Glee: The Music Volume 2

Even though the Glee club takes a four-month break after its midseason finale Wednesday night on Fox, its "gleeks" fan base still has something to chime about with the just-released Glee: The Music, Volume 2 soundtrack.

Like its hit predecessor, Volume 2 boasts a wildly diverse collection of tunes, including Kelly Clarkson's My Life Would Suck Without You and John Lennon's Imagine, all of which get high-spirited makeovers from producer Adam Anders. Volume 1 made its debut at No. 4 on Billboard's 200 chart the first week of November, selling 113,000 copies, and show co-creator Ryan Murphy, who picks all the songs himself, is confident that Volume 2 will see the same success.

"There's something for everyone," he says. "We pluck songs from different genres and different worlds. My father, my mother, my niece would find this album amusing."

Says Rob Stringer, chairman of Columbia/Epic records, the label behind the soundtracks: "Ryan has fantastic pop culture taste that permeates the show in every way. The song interpretations relate to the concept of the show – they're not just karaoke covers."

A psychoanalysis based on Murphy's iPod playlists would be a challenge for any therapist.

"I have schizophrenic taste in music," he says. "Lately, I've been obsessed with Fleetwood Mac, and I can't stop listening to Miley Cyrus' Party in the U.S.A. I love the song TiK ToK by Ke$ha, the new Jay-Z album, the new Alicia Keys. I even like Susan Boyle."

How does Murphy, who rose to fame with his series Nip/Tuck, pick the songs for the show? "It's a weird process I go through in my head," he says. "I chose Proud Mary (Volume 2's lead track) because of a moment I shared with my father. In fact, the whole episode (about Arty and his disability) is based on my relationship with my father."

The fact that there are only three script writers (Brad Falchuk, Ian Brennan and Murphy) helps to keep the diverse song choices tightly woven to the plot, Murphy says. "We come up with a theme of the episode first, and then I choose the song. It's my personal music taste, really."

Murphy's picks aren't just appealing to him. Collectively, the tracks have racked up just over 3 million downloads. "What's interesting about Volume 1 is that it's selling well (280,000 copies) despite how 13 of the17 tracks were previously available as single downloads," says Billboard analyst Keith Caufield. "Songs from Glee 2 are selling well, too, so there's no reason why the album won't be just as successful as the first."

When the show returns April 13, gleeks can revel in some big-name love: An all-Madonna episode is ready to go, and Barry Manilow will be a guest star. Also, Jane Lynch, who plays Will Schuster's hilarious nemesis, Sue Sylvester, will put a few of her tirades to song.

"She's been begging me for numbers for months," Murphy says. "She's an old Broadway star; she's a great singer. We call her Old Hoofer."

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