MEET THE NEW MERCEDES..MALE VERSION!!

Alex Newell was born to be a performer. As a toddler, he hopped on stage at a local fair and started singing, and just never stopped. Now, at 18 years old, the Massachusetts native will bring his spice and sass to ‘The Glee Project.’

“I know that I have a talent and a gift that most people don’t have — a big performer with a big voice and a big attitude,” the contender says of what sets him apart. Things weren’t always easy for the young hopeful, who lost his dad to cancer at age 6, but Alex uses his performance skills to express his emotions in real-play. “My greatest inspiration is my mother,” he admits. “She’s a strong woman, she’s raised me since I was six. I want to be kind of like her when I grow up.”

Alex was picked for ‘The Glee Project’ from more that 34,000 people who auditioned via Myspace — a feat he’s proud of, but knows he deserves. “I wanna be on ‘Glee.’ It feels absolutely amazing to get this far,” he says in his contender spot. “I have the confidence, the power and the strength that needs to be put out there for the world to hear it.”

As an improv-loving high school student himself, Alex can relate to the character he hopes to portray on the hit FOX show — especially since the McKinley High glee club kids are more or less outcasts. “I am in high school and I do think that I am different,” Alex says. “People would describe me as a diva — or divo — whatever they want to say. I have a big heart, I’m very loud, and I’m just a fun person to be around.”

Though, don’t let his big words fool you into thinking he’s cocky — Alex is confident, and rightfully so. “I doubt myself sometimes, but I have a gift that should be shared with the rest of the world,” he says, adding, “I’m a diva.”

If Alex is chosen as the winner of ‘The Glee Project,’ he’ll take a seven-episode role in ‘Glee’ Season 3. ‘The Glee Project’ starts June 12 on Oxygen.

AN INTERVIEW WITH JANE LYNCH

Jane Lynch introduced her coming memoir, “Happy Accidents” (Hyperion Voice, September) to a full crowd at BEA, the largest book trade fair in North America. After an audience Q&A and autograph session, where she joked with fans and posed for photos, Jane Lynch sat down with Speakeasy to discuss her book, what’s next for Sue Sylvester in “Glee” and that rumor that’s been circulating about the Emmy Awards.

Is it true you will host the Emmys?

I think so. [Big wink.] That’s between you and I and the readers of The Wall Street Journal! It goes no further than that, okay?

Excellent, how do you feel?

I feel great! I did the opening number of the Emmys last year, and I was in awe of how Jimmy Fallon conducted himself throughout the show. He had so much fun and I’m going to use him as an example.

Are you brainstorming ideas?

No, not at all. I’ll leave that to the funny writers. And then I’ll come in and get all the credit for it.

What inspired you to write a memoir?

I’m a navel gazer so I’ve been investigating my feelings and my motivations for a long time. But I never stepped outside of myself and looked at the trajectory of my life thus far. So much has happened to me in one year’s time – I got married, I’m on a television show, I’m rebuilding my house, I’m bringing my wife and new child out here. I started to reflect a bit and I saw how much I suffered as a kid over feeling alienated and different and less than. As I was putting together the story of my life, I really wished I could go back in time and talk to that kid and say, “Just relax, it’s going to be fine, and trust in your life.” [Tears up] I’m going to cry, it’s amazing. As long as you stay open and you are uber-prepared. It’s not like the world is going to roll in at your feet. You really have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your passion and exactly where you want to be, but have faith in it. I was just so afraid that the parade would pass me by, and it was needless worry.

What ugly frogs did you have to kiss?

Mostly it was the fear of rejection around who I am, and then when I figured out I was gay, fear of that rejection from my family. That kept me from my happiness, and also my critical nature of myself and everybody else. So my frogs were more metaphorical. I didn’t have horrible experiences or do horrible projects. I did some things that weren’t great, but I enjoyed the pursuit of being an actor. I wish I didn’t have to suffer so much. I wish I wasn’t so hard on myself.

What was the experience like writing your book with your wife?

It’s so funny, we’ve done so much in our first year of marriage, and then to write a book together, it’s like are we setting ourselves up for failure on purpose? But we did very well. She’s extremely smart and edumacated as I like to call her – she has a Master’s and a Ph.D., she’s a psychologist. So she was so helpful. I would just write the way I speak, which means I’m digressing all over the place, and she would take my run-on sentences and my stream-of-consciousness and my rambling and she would shape it for me. So we’re a perfect team for writing a book together. Another happy accident.

What’s next for “Glee”? Are you going to sing more?

