Welcome to Television Shock, where I have made it my mission to bring to light the artistic integrity of scripted television series, comedy, drama, or otherwise. Join me as I explore this art form, so often considered to be of lesser importance than others, and show the world just why it's (shocker!) not.
A commonly occurring theme in the television field, as well as the arts world in general, is that of adaptation. We live in an age of sequels, song covers, spin-offs, and remakes that are often met with disdain and heavy criticism. Leave it to Glee, however, to accomplish the unthinkable. The hybrid musical-drama-comedy series has taken a song that I despise (Christina Aguilera's Beautiful) and re-imagined it, transforming it from an annoyingly overplayed pop ballad into an emotional anthem that is incredibly honest, outstandingly performed by actress Amber Riley (eat your heart out Aguilera), and extremely poignant.
Adaptations can be bad. I mean, really bad. That being said, there is something to be said about the artistry in taking one aspect of the industry (in Glee's case a song) and gift-wrapping it for a new audience. Sometimes, as Glee has now proven, the adaptation might even be - dare I say it - better.
Behind the scenes video of Beautiful, courtesy of Hulu.com
To hear Amber Riley's moving rendition of Beautiful, click here.
Above image: Amber Riley in a Glee promotional image; Credit: Flickr Creative Commons. Click here for source.
