Half-watching Glee last night, I mostly missed the mashup of “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend” (from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) and Madonna’s “Material Girl.”
But unlike the guys’ double-scoop of Tom Cruise movie music (Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” from Top Gun and Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock & Roll” from Risky Business) — which I did catch in full — the girls’ contribution wasn’t an original.
The musical pairing had previously appeared in Moulin Rouge, which complemented the episode’s New York story in which a snowed-in Kurt, Rachel, and Santana (and Kurt’s possibly romantic pal, Adam) watched Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film.
This week in 1985, Madonna was at #5 with “Material Girl” on the Billboard Hot 100. The single, the second from her sophomore album, Like A Virgin, would eventually peak at #2 for two weeks.
Directed by early collaborator Mary Lambert (“Borderline,” “Like A Virgin,” “La Isla Bonita,” “Like A Prayer”), the music video for “Material Girl” remains one of Madonna’s most memorable, with the singer paying homage to Marilyn Monroe’s performance of “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend” in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Twenty-eight years later, Glee brought a touch of that same glamour to a new generation last night.
Purchase Madonna – “Material Girl” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.