Speaker 1: And That's what You Really missed with Jenna.
Speaker 2: And Kevin an iHeartRadio podcast.
Speaker 3: Welcome to and That's what You Really miss Podcasts. This
Speaker 3: is part two of our Corey tribute and this is
Speaker 3: the very special fan edition.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much to everyone who shared your voice memos.
Speaker 2: It's incredible to hear just how much Corey meant to
Speaker 2: all of you, especially because he meant so much to us.
Speaker 2: So it's nice to know that you know, those of
Speaker 2: you who had the chance to meet him, and some
Speaker 2: who never got to but still felt a connection with
Speaker 2: him and who loved him. You took the time to
Speaker 2: send in these beautiful messages.
Speaker 3: We truly can't thank you enough. I was floored by
Speaker 3: like how many people submitted, and like for sharing your stories,
Speaker 3: for your grief, for your love with us. It's all
Speaker 3: so vulnerable and we really we feel connected to you
Speaker 3: when you share with us in this way, and so
Speaker 3: we're so grateful. So we're going to turn it over
Speaker 3: to you guys now, So kicking us off for our
Speaker 3: friend Connor.
Speaker 4: Hello to Kevin, Jennas, Sam, all of the listeners listening
Speaker 4: at home, Thank you so much for having me on.
Speaker 4: I'm Connor. I was on a previous fan episode of
Speaker 4: and That's what You Really missed, And I just wanted
Speaker 4: to send you over a voice note to quickly pay
Speaker 4: my own little tribute to Corey and celebrate the person
Speaker 4: that so many of us fans fell in love with.
Speaker 4: Corey Montit like, let's just jump straight in and talk
Speaker 4: about the talent out of this world. As an adult
Speaker 4: watching Glee, something I'm really struck by when it comes
Speaker 4: to Corey is that I think he had such a
Speaker 4: difficult job on the show because so many of the
Speaker 4: characters on Glee had big, exuberant, cartoonish personalities, which obviously
Speaker 4: made the show what it is, But I think the
Speaker 4: character of Finn was more grounded in reality. He still
Speaker 4: had some of the Glee esque over the top moments,
Speaker 4: but Finn was one of the characters on the show
Speaker 4: that gave the story so much more emotional grounding. When
Speaker 4: I was recapping the show on my podcast Glee Cup
Speaker 4: years ago, or even when I still talk about the
Speaker 4: show on Gleek of the Week podcast today, I often
Speaker 4: talk about how Finn is one of my favorite characters.
Speaker 4: He is someone who says and does remarkably dumb things,
Speaker 4: but he is one of the most accurate portrayals on
Speaker 4: the show as to what it's like to be a
Speaker 4: confused young person, like, for example, when he left school,
Speaker 4: he was very unsure about what to do. Was he
Speaker 4: going to move to New York, join the army, work
Speaker 4: at Bert's garage to make some money. There was something
Speaker 4: really moving about that, and I know a lot of
Speaker 4: people can relate to that experience. Finn was also a
Speaker 4: character who was dealt the hand of being the leader
Speaker 4: and the person responsible for encouraging his classmates, even if
Speaker 4: he didn't feel like he was in a position to
Speaker 4: do so. That was the emotional burden he had to carry,
Speaker 4: and that's a big chunk of that character's arc, and
Speaker 4: Corey played it with so much conviction and nuance and
Speaker 4: understanding that is genuinely remarkable to watch. I'm an actor,
Speaker 4: and although I've never been a part of the project
Speaker 4: as big of Glee, as big as Glee, I do
Speaker 4: make my money from it, and as anyone will tell you,
Speaker 4: one of the greatest joys of being an actor is
Speaker 4: when you get such a kick out of watching people
Speaker 4: who are great actors. And I literally relish in watching
Speaker 4: Corey's performance on this show. He was, and I don't
Speaker 4: say this is sound hyperbolic, genuinely remarkable. If anyone wants
Speaker 4: to revisit, I'd highly recommending watching Corey's performance in the
Speaker 4: twentieth episode of Season one, Bad Reputation, when Finn argues
Speaker 4: with Kurt over the deck of their shared bedroom. Corey
Speaker 4: elevates that scene to astounding heights and, along with Chris
Speaker 4: Colfer and Mike O'Malley, literally delivers an Emmy worthy performance.
