Characters / The Glee Project

Season 1 Contenders

Season 1 Cast^note Top row: Damian, Bryce, Samuel, Hannah, Cameron. Second row: Alex, Emily, Lindsay. Third row: McKynleigh, Ellis, Matheus. Bottom: Marissa.

Bryce (12th)

• Informed Attribute: Landed in the bottom because the director found him difficult to work with, yet the only instance we really see of Bryce being "difficult" was him making a suggestion for what his character could be doing in the music video.
• Jerk Jock: Bryce's character had some aspects of this in the "Individuality" music video.
• Ridiculously Successful Future Self: Went from being the first eliminated on a show not very well remembered to one of the best known singers.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: The very first elimination

Ellis (11th)

• Deadpan Snarker: At times, which led the judges to think of her as negative and rude.
• First Kiss: She has hers on the set of the "We're Not Gonna Take It" video. She's not fond of it since the director essentially goaded her into getting it in front of thousands of viewers.
• Little Miss Snarker: She's small, but easily the most deadpan of the cast.
• Older Than They Look: Easily the most extreme case on the show, when she first auditioned the judges thought she was twelve.
  "I'm eighteen, I swear!"
• We Hardly Knew Ye: The second elimination, and all we saw was her getting pressured into acting like a little girl and snarking about how she's not a little girl.

Emily (10th)

• Femme Fatale: She adopts this persona from the beginning.
• Genki Girl: Very excitable, bubbly, and not easily discouraged.
  Emily: I couldn't smash the guitar but at least I looked cute. :D
• Spicy Latina: She takes pride in it and plays into it. Eventually it led to her being eliminated, since she kept switching back to this personality when she was supposed to be vulnerable.

McKynleigh (9th)

• Country Mouse: Her wheelhouse is country music, though she didn't get many opportunities to demonstrate her strengths in it.
• The Generic Guy: How the judges view her and what lead to her elimination. She never did badly in anything but was repeatedly seen as not popping as much as her competitors which made her forgettable to the judges.

Matheus (8th)

• Armored Closet Gay: Has come out as queer since the show but during one homework assignment he is paired with Alex to sing a romantic duet which he expresses discomfort with.
• Fun Size: He's rather short, and it's the most noticeable thing about him at first.
• Metal Scream: Part of Matheus's skill-set, which doesn't fair well when he tries to sing swing.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Matheus has dwarfism but doesn't let that stop. He is the first contender to win the homework assignment, and is regularly lauded for his epic rocker vocals. He also shows himself to be very athletic, doing cartwheels in the background and his abs speak for themselves.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: He's fond of showing off his abs.

Marissa (7th)

• Femme Fatale: Ryan seemed to think so at least, pointing it out before he eliminated her.
• Fiery Redhead: Normally not, but she brings out the energy and passion when she performs.
• Iconic Item: Marissa's banana earrings have become this within the fandom.
• Tantrum Throwing: Not a real tantrum, but Marissa kicks a chair during the "Tenacity" homework challenge. The spontaneity of impressed Max Adler, who felt it was in the spirit of the assignment and granted her the win.

Cameron (6th - quit)

• Celibate Hero: So devoted to his girlfriend that the thought of kissing another girl in an acting scene made him feel uncomfortable.
• Geek Physiques: Tall and twig-like, with the glasses and awkwardness to go with it.
• Heroic BSoD: He has one after Lindsay kissed him, since he wasn't expecting it and was already in a relationship back home.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He quits the show in "Sexuality", and Ryan tells him that because of this he saved Damian (who was Ryan's original pick for elimination).
• Reality Show Genre Blindness: Cameron had no idea that, on a show focusing a lot on teenage relationships and sexuality, he might actually have to kiss somebody who isn't his girlfriend. Of course that doesn't mean he's in the wrong for being kissed against his will.
• Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: The reason Cameron left the competition. He knew he didn't have the acting power to kiss another girl (as he was currently in a relationship and felt like he was cheating) and didn't want to rob the other kids of their chance, even though Ryan told him he would be giving up a recording contract, a starring role, and a concert deal.
• Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Decided to walk from the show after he came to the conclusion that he didn't feel comfortable acting out on screen romances and wouldn't want to pursue a job that would require him to do just that.

