Louis Coffman blog: Britney Spears 'Glee' Episode Draws Record-Setting Ratings

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Britney Spears 'Glee' Episode Draws Record-Setting Ratings

Tribute episode brings in 13.3 million viewers.
By James Dinh

Britney Spears and Heather Morris on the set of "Glee"
Photo: FOX

Madonna's "Glee" tribute episode might have been titled "The Power of Madonna," but it was the show's tribute to Britney Spears that reigned supreme. The broadcast, which featured cameos from the pop princess herself, drew 13.3 million viewers, leading the 8 p.m. hour and posting its best-ever rating among adults 18-49.

Tuesday night's episode, appropriately titled "Britney/Brittany," had a 5.8 rating and rose 4 percent from last week's season-two premiere. The feat made history for "Glee," as it becomes the first series since NBC's "Seinfeld" in 1993 to debut as the top series of the week and then spike in ratings the following week, according to Entertainment Weekly.

The episode, which highlighted Heather Morris' character Brittany S. Pearce, revolved around the McKinley High students' fight to perform Britney Spears numbers. Through anesthesia-induced sequences, the Gleeks tapped into their inner pop star to perform renditions of the singer's hits, including " ... Baby One More Time" and "Me Against the Music."

In addition to Spears' appearances on the hit Fox show, the singer took to Twitter during the West Coast premiere to thank fans for campaigning in support of the episode. "I loved it! Thank you guys SO much for making this happen!" she tweeted. The pop princess also gave props to the many song and video re-creations, including "I'm a Slave 4 U," saying, "Slave: Oh ... My ... God ...! Those little boys are SO cute! I know how hard it is to dance with that snake! Nice job."

Spears' manager, Adam Leber, also showed his appreciation for the episode, which spawned multiple trending topics on Twitter. "So glad you guys loved the GLEE episode! The Overwhelming worldwide response has been insane.3 of the top 10 worldwide trending topics.Sick! Big big big thank you to Ryan Murphy, the incredible cast and Brit's fans for making it happen...."

After such success, it wouldn't be surprising if the rumors of a second Spears-devoted episode came true, since "Britney/Brittany" only included hits from the first few years of the singer's career.

Did you catch the Britney Spears-themed episode last night? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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