I hope I’ll sing more. They haven’t told me yet but I imagine I’ll probably get a song in there. Sue Sylvester’s running for Congress next season.

If your character is becoming more friendly with Will, will she lose her bite?

I think that’s the thing. I don’t think Sue will lose her bite. But we’ve established her as being somebody who actually has a heart. I don’t think she’ll ever let Will or the Glee club off the hook, but I think she has focused her wrath elsewhere now. We’ll see how that all works out. I know that my character gets to evolve and grow, and I think that’s great, but not change her stripes.

Are you planning more movies?

I’m going to Atlanta to do the Farrelly brothers’ “Three Stooges” in late June. I’ll be in Atlanta at the height of the summer! I’m looking forward to that. I’m playing Mother Superior and Larry David is playing one of my nuns.

Can you tell us more about your Public Service Announcement for stamping out the “R” word?

Lauren Potter’s [the actress who plays Becky, Sue Sylvester’s sidekick] mother is a wonderful advocate and has blazed a trail for parents of Down Syndrome children. She works for a lot of different organizations and one of the organizations thought this would be a great PSA. It makes the kids feel really good to have their needs vocalized in public and put into an announcement that everyone will hear.

How is your working relationship with Lauren?

I love working with Lauren, but she is so boy crazy. She has a fall-over-dead crush for somebody – not me! – so sometimes I don’t exist for her. Sometimes I’ll come and go, “Hi Lauren,” and she’s looking at Matt [Morrison]. Or she called herself Mrs. John Stamos for like two weeks. She falls crazy in love with these guys.

"I DON'T GIVE A SH*T ABOUT AWARDS" - MATTHEW MORRISON

‘Glee’ star Matthew Morrison has been nominated for many awards for his performance at Will Schuester on the hit show, but has yet to win any. However, the star says, he couldn’t care less.

The singer and actor claims that he is never bothered when someone else wins an award he is up for, because he doesn’t see the accolades as being an accurate depiction of acting talent.

He said to Attitude magazine: "I get nominated for everything and never win. I honestly don't give a s**t about awards. Sure, I'd take an Emmy. Am I losing sleep over not having on

He added: "I always feel like awards are such a funny thing. I don't know what their purpose is apart from to drive publicity towards a television show or a film. How do you really, unless you're all doing the same part, judge who is better than who?"

WHAT HAPPENED IN 'NEW YORK' EPISODE AND IN GLEE SEASON 3

What happened to Santana? Why lose? And Will and Emma?What will happen to Samcedes? Quinn why he cut his hair? Entertainment Weekly and  the Directors of Glee, Brad Falchuk answered all those question!

EW: It was always expected to lose New Directions in National?
BRAD: Yes, there are sufficiently prepared. We knew it would happen. Not just the fact that they did not win but were not even on the top 10, showed them how they were not prepared or focused. I like this, for me if they had entered the top 10 but clearly everyone was focused on other things that happened, would have been as naive.

EW: Why did Sam and Mercedes hide their relationship?
BRAD: We must wait to discover this, they have their reasons. This is something I was born in 'Prom Queen', we all feel the chemistry there.

EW: In the last scene seemed that Quinn had already exceeded his breakup with Finn. Was he faking? Was that an act?

BRAD: It was all in her hair! All energies were in bad hair and a short time he returned to being the 'Happy Quinn' before. I'm not saying that he has overcome all, but simply maturing. Every culture has a kind of ritual in which a physical change changes you inside.

EW: I heard they were planning to return to McKinley Sunshine?

BRAD: It is not yet sure, we have big plans for next year. Not worth starting to talk about them because who knows? Everything changed then. This is how we work, we all have some ideas but the rest has yet to be discovered.

EW: Have a plan for when the characters have to graduate?

BRAD: Yes, we have some definite plans. Not a question of something we want to pass oo no, but certainly we have big things planned.

EW: It seems that to the whole world was waiting for Santana out of the closet but did not. There was something in mind for this to happen?

BRAD: No. When we (the co-creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan) talked about doing this story about the reality of being gay, was a great conversation. She is an important character. We knew we would get some back. I think we're very progressive, but the reality is that much of the country is not as progressive yet. But we wanted to take the risk because it was a group of people who were not actually identified in the program.The story of Kurt, a Gay guy who wants to be respected in Ohio was very light and trabajda, and over the past truth. We did not have the time to actually tell the story.We knew it would take some time it returned, with Santana we will concentrate more on the upcoming season.

EW: What do you mean the fans who watched the Grand Final?

