20 Glee Songs That Accurately Describe 2020

People have always had mixed feelings about Glee and the music from the show, but for me, Glee was one of the simple pleasures that got me through 2020. Working and doing school from home gave me a lot more free time and Glee and its music was there to motivate me, distract me, and give me something to smile about when almost nothing else did.

And even though it went off the air in 2015, many of the songs felt like they were being sung with 2020 in mind.

1. This Is The New Year

Another year you made a promise

Another chance to turn it all around

And do not save this for tomorrow

Embrace the past and you can live for now

The year started off optimistic with everyone claiming "20/20 vision." The general consensus was that the start of the new decade was one that would bring about celebration and prosperity. This song perfectly describes that feeling that we all had in the beginning that 2020 was a year to look forward to.

Boy, did life come at us fast.

Fun Fact: This is my most listened to Glee song.

2. Losing My Religion

That's me in the corner

That's me in the spot-light

Losing my religion

This year, many prominent Christian figures started to dealign themselves from western Christianity, making a distinction between their faith/spirituality and the organized religion. This was due largely to their disappointment with certain Christians not speaking out against racial injustice. The lyrics of this song capture the frustration and disappointment that many felt.

Fun Fact: This is my second most listened to Finn/Cory Monteith song, after Jessie's Girl.

3. Only the Good Die Young

But they never told you the price that you pay

For things that you might have done

Only the good die young

In this song, a boy is convincing a girl he's interested in to throw her morality out the window because "only the good die young." While his rationale might be faulty, this year really did make us feel like only the good die young. Besides innocent people being killed by authorities (George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, etc.), this year also saw celebrities like Naya Rivera, King Von, and Chadwick Boseman die at young ages.

Fun Fact: This is my most listened to Puck/Mark Salling song.

4. Bills, Bills, Bills

You're slowly making me pay for things

Your money should be handling

This year in the U.S. some of the country received $1200 stimulus checks to aid with hardship during the pandemic. This remained largely the only contribution we received for nine months and Congress recently began juggling around the idea of giving us $600, which has been a major issue despite the fact that we pay taxes for times such as these. This song relates to this financial clownery because it talks about a freeloading boyfriend. Only in 2020, the U.S. government is the freeloading boyfriend.

5. Dreams

Like a heartbeat, drives you mad

In the stillness of remembering what you had

And what you lost

This song became a hit again after nearly 50 years after its release when it was featured in a viral Tik Tok of a man skateboarding with this song playing in the background. The fact that so many Zoomers (Gen Z) took to this song, shows how relatable it is even today. The lyrics speak of things lost because everything is temporary. This became a hard pill to swallow for many this year because so much of what we knew before 2020 faded (security, health, freedom, etc.). Who knew that behind such a mellow melody hid a dark reality?

Fun Fact: This episode that was dedicated to the Rumours album by Fleetwood Mac, is the reason I bought that album on vinyl this year.

6. America

Life can be bright in America.

- If you can fight in America.

Life is all right in America.

- If you're all-white in America.

This year, the disparities in America seemed to grow wider, reinforcing the idea that there are two different Americas for the privileged and the less privileged. This song talks about how everything in America isn't all it's cracked up to be. Though it seems nice on the outside, things like race and class play a role in keeping people from achieving the American Dream that we've been sold. Even though the song was written in 1957, it holds true even in 2020.

Fun Fact: I watched West Side Story for the first time this year because of this episode.

7. Cough Syrup

And so I run to the things they said could restore me

Restore life the way it should be

I'm waiting for this cough syrup to come down

I won't lie, I initially thought of this song because it's called Cough Syrup and coughing is a symptom of COVID. But when I learned what this song was about, I knew it fit perfectly with 2020. This song was written about wanting to escape the mundane in life. This year, there has been a lot of mundane. Having to stay in the house or stay away from people outside of your immediate family gets boring. And sometimes we just want something to wake us up and get us back to where we used to be before all of this craziness started.

Fun Fact: Blaine/Darren Criss is my most listened to artist from the show.

8. School's Out

School's out for summer

School's out forever

This song is pretty dark underneath the carefree rock and roll sound. It talks about a school being shut down permanently because it blew up. Even though that wasn't a widespread experience this year, the idea of school being shut down is something that all students in 2020 can relate to. During Spring Break of this year, many schools closed down for the rest of the year due to COVID. Having to adjust to not physically being in school, made it feel like something permanent because of how out of the ordinary it was.

9. Dancing With Myself

Well there's nothing to lose

And there's nothing to prove

And I'm dancing with myself

This year we all had to find ways to be content with ourselves and whether it was in the form of actually dancing (like on Tik Tok) or something else, being able to find peace within ourselves is something that shouldn't be taken lightly.

