Glee: The Music, The Rocky Horror Glee Show

Background and development

The Glee episode "The Rocky Horror Glee Show" originally aired October 26, 2010 as part of Fox's series of Halloween-themed episodes, and features a staging of The Rocky Horror Show by the school's glee club. Plans for the episode were revealed at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International by Glee creator Ryan Murphy after cast member Chris Colfer expressed desire to cover "Time Warp" on the show. Jayma Mays, who plays the role of guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury, auditioned with "Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me" and performs the song, with some changes in lyrics. "I'm so going to have to get her to do that on the show," said Murphy on her audition piece. "Whatever Happened to Saturday Night" is sung by John Stamos, and "Damn It, Janet" by Cory Monteith and Lea Michele.

The EP's track list was announced in an official press release on September 28, 2010. It was released digitally and physically on October 19, 2010 in North America.

Reception

Andrew Leahey of allmusic gave a rating of three-and-a-half stars out of five, calling the EP "one of the better recordings in Glee's catalog" and "a tidy, polished, well-sung tribute album." He praised the performances of Naya Rivera, Jayma Mays, and John Stamos, vocalists infrequently heard on the series, but felt the casting of Amber Riley as Dr. Frank-N-Furter was misplaced.

Glee: The Music, The Rocky Horror Glee Show debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 the week of October 27, 2010, with 48,000 copies sold, the lowest debut and sales for the cast in the United States. This debut made Glee the first television series to have six or more soundtracks chart in the chart's top ten, and marked the highest position ever reached for a Rocky Horror album. As of April 2011, the EP is Glee's lowest-selling in the US, with 160,000 copies.

Track listing

All tracks written by Richard O'Brien.

Credits and personnel

Persons credited for the project are as follows.