Original Song

"Original Song" was first broadcast on March 15, 2011 in the United States on Fox. It garnered a 4.2/13 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic,[15] and received over 11.15 million American viewers during its initial airing, despite airing simultaneously with NCIS on CBS, The Biggest Loser on NBC, No Ordinary Family on ABC, and One Tree Hill on The CW. The total viewership and ratings for this episode were slightly down from those of the previous episode, "Sexy", which was watched by 11.96 million American viewers and received a 4.6/14 rating/share in the 18-49 demographic upon first airing on television.[16]

In Canada, this episode also aired on March 15, 2011 on Global Television Network. The episode was watched by 1.8 million viewers, making it the ninth most-watched television program of the week.[17] In Australia, the episode drew 972,000 viewers, making Glee the tenth most-watched show of the night.[18] In the UK, the episode was watched by 2.41 million viewers (1.97 million on E4, and 440,000 on E4+1), becoming the most-watched show on cable for the week.[19]

"Original Song" was met with mostly positive reception from critics upon its initial airing. James Poniewozik of Time called it a "solid" episode and wrote that "it did well by a couple of ongoing relationship stories."[20] Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times opined that it delivered several "long-anticipated moments [...] and several more we only wish we'd thought to anticipate."[21] Mark Perigard of the Boston Herald deemed it a "great" episode, "filled with many great moments."[22] Robert Canning of IGN rated it 8/10, signifying a "great" episode.[23] Sandra Gonzalez of Entertainment Weekly praised the development of "Original Song", and wrote: "One great thing about the episode was that after last week's plot-bomb-filled episode, the show didn't completely abandon what we'd learned that week."[24] Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club graded it "B−"; she noted that she enjoyed the scenes, but criticized the show for its inconsistency.[25] Brett Berk of Vanity Fair praised the episode for "not only [...] retreating into the series’s standard, flailing, everybody-in-the-pool narrative template, or filling this metaphorical slough with more leaden tropes than Richard Serra circa 1968, but by having the results be precisely the inevitabilities we all knew would occur."[26] Akash Nikolas at Zap2It praised the new song and its performance as a metaphor for the show: "New Directions flashed Glee’s trademark “L” sign, which the show has renamed as something cool. And instead of cups full of slush that's usually thrown at the Glee Club, the cups were filled with red confetti and thrown at the audience. This neat moment captured the show’s conceit: taking something ugly and oppressive and turning it into something beautiful and celebratory." [27]

The guest performances made by Kathy Griffin and Loretta Devine were met with mixed reception from several critics. Amy Reiter was more critical on Griffin's performance as Tammy Jean Albertson, and noted "while Kathy Griffin was sight-gag funny as local tea party candidate Tammy Jean Albertson [...] her lines fell a bit flat."[21] She went on to praise Devine's performance as Sister Mary Constance, saying that her lines "totally hit the bull's-eye."[21] Robert Canning praised both performances, saying that it was the best part of the episode. He continued, "I love how the guest judge segments of these contest episodes are beginning to become mini-series unto themselves. I hope that tradition continues."[23] James Poniewozik had mixed feelings regarding Griffin's performance. He went on to write, "Glee can be sharp and topical enough that I thought it could actually do something clever with the much-publicized cameo. Instead, the performance hinged on expected gags [...] and Griffin delivered it all with a stiffness that felt more like a recitation than a performance."[20] Emily VanDerWerff reacted negatively to both performances. In her review of the episode, she opined, "That judges’ scene [...] was a pale retread of the original, only this time, it had Kathy Griffin and Loretta Devine, as well as a bunch of tired Tea Party gags that were tired when this episode was written."[25]

The scene where Kurt (Colfer, left) and Blaine (Criss, right) kissed was widely praised and called a "sweet, real and, shockingly, un-hyped moment".[28]

The Kurt–Blaine storyline was met with general acclaim from critics. In her review for the episode, Katie Morgan of Billboard reacted positively to the interaction between Kurt and Blaine. She wrote, "It sure took them long enough, but we're so glad to finally see Kurt happy."[29] In his review, Mark Perigard opined, "It was utterly, sweetly romantic, and Criss sold the hell out of the moment. It’s long overdue and it will silence the growing legion of critics out there who were unhappy with the pace of this story and why Kurt always seemed to be stuck in pure misery."[22] Robert Canning was more critical on the storyline. He highly criticized Darren Criss' performance as Blaine.[23] In a detailed review regarding the storyline, Canning wrote, "Kurt finally got the first kiss he deserved. Too bad it came from the wooden, glass-eyed Blaine. Chris Colfer has been in the running for performance awards for good reason. Darren Criss will not be. Colfer and his character deserve better than the cardboard, unemotional declaration of love that Criss delivered. Yay for Kurt and his first boyfriend, but that was a bland work up to their kiss."[23] Sandra Gonzalez called the whole development "simply perfect".[24] Kevin Fallon of The Atlantic thought the kiss was "sweet", and stated that he was pleased that it attracted no controversy whatsoever.[30] James Poniewozik reacted positively to the storyline. In his review, Poniewozik wrote, "As for the at-long-last kiss, it's to Glee's credit that it made me think, ‘Finally, Blaine and Kurt are locking lips already!’ before it made me think, ‘Look, an honest-to-God gay kiss, between two men, on my primetime TV show!’"[20] Aly Semigran of MTV praised the interaction between Kurt and Blaine, saying that the kiss scene was a "sweet, real and, shockingly, un-hyped moment".[28] Semigran went on to praise the acting in the scene, saying that both actors "handled it with dignity and honesty".[28] Brett Berk deemed the interaction to be "appropriately fervid".[26]

