Musical 'Glee' for high school TV series fans

The high school TV series has impressed viewers both sides of the pond and the soundtrack also looks to do the same - will the debut album from the Glee cast live up to the hype? And can Rolando Villazon's reality television?crossover appeal help sales of his latest album? Read on to find out which releases are worth downloading.

Glee – The Music Season One by Various Artists: Fans of E4 high school comedy Glee will be familiar with its slickly produced renditions of songs as diverse as Kanye West's Golddigger and The Supremes' You Keep Me Hangin' On.

While highly accomplished, some tracks, as they stand alone on the album, sound more earnest than they are intended to be. But Glee fans, or 'gleeks', as they are now known, will love reliving the moment Mr Schuester and April take to the karaoke stage to sing Alone, or when Mercedes gets her own back on Kurt and sings Bust Your Windows.

Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You by Lightspeed Champion: When Devonte Hynes released his debut solo album, Falling Off The Lavender Bridge, in 2007, it came as quite a surprise to listeners.

This was not just because under his new moniker of Lightspeed Champion he'd managed to pull off an excellently crafted, indie-folk album, but because the music couldn't be more different than that released as a member of his previous band, Test Icicles. His follow up Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You picks up where Lavender Bridge left off. Violins accompany acoustic guitars and simple drum beats, while his simple lyrics lay softly on top. However, this is more than acoustic indie. His composition skills are clear for all to hear.

Various instruments make an appearance on the album which makes tunes such as Marlene, Faculty of Tears, I Don't Want To Wake Up Alone and Middle Of The Dark stand out.

Tenor by Rolando Villazon: Rolando Villazon is already an established opera singer, however, it's taken ITV series Popstar To Operastar where he features as both mentor and panelist to bring him mainstream appeal.

Opening with O Sole Mio, and then going onto tunes from West Side Story and The Phantom of the Opera, Rolando runs through classic tunes to highlight how accessible opera can be. The opera snobs probably won't be that impressed by the commercial route he is taking but that aside, his powerful tenor vocal ability should leave listeners happy.

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