Speaker 4: In my opinion, he was an actor who I was
Speaker 4: so excited to see what going to come of his career,
Speaker 4: and I have no doubt that it would continue to
Speaker 4: be a great one. Like he was just beyond impressive.
Speaker 4: But the thing that strikes me as most impressive about
Speaker 4: Corey is the man that everyone who met him knew
Speaker 4: him to be.
Speaker 5: Like.
Speaker 4: Fellow cast members, members of the crew and production team,
Speaker 4: creatives involved with the show all have the fondest memories
Speaker 4: of Corey and speak of him highly. Celebrities who've met
Speaker 4: and worked with him also speak of his kindness and humility,
Speaker 4: but also his fans say the same, and service staff
Speaker 4: and people who only met him briefly and have nothing
Speaker 4: to do with the entertainment industry, Like I've always been
Speaker 4: struck at the concept of someone being able to navigate
Speaker 4: life and literally have every single person remark on his
Speaker 4: gentleness and kindness above everything else. Those are the qualities
Speaker 4: that we should be celebrating and uplifting the most, and
Speaker 4: those are the qualities that we should be striving to
Speaker 4: bring to the table when it comes to our own behavior.
Speaker 4: So I can't articulate how happy I am that you
Speaker 4: guys are doing this segment for Corey, because I think
Speaker 4: it's important. And when I was on the podcast, I
Speaker 4: talked with Kevin and Jenna briefly about how I think
Speaker 4: that the best part of the podcast is hearing conversations
Speaker 4: on the show that are refreshingly honest and real, a
Speaker 4: tone that I thought was so beautifully set when Ryan
Speaker 4: Murphy guested on the first episode. Because there's no doubt
Speaker 4: in my mind that some things are complex and difficult
Speaker 4: to talk about, but I think talking through things always
Speaker 4: helps the narrative. You know, the world isn't black and white,
Speaker 4: it's gray, and there's nuanced things, And I honestly think
Speaker 4: it's so gorgeous how people who are connected to Glee
Speaker 4: whether it be cast or crue, creatives or commentators, have
Speaker 4: all had the opportunity to express what Corey continues to
Speaker 4: mean to us. I think we're living in an age
Speaker 4: now where people appreciate those who speak their hurts, and
Speaker 4: I think that's what's so great about this podcast. I
Speaker 4: personally never thought I would ever have the opportunity to
Speaker 4: express my feelings about Corey on a platform such as this,
Speaker 4: So I just want to sincerely thank Kevin and Jennet
Speaker 4: and Sam for allowing me the opportunity to do so.
Speaker 4: Corey continues to inspire me greatly for a myriad of
Speaker 4: different reasons, and I've always been profoundly moved by the
Speaker 4: impact that he's made in my life. So that's all
Speaker 4: for now. Don't stop believing everyone, and I love you all.
Speaker 6: What.
Speaker 7: Hi.
Speaker 8: My name is Ali and I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Speaker 8: When I first started watching Lee, I found myself attaching
Speaker 8: to the character of Finn. It was beautiful to see
Speaker 8: a character who loves his people so loudly and had
Speaker 8: such a willingness to grow and become a better person.
Speaker 8: As I grew up with a character, I found myself
Speaker 8: relating to his storyline of not knowing what to do
Speaker 8: after high school. He mentions being good at certain things,
Speaker 8: but not being able to find the thing you were
Speaker 8: great at, and that's exactly how I was feeling at
Speaker 8: the time. Finn made me feel less alone. As I
Speaker 8: got to know Finn, of course, I wanted to know
Speaker 8: more about the person who played him, so I started
Speaker 8: watching behind the scenes clips and anything I could find
Speaker 8: about Corey and the rest of the cast. This made
Speaker 8: me realize that not just the character loves loudly, but
Speaker 8: it was clear that Corey did too, and that's been
Speaker 8: proven by the way that everyone speaks about him today.
Speaker 8: He provided me with so much comfort, and he didn't
Speaker 8: even know me, so much so that I named a
Speaker 8: cat after him, and Corey the cat still those with
Speaker 8: my parents to this day. It wasn't long that I
Speaker 8: realized that not only the character was making me feel
Speaker 8: less alone, but Corey was too, and so was the
Speaker 8: rest of the cast. Lee felt like the friends that
Speaker 8: could relate to me that maybe I didn't have in
Speaker 8: real life. He was such a light for the people
Speaker 8: that didn't even know him personally, mine included. And I
Speaker 8: just want to thank you for the opportunity to talk
Speaker 8: about one of my favorite characters in all of television
Speaker 8: and the actor that provided so much comfort to a
Speaker 8: young girl who really needed it at the time.
