Tragic tale of ‘Glee’

WHAT do Lil Wayne, Elvis Presley and the cast of “Glee” have in common? Bear in mind that one is a rapper, the other is a cultural icon and the cast is an ensemble of young actors and actresses from an American musical comedy-drama series?

Apparently, these are three of the top acts that have made headlines on the US Top 100.

The “Glee” cast tops the list, with an estimated 207 songs appearing on the US Top 100 during the show’s six seasons between 2009 and 2015.

Granted, the tracks are made up of covers of popular songs, both past and present, but that is still an impressive accomplishment. These, and many other nuggets, were some of the pieces of trivia that I discovered during my research for this instalment, which is more of an obituary of sorts. Underneath the numbers game — which includes 9,6 million and 26,8 million views for the show’s pilot and most viewed episode respectively, and six

Emmy awards — lies a dark and tragic trail that is filled with bankruptcy, death and obscurity. Since the show’s end, some five years ago, only three of the show’s cast seem to have maintained a modicum of fame and success, with Melissa Benoist (Marley Rose) now starring in her own series, “Supergirl”. The duo of Lea Michele (Rachael Berry) and Matthew Morrison has been busy on the Broadway scene, while the rest of the cast have either disappeared or are trying to rediscover their magic on the screen.

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