Remembering Cory

Access Hollywood played a video that Cory made on a flight from Japan to Vancouver for a flight attendant for her boyfriend's daughter. He said, "Stay out of trouble. Stay in school." It's just too much. Too much. I just can't get past this right now.

Today I decided to listen to some Finn songs, because I felt I should write something about Cory’s singing voice, to remember him by. To somehow in someway do something to honor him, and also for myself, now that the realization that he’s gone is mercilessly sinking in and it’s so hard to come to terms with that. But I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t listen to his songs, as I had to cry. It's too soon.

So I’m doing this from my memory, but that’s really not a hard task to do, because I honestly loved his songs and I can hear them in my mind without actually having to listen to them, as I played them so much over the years. I hope someday soon I will be able to listen to his songs again and smile, not cry.
 
 
I loved Cory’s voice. His singing voice was nothing special, but it had a certain warmth and (in complete contrast) roughness in it that was appealing. In a show full of all kinds of different styles and levels of singers, from seasoned Broadway singers to autodidact amateurs, Cory as a singer had his own rightful place: his character in Glee was supposed to be an inexperienced singer, a diamond in the rough, and Cory truly was one himself, ready to be polished so he could shine brighter.
As a vocal coach I marveled over the improvement Cory’s voice made over the years, and his  I’ve Gotta Be Me  in season 2 made me so, so proud of his clear progress in controlling his voice. But my absolute favorite song of Finn was his very first: Can’t Fight This Feeling. Although his voice was still quite strained and untrained back then, there was so much enthusiasm and feeling in it, and I could hear the promise that Cory held as a singer, a promise he fulfilled admirably in later seasons imo.
Cory could never compete with some of the most excellent singers on the show, no matter how he improved, but I don’t think it’s fair to have expected that of him. One of my personal beliefs and experiences in singing and teaching how to sing is that there is more to singing than just techniques, however valuable good breathing and technical skills are. There is also heart and soul, emotion, enthusiasm, and even smartness, and Cory had plenty of that to compensate for his initial lack of training. His personality was in every song.
 
Another favorite Finn song for me is I’ll Stand By You. Cory was at his best singing rock ballads, but he did surprisingly well with some other styles too, like his role in ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ (Dammit Janet) and his parts in the lovely Pure Imagination . I remember the enthusiasm he expressed in the BTS of ‘Mattress’ of screaming the high long note in ‘Jump’, but also his almost creepy low talking voice in Thriller/Heads Will Roll.
Sometimes his voice sounded too thin and strained, especially in the beginning of Glee. But it also sometimes had this surprisingly depth and warmth, qualities which came out more and more after he gradually started learning the proper singing techniques to support his singing, and when the Glee music producers got more acquainted with his voice so they figured out how to arrange the music for him.
The show let him sing too damn high most of the time in the first seasons, which is a pity, because I think his strength and best timbre were in the middle and low parts of his voice. TBH: I think a lot of Glee fans underestimate how difficult it is to just sing whatever other people decide for you to sing, whether it suits your voice or not. Cory, a non-singer before Glee, managed to maintain an acceptable level of quality in most of the songs they gave him, and despite all the criticism he sometimes got for his singing, I can assure you that is no small feat.
In season 4 Cory sounded absolutely great in his songs, from Barely Breathing to We’ve Got Tonight , the very last Finchel duet.
 
Lea and Cory's voice were completely different and in seperate leagues technically, but I think they complemented each other very well in their duets. Lea also matches good with other male cast's voices (esp. Chris, Kevin, Matt and Jonathan Groff), but the Finchel duets had their own particular, special sound that she had with noone else and are imo unrivaled on the show.
Besides a few exceptions, in most Finchel duets Cory sang the 2^nd voice to Lea’s lead. He was a very good singer of those 2^nd voice harmonies, something not everyone can just simply do. He knew how to take a step back in service of a harmony, how to support a leading voice and let another singer like Lea shine even brighter.
My favorite Finchel duet is a song that’s not popular in the fandom, but I love it because of the switching harmonies in the verses: Pretending.
 