Hannah (5th)

• All Love Is Unrequited: Hannah has a massive crush on Damian who seems to be unaware of the fact
• Big Fun: The biggest member of the season 1 cast, and likely the most chipper.
• Fiery Redhead: In more of a "excitable and boisterous" manner.

Alex (Runner-up)

• Attractive Bent-Gender: He's quite stunning in drag, and while the first instance was at the behest of the producers, the other times he does it he says that he's becoming more comfortable being himself while presenting that way.
• Camp Gay: He's sassy and fashionable.
• Composite Character: Fans constantly said that Alex is what would happen if Kurt Hummel and Mercedes Jones had a child together. Furthermore, Ryan Murphy described Alex as "Kurt and Mercedes' love child" to Ian Brennan, and when Alex got on the show his character introduces themselves the same way.
• The Fashionista: He expresses interest in being a fashion designer as well as a performer.
• Wholesome Crossdresser: He performs in drag for several songs across the season ("Nowadays", "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", and "I Am Changing").

Lindsay (Runner-up)

• Alpha Bitch: Lindsay seems to be like this in the beginning, which may be due to Manipulative Editing of her confessionals.
• Expy: Some compare her to Rachel Berry/Lea Michele because of how they are characterized as striving to be the best, as well as their similar singing styles.
• Happily Adopted: She loves her adoptive family, and barely even mentions it as an issue during "Vulnerability".
• Heroic BSoD: Goes through her own after kissing Cameron during their "Pairability" shoot when she realizes how uncomfortable it made him (and in a later interview says she snuck into the boy's dorm to apologize to him.
• Stepford Smiler: Lindsay came off as this during the show, as even during "Vulnerability" she was shown as putting on a perky veneer while at the same time trying to open up. She manages to fully do so as of "Glee-ality", where she makes the decision to stop being perfect and to find herself beneath all her masks. Since she seems perfectly happy with her life it's entirely possible that her attitude was because of the pressure of the show itself.

Samuel (Co-winner)

• Dreadlock Rasta: Of the rebellious nature.
• Jesus Was Way Cool: It doesn't come up that much on the show but Sam is religious and has bible verses tattooed to him, this becomes the basis for his character on Glee.
• Ladykiller in Love: He reveals himself to have been this in the "Vulnerability" challenge, when he dubs himself "rejected".
• Pretty Fly for a White Guy: Has long dreadlocks and often raps.
• Perpetual Frowner: Samuel has a default "squinting" face when he sings. Lampshaded by Lindsay.
• Replacement Goldfish: Ryan Murphy initially took interest in Cameron due to him being a religious rocker type, a character he has always wanted to write. However as soon as Cameron left the competition, Samuel just so happened to start mentioning his faith more and Ryan Murphy shifted that idea onto him - which clinched him the win in the end.
• The Stoic: Aside from the big group crying session earlier in the series, Samuel's known to be the only character that hasn't had an emotional breakdown. This was actually to his disadvantage because Ryan Murphy wanted to see vulnerability from the contestants and when Samuel found out, he believed it to be too late in the game, therefore having his own emotional breakdown in "Generosity".
• Street Musician: Samuel started out as one.

Damian (Co-winner)

