It wouldn’t be a season of Glee without a tribute episode. Every song in “What the World Needs Now” is by the legendary singer/songwriter/composer Burt Bacharach. Looking back over the music landscape from the 1950s to the 1980s, Bacharach composed a countless amount of music that’s now considered iconic.
Most of the songs in this episode are sung by the alumni, which makes sense considering the storylines revolve mainly around them. Both Santana and Brittany tell their families about their engagement. (Ken Jeong and Jennifer Coolidge will guest star as Brittany’s parents.) And speaking of the alumni, Mercedes stops by during Burt Bacharach tribute week to help out and also talks with Rachel about continuing to pursue her Broadway dreams.
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So which Bacharach songs will be featured? Here are the eight (yes, eight!) songs you’ll see performed in “What the World Needs Now” and the artists who originally sang them: Dionne Warwick’s “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” and “Wishin’ and Hopin’,” The Shirelles’ “Baby It’s You,” Christopher Cross’ “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” “Promises, Promises” from the musical of the same name (Glee guest star Kristin Chenoweth starred in the 2010-2011 Broadway revival), The Carpenters’ “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” Cilla Black’s “Alfie” and Jackie DeShannon’s “What the World Needs Now is Love.”
We’re in the final season of Glee, which is a big deal in and of itself, but this episode in particular is monumental because it’ll feature the show’s 700th performance with the song “What the World Needs Now.”
And as mentioned, the alumni are the focus of most of the songs sand storylines. Rachel and Sam have another duet. Mercedes, Santana, Brittany, Sam, Artie, Blaine and Rachel are all singing together on a few songs. Rachel, Sam and Santana will each have their own solo numbers. And then everyone (alumni, New Directions and Will Schuester) will come together at the end for the 700th performance.
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Listen to the eight songs below:
“I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” — Rachel and Sam
“Baby It’s You” — Mercedes with Rachel, Santana and Brittany
“Wishin’ and Hopin'” — Brittany, Sam, Artie and Blaine
“Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” — Blaine, Artie, Sam, Kurt, Roderick, Mason and Spencer
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“Promises, Promises” — Rachel
“(They Long to Be) Close to You” — Sam
“Alfie” — Santana
“What the World Needs Now is Love” — Alumni, New Directions and Will Schuester
Which Burt Bacharach tune from “What the World Needs Now” is your favorite? Are there any other songs from his catalog that you want to hear instead? And do you think eight songs is too many for one episode?
Glee airs Fridays at 9pm on FOX.
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
Jeff Dodge, a graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena.
