Glee: Showmance

"Showmance" is the second episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on September 9, 2009. It was written by series co-creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan and directed by Murphy. The episode sees the glee club attempt to recruit new members by performing Salt-n-Pepa's "Push It" in a school assembly. It advances the love triangles between Rachel (Lea Michele), Finn (Cory Monteith) and Quinn (Dianna Agron) and Emma (Jayma Mays), Will (Matthew Morrison) and Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig), and sees antagonist Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) begin to conspire against the club. The episode features covers of six songs. Studio recordings of three of the songs performed were released as singles, available for digital download. Three of the tracks also appear on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 1. "Showmance" introduces recurring cast members Jennifer Aspen, Kenneth Choi, and Heather Morris, and guest-stars Valorie Hubbard. The episode was watched by 7.3 million US viewers, and was the best-received scripted premiere by Fox in three years. The performance of Kanye West's "Gold Digger" in particular drew positive reviews from critics, with Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post and Entertainment Weekly's Tim Stack comparing the episode favorably to the series' pilot episode. Brian Lowry for Variety, however, received the episode poorly, deeming the show a one-hit wonder, while Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times noted weaknesses in the adult characters.