Glee Musical Supervisor Talks Fun.
 

Glee is getting a lot of credit for breaking fun. into the mainstream. In an interview with the show's music supervisor, PJ Bloom, he discusses having initial trepidation on even using the song.

From the Article

“I vividly remember John dropping by my office with a just-mastered ‘We Are Young’ in hand,” “Glee” music supervisor PJ Bloom says. “It was still on its original blank CD-R titled in poorly handwritten red Sharpie.” When Janick suggested that the track was perfect for the musical show, Bloom demurred. “‘Glee’ doesn’t break bands,” Bloom says. “We celebrate existing pop success-that’s our core model.” But after listening to the song only once, he changed his mind.

“Not five minutes later I sent it to [“Glee” co-creator] Ryan Murphy, and within a few short weeks Ryan created what would become one of [the show’s] pinnacle song moments of the entire series,” Bloom says. “For fun., ‘Glee’ provided a launching pad for much of the success to come. For ‘Glee,’ fun. allowed us to show the world we could be an A&R source and break a band. It was music business perfection.”

was it really on the show before it was on radio and their own music video?

Glee is awful. I'd say the mainstream break more so comes from the Superbowl commercial.

I'd say it was a perfect combination of the two. You have the song on Glee, so the mainstream starts to pay attention, and then a big time Super Bowl ad uses the song shortly after, validating to the general public that this is a good song they should like (I'm speaking, obviously, to the music "fans" that don't actively seek out musicians like most of the AP.net community but instead are force fed what is supposedly good music by big time industry players).

I wouldn't go as far as to say that it was the driving force to get it to mainstream popularity, but it definitely provided a crossover for lots of people who otherwise would have never heard of them. As soon as the single was released it started getting heavy airplay, at least in my area.

I too believe it was the commercial. Do kids still watch Glee? Does anyone? I don't know a single person who does, but most of my friends have good taste, so that's probably why.

Glee as an A&R source. Just what we need.

I'd think it was definitely the Chevy commercials. Glee did a Hey Monday song and they obviously went nowhere

"celebrate existing pop success" is a neat way of saying "milk top 40 acts for all they're worth"

Yes, yes it was.

pretty sure it was my two fun. reviews that broke the band into the mainstream!

There's no way in hell that the Super Bowl commercial got this band more exposure than Glee did. The Glee cover of "We Are Young" is the 6th-highest charting song (peaked at 12) the show's ever produced - behind songs like "Don't Stop Believing" and "Firework".

As for whether or not Glee as an A&R source is a good or bad thing, I think we need to be careful before we judge. If they're gonna go after bands like Fun (more specifically, bands that don't quite fit the mold of today's pop music and stand to change the genre for the better) then I say more power to 'em. I don't mind that LET'S SET THIS WORLD ON FIREEEEE <3 is the default setting for my news feed every weekend if it means that Rihanna's lyrics are taking a backseat.

I'm sure the commercial aided its success, and it may just be where I'm at/the school I go to, but fun. and "We Are Young" were being mentioned everywhere the day after that Glee episode.

Fuck Ryan Murphy and his massive ego.

I never would've heard of this band if it wasn't for Glee. Bless you!!