BRAD: At first the episode lasted 20 minutes longer than usual, so we had cut enough material.We should focus more episode in the meeting of these guys with the big New York and what this trip meant as the breakthrough in the relationship Finchel. I think that enough people will be disappointed with what happened to Will and Emma? Well, there was a scene Willemma but had to cut it , but the important thing is that we're both single now and they both want the best for the other, definitely we will put more fire in that relationship. Finally, the guys realized that being together is more important than any award.

GLEEKS HOT BODIES!!

US Magazine's "Hot Bodies 2011" issue is being released this Friday (dated June 6, 2011). There is a short section entiteld "The Shapes of Glee" and features Mark Salling, Chord Overstreet and Heather Morris

HOT ISSUE!!

DETAILS ON GLEE REALITY SHOW!

For Gleeks who can’t wait for Season 3, the Oxygen Network (in America) is filling the summer weeks with The Glee Project, a reality series in which 12 contestants vie for a role on the Fox hit beginning Sunday, June 12. In a conference call with reporters today, Glee choreographer Zach Woodlee, casting director Robert Ulrich, and vocal arranger Nikki Anders — who are all “mentors” on the new reality show — talked about what fans can look forward to. The 12 contestants were picked from an initial casting call that drew a total of 40,000 hopefuls to auditions across America.

“Basically anyone is right for Glee and The Glee Project. You could be any size, shape, ethnicity. The only qualification was that they had to be over 18 and conceivably play high school. Glee is always about more than singing. It’s about someone who fits into the Glee world and is accessible, and has that special something that you can’t describe," he said.

Asked what makes the show different from other TV competitions, Ulrich said, “On most shows people are judges, or people are hosts. What makes this really different is that The Glee Project is so authentically Glee, and the fact that Zach is the choreographer on Glee, and Nikki works on the music on Glee, and I am the casting director. So we’re all being who we are on Glee, and doing the same things we do on Glee on the show.”

YES!! this show is like AMERICAN IDOL..

The weekly challenges that the contestants perform mirror the work lives of the Glee cast and crew, Zach said. “A lot of the challenges they do parallel what you would have to do on our show. Everything’s been relevant to what they would be doing on the scripted show. We broke through quite a few barriers as far as what they could do.” Anders added, “Every week we have a challenge on their live singing and their studio singing. Then there’s the choreography. And it all kind of culminates in the end with the acting. Everyone was pushed out of their comfort zone at some point.”

LADY GAGA CONFIRMS APPEARANCE IN GLEE

In a recent interview with British radio station In: Demand, singer Lady Gaga confirmed that at some point in the third season of FOX's hit series, Glee, will make a cameo, but does not know for sure when it will happen. 

Gaga said he sees a relationship with the series, and loves Glee do amazing things with their music and break the barriers, such as dealing with current social problems.

When asked about his favorite character, Gaga refused to speak. You can see the interview below. The singer is questioned about the series at the end of the interview, about 10 minutes and 55 seconds.

LINDSAY LOHAN IS NOT A GLEEK!

Whilst the majority of us found the scene in Glee where Gwyneth Paltrow's character Holly Holiday asks her students how many times Lindsay Lohan has been in rehab in Spanish, funny, there was one person who didn't find it as amusing...

When 'The Substitute' episode aired, reports suggested that the star was "offended" by the comments on the show and now we know that the reports were true. DigitalSpy has reported that Lindsay revealed the following during an interview on Australian radio: "I don't watch Glee, no. They have made a lot of snaky remarks about me."

Not understanding why (?!), the actress continued: "I don't know why. They don't need to do that."

Despite not being a Gleek, the star, who will carry out community service in a morgue, added: "I think they are really talented though, and their work schedules are insane, I have heard."

GLEE MOST STYLISH MEN ON TV GOES TO…

#16 - Blaine Anderson a.k.a Darren Criss
Had this kid more than one get-up on the show, he may have landed higher. The good news: his one is a slam dunk. He’s basically the epitome of the clean-cut collegiate prepster. He shows up his schoolmates by wearing the repp-tie-anchored uniform with confidence and swagger—a feat that ain’t easy to achieve when you’re the gay kid in a high school in America…even if said school is a progressive private establishment wherein you are the ringleader of a Glee club called “The Warblers.”

#7 - Will Schuester a.k.a Matthew Morrison
Mr. Schue is nearly a mirror image of Ben Wyatt—another flatly earnest, well-meaning Midwesterner with a penchant for smart ties, chinos and sensible vests. Oh, and cardigans. And embarrassing solo musical performances of Britney Spears songs. And, erm, fedoras. Still, as far as public high school teachers go, there’s not one as well put-together as this Gleek God.