10. Everybody Wants to Rule The World

I can't stand this indecision

Married with a lack of vision

Everybody wants to rule the world

When I hear this song, I can't help but to think of the U.S. presidential election this year. The knowledge of who our next president was going to be was up in the air for an uncomfortable amount of time, making everything seem so uncertain. And the desire for power above everything else really showed itself. I'm not sure if everyone wants to rule the world, but at least one person sure does.

11. Centerfold/Hot in Herre

Years go by I'm lookin' through a girly magazine

And there's my homeroom angel on the pages in between

At first glance this mashup might not seem like it relates to 2020 at all. Nelly's "Hot in Herre" is about, well, getting naked and "Centerfold" by The J. Geils Band talks about a boy discovering his high school crush posing in a porno magazine. This year, the world saw Only Fans blow up, with everyone from celebrities to college students engaging in sex work through their website. And that's the 2020 version of getting naked and posing for porno magazines so the song surprisingly fits.

12. Everybody Hurts

When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on

Don't let yourself go

Cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes

Nearly everyone you talk to will agree that this year was incredibly difficult. Depressive episodes and anxiety were at an all time high and if I learned one thing from this year, it's that everyone is dealing with something they don't talk about. And like the song says, everybody hurts. That's why being kind to people, especially this year, goes a long way.

Fun Fact: This song was also covered in Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, which I started watching to wean myself off of Glee.

13. I Wish

I wish those days could come back once more

Why did those days ever have to go?

'Cause I love them so

This song is all about longing for simpler times, which is something that I think most people can relate to this year. For me, even though I spent a lot of time listening to new music, I also spent just as much time listening to music from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Something about listening to music from those time periods made me feel like 2020 was less real, at least for a moment.

Fun Fact: I've been a big fan of Stevie Wonder since I was a kid, but watching this episode was the first time I heard this song. Now it's one of my favorite Stevie songs.

14. Seasons of Love

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes

How do you measure? Measure a year?

Time seemed to move differently this year. Certain months went by in a flash while others dragged on for what felt like an entire year in itself. And with so many of the regular things we used to do being cancelled, it was even hard to mark the days of the week at times. But there were many memories that were shared as a collective that as the years go by, we'll remember as 2020.

Fun Fact: I still think about The Office version when I hear this song, which was also a show that I spent a lot of time re-watching this year.

15. (They Long to Be) Close to You

Just like me, they long to be

Close to you

One of the most frustrating things of 2020 was having to be isolated from our loved ones. It created a longing that really could only be satisfied by being with them. The songwriter perfectly captured this idea of longing to be near someone in a way that makes everything seem to remind you of that fact.

16. I Know Where I've Been

There's a road we've been travelling

Lost so many on the way

But the riches will be plenty

Worth the price, the price we had to pay

If you've ever seen the 2007 Hairspray movie, you most likely remember the scene where Tracy is holding hands with Seaweed, his mom, and a bunch of their Black neighbors. When this song starts and they are marching toward the police, it always gives me chills. This year, I saw several scenes like that one with Black Lives Matters protests and these lyrics describe that feeling of knowing how much is at stake, but also having hope for something better.

Fun Fact: The music from the 2007 Hairspray movie is in one of my Spotify playlists titled "Musicals." This happens to be my favorite song from it.

17. Heroes

I, I will be king

And you, you will be queen

Though nothing will drive them away

We can be heroes, just for one day

This year we got to see many heroes at work. Doctors, nurses, hospital workers, essential workers. All of these people who were risking their lives to serve others in the midst of a pandemic. Although this song talks about lovers being heroes against the world for one day, the idea of fighting against all of the odds to be heroes still fits the heroes that showed themselves in 2020.

18. Don't Dream It's Over

In the paper today

Tales of war and of waste

But you turn right over to the TV page

Everytime I turned on the news or got on Twitter, it seemed that I was bombarded with some bad news: the death of a celebrity, police brutality, rise in COVID cases. And sometimes it all just felt like too much. But this song is a good illustration for why it's important to have people who will be there beside you when things become overwhelming.

19. All By Myself

All by myself

Don't wanna be

All by myself

Anymore

This year it was easy to feel alone. Mainly because for quite a bit of it, many of us were actually alone. While for some (like myself) it was nice to have solitude at first, after awhile the need for human interaction kicked in. Thank God for Zoom and Among Us.

20. The Final Countdown

It's the final countdown

We have fought hard this year and made it through every obstacle that was thrown at us and now we can finally see the finished line. As the hours until 2021 turn to minutes, never lose sight of the lessons you learned this year.

2020's Anthem: Heroes. Because all of us who survived through this year, are heroes.

If you liked this list, check out my Glee 2020 playlist using the Spotify link above or clicking here and feel free to leave a like and/or tip.