As a Kurtsie I had a little loyalty conflict due to Cory when I watched the 3D Live Tour of 2011 in my local cinema. I had intended to focus only on Chris whenever he was on screen, whether he was up front or in the background, but to my surprise I noticed that my eyes were inadvertently drawn to Cory each time he was on stage. Maybe it was the 3D experience which made them all seem closer and more real than when watching an episode of Glee on tv, but Cory wrapped me around his little finger in that movie, with his enthusiasm, charm and presence he showed during the live concert and subsequently on screen. I practically fell in love with him that night as the performer and person he revealed himself, and feeling a little guilty I went back to see the movie a 2^nd time so I could properly focus on Chris then, as a good Kurtsie should.
My heart breaks that we’ll never get a Furt duet, as the snipbits of Furt harmony we got (loving Touching Squeezing) on the show and at the Emmy Opening of 2010 showed so much promise. I think Cory and Chris sounded very well together and it would have been interesting to have heard them in a proper duet. Alas, it will never be. Glee missed so many opportunities with the Furt relationship and the Hudmels family that it is angering and painful to think that we will never get any of those fandom wishes fulfilled anymore.
 
But Cory still leaves a lot behind to be thankful for. His Finn songs will live on forever, and I’m grateful I can keep on listening to his singing over and over again, even though he himself is gone. I wished we had gotten more, I wished his voice wasn’t silenced now, but what songs we got from him will be treasured and enjoyed for a long time to come.
 

Jellyrolls wrote:Access Hollywood played a video that Cory made on a flight from Japan to Vancouver for a flight attendant for her boyfriend's daughter.  He said, "Stay out of trouble.  Stay in school." It's just too much.  Too much.  I just can't get past this right now.  

If anything, his death just drives this point home...especially the part about staying out of trouble. Wish this didn't have to happen though.

^ Beautiful tribute/review, Marie. Short and sweet. I was really bitter as a Kurtsie. I scoffed at the thought of Finn being the most talented male member of the Glee club while Kurt and Artie were there and I bashed him a lot with my fellow Finn-hating friends.  I agree about forcing him to sing too high...when the show did that, he had that strained, thin, "constipated" sound that I liked to make fun of. Mind you, when any of the cast members were forced out of their natural ranges, they all sounded bad: Chris, Naya, Dianna, even Lea. No one was safe from that error.

Going back and listening/watching some of his performances, I realized (too late) that I was way too harsh and unfair. Really mean spirited. For a guy with no singing experience before Glee, he was naturally talented. Good tone (when in his correct range), good rock sound, even a good vibrato when he was comfortable and not strained. He, like Dianna, improved so much on his range and vocal strength during his years on the show. I remember being impressed in season three with his lovely lower range in "Ben" and with his rocker sound in "We Are The Champions". I personally thought he did really well in the Bee-Gee's episode also. I wanted some other guys to get the chance to shine, especially Chris and Kevin, but never, ever like this. I didn't want Cory/Finn silenced completely. He had raw talent, a good ear, and lots of enthusiasm and heart. He most certainly did not "sing and dance like a zombie that has to poop".

I hope you can watch his performances without crying someday.

Also, it's good that the show has a mix of singing talents. You've got the experts and the talented everyman/everywoman. It's a realistic balance.

^I forgot Cory singing a BeeGees song when I made my previous post. Thank you for reminding me.
At the time it surprised me that out of the male cast members who got to sing the BeeGees (still bitter that Chris didn't get anything) Cory had the strongest falsetto, even stronger than Matt's.

Jane is going to be on the Tonight Show tonight talking about Cory:

I'm on @JayLenoTonight & I speak of @CoryMonteith. Bright light, huge heart, adventurous, generous and kind. Love and light to my friend.

