Actor Chris Colfer was reminded that the popularity of the musical dramedy TV show Glee will never wane, even though the final curtain came down on the show nine years ago.
Colfer starred as Kurt Hummel in the popular high school choir-based series from showrunner Ryan Murphy. It ran for six seasons from 2009 to 2015.
One of the show's many highlights included Colfer's gender-backward rendition of "Rose's Turn" from the Broadway musical Gypsy, featured in Glee's first season nearly 14 years ago.
That track recently found itself climbing to number three on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart.
The resurgence for his cover of the song threw Colfer for a loop.
The 33-year-old actor and author took to X (formerly Twitter) to comment on the random phenomenon by sharing the chart-topping announcement and exclaiming:
"What is happening??????"
You can watch a clip of Colfer performing "Rose's Turn" in the clip below.
GLEE - Rose's Turn (Full Performance) HDyoutu.be
Social media users shared their ideas in response to Colfer's confusion, chalking it up to Glee's staying power.
Glee will never die. Know that
— michaela okland (@MichaelaOkla) March 2, 2024
In Gypsy, "Rose's Turn," composed by Jule Styne with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, is sung by the indomitable stage mother Mama Rose, who laments the lack of respect and recognition from her two ungrateful children after the sacrifices she's made for them.
The iconic 11 o'clock number has been performed by many Broadway legends, including Ethel Merman, who originated the role of Rose on Broadway in 1959, followed by other iconic turns by Bette Midler, Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, and Imelda Staunton.
Fans acknowledged it was finally Colfer's time to take up the musical mantle.
Colfer's rendition of "Rose's Turn" began its resurgence on TikTok after users on the platform incorporated the sound bite of him singing "All that work, and what did it get me?" as a meme.
Music trending patterns on TikTok changed after Universal Music Group announced their contract with the platform was ending on January 31 after both parties failed to reach an agreement during negotiations.
This has led to songs from major artists like Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Troye Sivan, and Drake, whose labels are a part of UMG, being pulled or muted in TikTok clips.
However, covers like Colfer's "Rose's Turn" remain in use on the app.
UMG wrote in an open letter to the artist and songwriting community:
"In our contract renewal discussions, we have been pressing them on three critical issues—appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters, protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok’s users."
Meanwhile, TikTok announced they were pulling more music from its platform.
The company wrote in a statement:
"We are in the process of carrying out Universal Music Group's requirement to remove all songs that have been written (or co-written) by a songwriter signed to Universal Music Publishing Group, based on information they have provided."
"Their actions not only affect the songwriters and artists that they represent but now also impact many artists and songwriters not signed to Universal."
TikTok concluded by stating that it aims to reach an "equitable agreement" with UMG.
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