There are many things that make a good show, but definitely, one of them is the ability to bring true emotions to the viewers.
Glee was really good at it, so we’ve chosen 15 of the performances that caused us some tears; keep scrolling down if you feel you can handle it.
(Warning: it contains some spoilers).
15. In My Life
(From season 3, episode 22 “Goodbye”).
When half of the New Directions’ members graduated, the junior members sang this for them. This farewell moved us, it’s always hard to say “goodbye”, but it was also a reminder of how some people stay forever in our lives.
14. Over the Rainbow
(From season 1, episode 22 “Journey”).
Similar to our number 15, this was performed during a season finale, but it was in season 1. Will –with some help from Puck- dedicated this to the glee club to encourage them to keep on dreaming, because they still had a long way to go.
13. Fix You
(From season 3, episode 3 “Asian F”).
Remember how hard it was for Emma dealing with OCD, and her relationship with her own parents? Yet the only thing she could do was pray, and Will also prayed for her to get better, as he saw her like the little defenseless girl she was on the inside.
12. Roots Before Branches
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt82w2GHyEI
(From season 3, episode 22 “Goodbye”).
Finn and Rachel were going to get married, but he decided he had to let her go so she could chase her dreams and become the star she always wanted to be. During this song, Rachel leaves Lima and her whole life behind to start in New York another chapter of her story.
11. Cough Syrup
(From season 3, episode 14 “On My Way”).
Blaine’s performance of this song is so intense it could give us shivers by itself, but that’s not all. As the song goes on, we see how Dave Karofsky is forced out of the closet and bullied afterwards, becoming so much more than he can handle, until he attempts suicide. Easily, one of the most impacting Glee moments ever.
10. I Dreamed a Dream
(From season 1, episode 19 “Dream On”).
Rachel never met her mom –at least not before season one-, and being together was a failed dream for both of them. In this fantasy sequence, they sing together about their lost dreams, and how hard is to lose them.
9. Keep Holding On
(From season 1, episode 7 “Throwdown”).
Quinn’s character always dealt with hard plots, one of them was when she got pregnant, and when the whole school found out she was truly scared. The glee club supports her after all –including Rachel, no matter how hard it was for her. The showed Quinn she was not alone.
8. The Scientist
(From season 4, episode 4 “The Breakup”).
“The Breakup” was a very emotional episode, three couples –Finn and Rachel, Kurt and Blaine, and Brittany and Santana- broke up, meanwhile Will’s and Emma’s relationship was about to fall apart. The eight of them sing this for the final scene, added to some flashbacks that made it even more painful.
7. I Want to Hold Your Hand
(From season 2, episode 3 “Grilled Cheesus”).
Kurt’s relationship with his father was always goals. Burt supported his son when he came out, and always defended him, so it was hard for all of us when he fell into a coma. Kurt’s performance for his unconscious dad was so emotional that still nowadays is one of his bests.
6. If I Die Young
(From season 5, episode 3 “The Quarterback”).
“The Quarterback” is for most of the fans, the worst Glee chapter to watch, not that it’s bad, it’s extremely painful. This episode is an homage for Finn Hudson (portrayed by actor Cory Monteith, who died in 2013), and every song featured is heartbreaking. Santana’s breakdown in the middle of the song, no matter how strong she wanted to seem at first, gets us EVERY TIME.
5. Teenage Dream (Acoustic)
(From season 4, episode 4 “The Breakup”).
This one is especially hard for everyone who loves Klaine. Very few songs in Glee were recorded at the same time of the scene, and of those songs, this one deserves all the ovations. Knowing his relationship with Kurt is gonna end as soon as he confesses he cheated on him, Blaine sings the first song he sang when they met. Filmed in one take, you can clearly hear the pain in his voice and see the guilt in his face, probably Darren Criss’ best performance for the show.
4. To Sir With Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckmdm52nITA
(From season 1, episode 22 “Journey”).
At the end of season one everyone in New Directions thought the glee club was over and there was nothing left to do, they were extremely grateful to the man who started all: their teacher, Will Schuester. They sing this thanking him for everything the glee club gave them during that time, and everything he did for every single one of the members.
3. Pure Imagination
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEjzuyiRZzs
(From season 2, episode 21 “Funeral”).
Sue Sylvester seemed like a cold and cruel woman, but only showed her real self to one person: her sister Jean. When Jean died, Sue thought nobody was going to attend the funeral, so she invites New Directions. They performed Jean’s favorite song, as Sue remembers her beloved sister and sobs.
2. I Lived
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59s-Qfr_Cn8
(From season 6, episode 13 “Dreams Come True”).
The reason this one is featured on this list is simple: it was the last scene for the whole show. Almost every character in the series is in this song, sharing a stage all together before the scene closes with the image of Finn’s and Lilian’s plaques, and a new one that shows a picture of this performance. The melancholy is real when you hear those unforgettable characters singing the lines “with every broken bone, I swear I lived”.
1. Make You Feel My Love
(From season 5, episode 3 “The Quarterback”).
And we go back to “The Quarterback”. The hardest part of this is to know all the actors were dealing with Cory’s death by that time, so it’s really difficult to see them as characters during this episode. Actress Lea Michele was in a relationship with Cory in real life. On screen, this is Rachel Berry singing in memory of Finn Hudson, but the pain in her performance makes it feel like it is really Lea Michel singing in memory of Cory Monteith.
What performance in Glee made you cry the hardest? Tweet us at @CelebMix to tell us.