— Jane Lynch (@janemarielynch) July 17, 2013

Some of the gifs on the Finn Hudson tumblr tag are so freaking depressing. I'm not going to post them here because A.) I don't know how ;)and B.) They might be triggering in terms of tears. But one of them is a picture of the original graduates with Finn slowly fading out of the picture, and another one is the "Give me a hug before I go" sequence between Kurt and Finn from TBU. And of course, there is that gif of Finn running alongside the train from the season three finale. These have all taken on a new meaning now.

Forgot to mention the one of Cory waving and slowly fading into the light...

I've got to stop doing this to myself.

I've tried to watch clips, but I wonder if I will ever be able to watch Glee again. And I wonder if I will even be able to finish my fanfic. This whole situation--the hypocrisy and the PR and the coverups--just make my love for the art/entertainment industry (already dwindling because of personal experience) wither up even more.

I love extraing so much. But heck, if I go back into the theatre or arts, I think I'm going amateur. And I can't believe I'm saying that, after years of insisting on being treated as a professional.

AnneNeville wrote:I've tried to watch clips, but I wonder if I will ever be able to watch Glee again. And I wonder if I will even be able to finish my fanfic. This whole situation--the hypocrisy and the PR and the coverups--just make my love for the art/entertainment industry (already dwindling because of personal experience) wither up even more.

I love extraing so much. But heck, if I go back into the theatre or arts, I think I'm going amateur. And I can't believe I'm saying that, after years of insisting on being treated as a professional.

Part of the reason I love Glee is because I love the performing arts. Hollywood especially is just magic to me. Hollywood to me is what Disneyland is to Chris. But there is such an ugly, unfortunate underside to it all that makes me want to become so cynical about it all. I know Cory's problems started long before he moved to Hollywood, but the atmosphere of the town sure helped enable him and those with his issues. The cover-ups especially are just awful...pretending that his weight loss was a healthy thing instead of a symptom of his downward spiral (I bought it until April 1st). For every success story there seems to be a tragedy.

Jellyrolls wrote:Jane is going to be on the Tonight Show tonight talking about Cory:

I'm on @JayLenoTonight & I speak  of @CoryMonteith. Bright light, huge heart, adventurous, generous and kind. Love and light to my friend.

— Jane Lynch (@janemarielynch) July 17, 2013

This was so freaking sad. Jane was so close to crying.

MoviesAreLife wrote:

Jellyrolls wrote:Jane is going to be on the Tonight Show tonight talking about Cory:

I'm on @JayLenoTonight & I speak  of @CoryMonteith. Bright light, huge heart, adventurous, generous and kind. Love and light to my friend.

— Jane Lynch (@janemarielynch) July 17, 2013

This was so freaking sad. Jane was so close to crying.

I DVRed it but have not watch it yet. Not sure when I will be able to watch. Maybe, in a couple of weeks I will be able too.

Jane on Leno speaks about Cory- what he was like and what she would like him remembered for.

This is heartbreaking but beautiful. Jane does him proud.

And someone did a video of some of his funniest moments on Glee (S1 and 2 as that is what she had compatible with software from her note) HERE.

It made me smile and laugh a lot and reminded me yet again about how much I loved Finn when Glee was good.

Marie, your review/tribute was so beautiful, it made me cry on the bus. I had finally stopped being in tears yesterday-it was the first time since the tragedy I could look at gifs and videos of Cory and smile. Today I'm all emotional again, so I'm going to leave watching Jane's interview till later.

I've never reacted this way to a celebrity's passing, and I don't know when that hollow feeling is going to disappear. Neither of my parents are the kind to be so invested in a TV show or an actor, and they wouldn't really get it, by my sister's there with me. She's almost equally upset even though she was a casual Glee viewer before stopping in season 3, but she does love Cory, and I'm really bonding with her over this.

I guess I just needed to say that.

Georgette888 wrote:Jane on Leno speaks about Cory- what he was like and what she would like him remembered for.

This is heartbreaking but beautiful. Jane does him proud.

And someone did a video of some of his funniest moments on Glee (S1 and 2 as that is what she had compatible with software from her note) HERE.