The musical performances and selection in the episode were met with mixed response from critics. The original track "Loser Like Me" received general acclaim from critics. Berk praised the performance, and gave it four stars. He opined, "All four stars are for the lyrics [...] in which the lovable dorks sing about being the lovable dorks we fell in love with [...]".[26] In her review for the episode, Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone praised the song, and called it a "true anthem" that "ends triumphantly".[32] Raymond Flandez of The Wall Street Journal gave a positive review of the song: "The song grew out of a collaborative brainstorming session that went beyond rhyming dictionaries or first attempts at ditties such as 'Trouty Mouth', 'Big Ass Heart', and 'Hell to the No'."[31] Jarrett Wieselman of the New York Post commended the show for the use of original songs, and wrote "Glee entered uncharted territory last night [...] no, not Kurt's first kiss. I'm talking about New Directions dabbling in, and debuting, their very first original songs. It was as risky for the show as it was for the group since opting to perform wholly new creations would either give them a leg up on the competition or put them six feet under."[33] Bobby Hankinson of the Houston Chronicle praised the song, and deemed it "fun and summery".[34]

Several critics praised the vocal performance of Lea Michele (pictured) as Rachel in the episode, as well as the development of the character.

Sandra Gonzalez of Entertainment Weekly was generally positive on most of the songs featured in the episode. She gave the performance of "Loser Like Me" a "B", and explained that "This one took a little time to grow on me. I liked it better on the show than when I heard it by itself, which is weird because it's exactly the same thing. Goes to show how much of a difference a good performance [...] makes."[24] Gonzalez gave the highest grade to the cover versions of "Misery" and "Raise Your Glass", both performed by the Dalton Academy Warblers. In her review for "Misery", she praised the performance, and gave it an "A". She opined, "I'm a sucker for a Warbler-ized pop song, especially when it makes Blaine dance and make his weird, animated faces. They're simply adorable, and these Warblers are simply amazing."[24] Gonzalez gave the performance of "Raise Your Glass" an "A". The lowest grade given by Gonzalez was a "D" for Santana's performance of "Trouty Mouth". She explained "If we're taking this song as a joke, it gets a 'B−' because Santana sounded great. But [...] I think about how bad I felt for Sam watching his utter mortification."[24] "Candles" was generally well received by Gonzalez. She gave the performance a "B" and went on to write "It’s really hard for this pair to live up to the awesomeness of 'Baby, It's Cold Outside'. I'm sure they could one day, but this one fell a bit short for me musically. [...] In the context of the show, however, it was a great moment."[24]

Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times reacted positively to all of the songs. In her review for "Original Song", Reiter opined that "The original songs [...] weren't half bad: From Santana's ode to poor, horrified Sam, 'Trouty Mouth,' to Puck's tribute to Lauren, 'Big Ass Heart,' to Mercedes' self-celebrating 'Hell to the No,' the original songs on this episode were funny and revealing. And rousing Regionals-winning anthem 'Loser Like Me' landed like an exuberant slushy in the face [...]."[21] Katie Morgan of Billboard praised the performance of "Candles", and called it "beautifully intimate", and commended The Warblers' "solid performance".[29] Todd VanDerrWerf of The A.V. Club responded negatively to "Trouty Mouth", but was generally pleased with the other songs.[25] VanDerWerff went on to praise the voice of Lea Michele: "The first song Rachel sang at regionals [...] was a nicely done little ballad, the sort of song you could both see someone like Rachel writing and later belting."[25] James Poniewozik also praised the voice of Michele, as well as her character development. He opined, "That said, I like the arc of Rachel-as-songwriter, which has played to some of Lea Michele's greatest strengths both as a comic and dramatic actress."[20] Robert Canning of IGN found the original songs to be "hilarious". He opined, "Getting to run through a series of comical and catchy false starts was entertaining. Santana's 'Trouty Mouth' was sultry and hilarious. Puckerman's rocking ode to Lauren, 'Big Ass Heart,' was also a ridiculous treat. And then both were outdone by Mercedes' stomping, Amy Winehouse-aping 'Hell to the No'."[23]

Seven of the eleven songs featured on the episode charted on several popular musical charts. In the United States, "Loser Like Me" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number six,[35] and in Canada, the song debuted at number nine on the Canadian Hot 100.[36] The single was the second highest charting single for Glee after "Don't Stop Believin'", and sold 210,000 downloads its first week in the US, second only to the cast's cover of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream", which sold 214,000 downloads in its first week.[37] It was certified gold in the US before the end of 2011.[38] "Get It Right" debuted at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100[35] and number twenty-three on the Canadian Hot 100.[36] These two original songs were featured in the soundtrack album Glee: The Music, Volume 5. It was released on March 15, 2011, and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, selling over 90,000 copies in its first week in the United States.[39][40] A third original song, "Hell to the No", was released only as a single, and debuted at number fifty-three on the Billboard Hot 100[35] and number sixty-five on the Canadian Hot 100.[36] Four covers from the episode were featured on the album Glee: The Music Presents the Warblers, which was released on April 19, 2011, and all four charted in the top 100 in the US,[35] Australia,[41] and Canada:[36] "Misery", "Blackbird", "Candles", and "Raise Your Glass".