• Did Not Get the Girl: Prior to the show he gave up the love of his life for his music career.
• Fascinating Eyebrow: Damian's dancing eyebrows move a lot when he sings or speaks, which is commented on and parodied by Zach.
• Establishing Character Moment: More or less established himself as someone for Ryan Murphy to pay attention to when in the first episode he continuously flubbed the lyrics to Jessie's Girl, singing the line as "I wish I was Jessie's Girl" every time in complete, unaware confidence.
• Funny Foreigner: There is much giggling over his thick Irish accent. Lampshaded by Damian himself early on, where he entertains the other contestants by performing an impromptu rap that consists entirely of Irish phrases in a thick Irish accent (of course), to the point where the only part that most American viewers could fully understand was the part about "walking in Dublin."
  Emily: I've never seen a leprechaun dance like that!
• Long-Lost Relative: To season 2's Charlie, who is his second cousin weirdly enough.
• Married to the Job: Damian, or at least he’s afraid of this happening. He has a small breakdown while rehearsing "Are You Lonesome Tonight" because it reminds him of breaking off a relationship to continue touring with Celtic Thunder.
• Northern Ireland: Damian is unique for being the only contender on the show to apply from outside of the States- and very nearly had to drop out of the show due to Visa issues. He hails from Derry in Northern Ireland where he was a member of Celtic Thunder. During the show it's inevitable that there are jokes about his accent but on Glee it's turned up to eleven and essentially the basis of his character.
• Oblivious to Love: Damian had no idea about Hannah's crush on him until after the show.
• Totally Radical: Damian throws in several "yo's" and "dawgs" during the shoot for "U Can’t Touch This". It works.
• The Unintelligible: Being from Derry, Damian has a very thick accent that at times can be hard to understand, so much so that the editors took the liberty to subtitle everything he says as a precaution. He plays it for laughs a few times.
• Vocal Dissonance: It's hard to believe that one of the youngest, most babyfaced contenders on the show could have a voice that deep.
• Weak, but Skilled: Damian was weak in areas such as acting and dancing but always pulled through due to his skill as a strong live singer. Unlike the other contestants, Damian already was a professional singer at the time of the Glee Project and had been touring in Ireland in a band called Celtic Thunder for four years.

Season 2 Contenders

Season 2 cast^note  Top row: Taryn, Charlie, Shanna, Maxwell. Second row: Mario, Aylin, Blake, Lily Mae, Michael. Third row: Ali, Dani, Abraham. Bottom: Tyler and Nellie.

Maxwell (14th)

• The Charmer: Ryan called Maxfield this, since he's a humble southern hunk.
• Country Mouse: The season's bonafide country boy.
• Hidden Depths: Singing is this to him. He'd only recently discovered his singing talents when he got on the show, but sings like he's been trained his whole life.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: The first eliminated of the season.

Taryn (13th - quit)

• The Woobie: Multiple deaths occurred in her family during filming which lead to her leaving the competition.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: The audience is informed at the beginning of the episode that Taryn quit, we don't see her leave nor does Taryn give any sort of goodbye, and her reasoning for doing so is brushed over.

Dani (12th)

• Bifauxnen: Dani is gender-androgynous.
• Celebrity Resemblance: Labelled the Justin Bieber lookalike even though they couldn't be any more different personality-wise.
• Country Mouse: Not to the extent of Maxwell or Harper, but they have a subtle country twang
• Mellow Fellow: Well regarded as being one of the chillest people in the competition.
• Romance on the Set: Had a relationship with Ali though this was never shown on screen due to Dani leaving the second episode, but the two dated for quite some time afterwards.
• Dead Star Walking: Dani is the most famous person in the season two cast (see You Might Remember Me from...), and is the first contestant profiled in the first episode. They're gone after episode two.

Tyler (11th)

• Alone in a Crowd: Tyler says in a somber tone that as a half black, half Jewish trans person, there is no one else like them.
• I Can't Dance: Easily the most awkward dancer of the group and continuously struggles in that department.
• Nice Guy: Tyler is well liked by cast mates for being a nice and positive person who no one has anything negative to say about.

Mario (10th)

• Beautiful Singing Voice: Even among a cast of singers, Mario stands out as having a classically trained voice.
• Blind Black Guy: He was born with Morning Glory syndrome, which eventually led to him going blind at age 9.

• Inspirationally Disadvantaged: His blindness is often cited as an obstacle he's overcome.
• Massive Numbered Siblings: One of nine, with Mario himself being born in a set of triplets.

Charlie (9th)

• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Has a severe case of ADHD which is exemplified by his frequent struggles to stay focused in the recording booth and on set, as well as his more off the wall ideas.
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: When asked to give three words friends would use to describe him, Abraham said things such as compassionate and tenacious. Charlie? "Dandelions, lightning and fuchsia".
• Control Freak: Often tries to step into the director's role on set which grates on the actual director so much it puts him into the bottom three
• Long-Lost Relative: He and Damian are second cousins weirdly enough. Charlie isn't Irish and this is never mentioned on the show
• Romance on the Set: Had one with Aylin. The two continued to date after the show for a little bit as well.
• Third-Person Person: Charlie likes to do this sometimes.