It made me smile and laugh a lot and reminded me yet again about how much I loved Finn when Glee was good.

I cannot imagine how the other cast members will keep it together when/if they ever talk about it.

But on a lighter note, that funniest moments clip was adorable. Anyone feeling down about Cory should watch the video for a good laugh. Yes, Finn was irritating sometimes...but I forgot how adorable he could be. I guess my hatred for Finchel poisoned my mind.  

Loved the video of the funniest moments... Cory wasn't appreciated enough as an actor imo, it always made me angry because I think Finn is one of the hardest characters to play on the show and he wasconstantly portrayed wonderfully... I love Lea's and Chris's performances and I am glad for their recognition but always thought Cory was just as good but because Finn wasn't that distinctive (theatrical) character, Cory's performance didn't bring that much attention it deserved. And the writing for him was often terrible, Cory's performance saved the character.

arina wrote:Loved the video of the funniest moments... Cory wasn't appreciated enough as an actor imo, it always made me angry because I think Finn is one of the hardest characters to play on the show and he wasconstantly portrayed wonderfully... I love Lea's and Chris's performances and I am glad for their recognition but always thought Cory was just as good but because Finn wasn't that distinctive (theatrical) character, Cory's performance didn't bring that much attention it deserved. And the writing for him was often terrible, Cory's performance saved the character.

He was very natural. Looking back, Finn's storyline was very mellow compared to the theatrical highs and lows of Rachel and Kurt's storylines, but that didn't make him any less important, relatable or talented.

Glorfindel wrote:My heart breaks that we’ll never get a Furt duet, as the snipbits of Furt harmony we got (loving Touching Squeezing) on the show and at the Emmy Opening of 2010 showed so much promise. I think Cory and Chris sounded very well together and it would have been interesting to have heard them in a proper duet. Alas, it will never be.

Am I seeing things, or did we get a mini Furt duet in "Don't Speak"?

MoviesAreLife wrote:

Glorfindel wrote:My heart breaks that we’ll never get a Furt duet, as the snipbits of Furt harmony we got (loving Touching Squeezing) on the show and at the Emmy Opening of 2010 showed so much promise. I think Cory and Chris sounded very well together and it would have been interesting to have heard them in a proper duet. Alas, it will never be.

Am I seeing things, or did we get a mini Furt duet in "Don't Speak"?

Yes we did. The second verse starts off with Cory and Chris singing the same melody in different octaves.

arina wrote:Loved the video of the funniest moments... Cory wasn't appreciated enough as an actor imo, it always made me angry because I think Finn is one of the hardest characters to play on the show and he wasconstantly portrayed wonderfully... I love Lea's and Chris's performances and I am glad for their recognition but always thought Cory was just as good but because Finn wasn't that distinctive (theatrical) character, Cory's performance didn't bring that much attention it deserved. And the writing for him was often terrible, Cory's performance saved the character.

^This. Cory was a very good actor, very natural and subtle. He made Finn tolerable despite the awful writing. He was very funny and great with comedy, but his dramatic scenes were good too.
Without him (and Chris, Lea, and the overall chemistry of the original cast), Glee would have been nothing special.

MoviesAreLife wrote:

Glorfindel wrote:My heart breaks that we’ll never get a Furt duet, as the snipbits of Furt harmony we got (loving Touching Squeezing) on the show and at the Emmy Opening of 2010 showed so much promise. I think Cory and Chris sounded very well together and it would have been interesting to have heard them in a proper duet. Alas, it will never be.

Am I seeing things, or did we get a mini Furt duet in "Don't Speak"?

Yes, as Coldflame already mentioned (God, it will be so difficult to write a review of that song and The Scientist now  ).
There was also a little Furt duet in 'Pure Imagination' and the iTunes version of the Regionals 'Don't Stop Believing'.


I wanted Furt to sing 'Under Pressure' together.

Amber tweeted about Cory:

Yesterday I got to sit with my Glee family and remember a man I considered a brother and friend. With a very heavy heart, RIP Cory Monteith