than any other artist since 1964 (the Beatles had thirty-one songs on the Hot 100 chart in '64). Several of the songs from the season two premiere ended up in the iTunes U.S. top ten songs, including both "Telephone," performed by Lea Michele and guest star Charice, and Charice's audition piece, "Listen."  

It's no wonder that songwriters, including Sir Paul McCartney, want to see their songs on the show; according to NY Daily News, Paul has sent a mix tape with a handwritten note and two CDs: "Hi Ryan, I hope you'll consider some of these songs for Glee—Paul." Although Glee releases a cover of the song they sing, original recording artists also see an increase in their sale. Rihanna's "Take a Bow" sales increased by 186 percent after the cast performed it on the episode "Showmance."