Nellie (8th)

• Reluctant Fan Service Girl: Multiple times through the show Nellie is pushed into playing a sexier character for the music videos, despite her being visibly uncomfortable doing so.
• Shrinking Violet: Generally quiet and shy, her lack of self confidence was what ultimately led her to getting cut from the competition

Abraham (7th)

• Camp Straight: Abraham is very energetic and bubbly, which he attributes to being raised around only girls, and was often bullied in school because everyone saw him as gay. When Nikki pushes him to discuss how he views his gender expression he clearly becomes uncomfortable because of his baggage regarding this.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Abraham dyed the red streaks out of his hair a few weeks in, and the judges commented on his newfound masculinity.
• Uniqueness Decay: Starts off with his two toned hair and exuberant personality, during auditions one of the judges even calls Abraham the contender he was most excited to see, however as the show progresses the judges end up not meshing well with his personality so Abraham loses the streak in his hair and pushes himself to act like a more controlled and masculine man.

Harper^* Competed under her birth name Shanna (6th)

• The Ace: Was this up until her elimination, being the only contender to have yet to place in the bottom three at that point and considered a front runner.
• Parental Abandonment: Harper was raised by her grandparents because her mother was heavily involved in drugs.

Michael (5th - tie)

• Geeky Turn-On: He thinks math is sexy.
  "Derivatives are awesome."
• The Generic Guy: There's not much to say about Michael - he's kind of just there.
• Naïve Newcomer: He's not actually a fan of Glee and hadn't seen much of it when he was approached by producers and asked to addition for the show
• Those Two Guys: Half of his character on the show could be describe as "Blake's best friend"

Lily (5th - tie)

• Boob-Based Gag: Lily has a weird dance move that involves boob-popping. She goes to the bottom three for it in "Danceability."
• The Bully: Was formerly this in her younger years.
• Heel Realization: Lily Mae was an Alpha Bitch in high school, but got better.
• No Indoor Voice: Her voice carries very well and has at point been told to stand further back from the microphone so others could be better heard. It's actually a big insecurity of hers.
• The Rival: To Aylin.

Aylin (Runner-up)

• But Not Too Foreign: A Turkish Muslim who grew up in Chicago.
• Plucky Girl: Stands out for her super energetic and bubbly personality and often overlaps with The Tease due to her flirty personality
• Romance on the Set: Had one with Charlie. The two continued to date after the show for a little bit as well.

Ali (Runner-up)

• Determinator: The judges single out Ali in both the Fearlessness and Tenacity episodes as showing a drive beyond many of the other competitors. In the "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" video, she took more slushies than anyone else, despite having an increased sensitivity to cold. In "Eye of the Tiger", she won that week's challenge largely by hauling her wheelchair up and down four steps.
• I Call Her "Vera": Her wheelchair is named Roxanne.
• Inspirationally Disadvantaged: Is paralyzed from the chest down and uses a wheelchair as a result. Because of this her diaphragm is also paralyzed and thus she can't use it when singing leading Ali to develop her own method of singing to compensate.
• Plucky Girl: Practically a ray of sunshine
• Romance on the Set: Had one with Dani, though it mostly happened after the show since Dani was eliminated in week two whereas Ali went all the way to the finale.

Blake (Winner)

• The Generic Guy: Like Michael, there's not much distinctive about Blake when compared to the other contenders beyond his charisma and singing ability.
• Jerk Jock: His character in the "Actability" episode music video.
• Lovable Jock: He gives off this manner of energy during the season, as he's easily the most muscular of the contestants and very personable.
• Nice Character, Mean Actor: Yeah... some not great stuff has come out about him years after his stint on Glee.
• Weak, but Skilled: Blake has one of the weaker voices of the season, especially when compared to Ali and Aylin who are both vocal powerhouses, what propelled Blake to the end was primarily that he was a more experienced actor than the rest of the cast.