Speaker 9: Hi, I'm Nicole Lamb.
Speaker 10: I am from Birmingham, Alabama, and I am what you
Speaker 10: would call an og Glee fan. I was a freshman
Speaker 10: in high school when I watched the pilot episode, and Wow,
Speaker 10: what a time. It was a cultural phenomenon. It still is,
Speaker 10: but I mean I would go to my human anatomy
Speaker 10: class and like discuss the latest episode with my teacher,
Speaker 10: like that's how big of a deal it was. And
Speaker 10: I think one of the reasons we connected to it
Speaker 10: so much was because of Corey Monteeth, because of Finn Hudson,
Speaker 10: his heart, his openness, just the way he portrayed Finn.
Speaker 10: It felt like he was your friend. Like Finn and
Speaker 10: Corey are, you know, in tandem. And I will never
Speaker 10: forget where I was when I found out that Corey
Speaker 10: passed away. And I feel like a lot of Glee
Speaker 10: fans have that exact same experience, can say, oh, I
Speaker 10: was right here when I found out because Corey touched
Speaker 10: our hearts. Finn touched our hearts on such a deep,
Speaker 10: deep level and so grateful for him. And I still
Speaker 10: watch episodes he has me backing up laughing, and I'm
Speaker 10: just so so grateful that he was our Finn Hudson,
Speaker 10: that he sent that video of him playing the drums
Speaker 10: on tubberware that we all know because we're such fans
Speaker 10: of the show and such fans of him. And I
Speaker 10: still listened to Jesse's Girl at least twice a month.
Speaker 10: So so grateful for Corey and so grateful for Finn Hudson.
Speaker 11: Hi, Kevin and Jenna. My name is Emily C. And
Speaker 11: I am from Wisconsin. I've been an avid Glee fan
Speaker 11: since the series started in two thousand and nine, and
Speaker 11: I was especially a fan of Corey Montit's character Finn Hudson.
Speaker 11: If Rachel Barry was considered the star of the show,
Speaker 11: then Finn Hudson would have been the heart. After hearing
Speaker 11: so many stories from the both of you about Corey
Speaker 11: and his kind heartedness towards others, it made sense that
Speaker 11: Finn shared this on screen. Art imitates life.
Speaker 7: I know.
Speaker 11: The Quarterback episode is one that's hard for many fans
Speaker 11: and co workers of Corey included. While the episode itself
Speaker 11: may have had its issues with the implementation and timing.
Speaker 11: It gave me, as a fan, a space to grieve.
Speaker 11: While there is a strong possibility that I would have
Speaker 11: never met Corey, and knowing that him and Finn were
Speaker 11: obviously two different people, I personally am thankful to have
Speaker 11: a place where I can return to and remember how
Speaker 11: much he meant to everyone that he impacted, whether in
Speaker 11: real life or through their screens. I always wonder what
Speaker 11: more he would have done if he was given more time.
Speaker 11: I am thankful and feel honored to have been able
Speaker 11: to see his growth over four short years. Life is
Speaker 11: full of what ifs, but Corey seemed to be one
Speaker 11: to live in the moment, So I too have learned
Speaker 11: to enjoy the moment and not dwell on the past
Speaker 11: or the future. And I have Corey to thank for that.
Speaker 11: Rest in peace, Corey, you are missed more than you
Speaker 11: may have ever thought possible.
Speaker 12: Hello, Hello, Hello, Jenna, Kevin and Anny Gleeks who might
Speaker 12: be listening to this. My name is Albert and I'm
Speaker 12: from Sunny Los Angeles, California. Oh, Corey, Corey, Corey Corey.
Speaker 12: When I think of Corey Monteeth, I think of his
Speaker 12: solo from Born this way, I've got to be me
Speaker 12: Glee Cast version by Glee Cast. I just think he's
Speaker 12: so charming and so sweet in it. Whenever I'm sad
Speaker 12: or down, I'll watch it and it just makes me smile.
Speaker 12: And just seeing everybody react in the choir room to
Speaker 12: the number, it just makes me so happy. I'm so
Speaker 12: thankful for Corey and his beautiful personality.
Speaker 5: He was the first loss.
Speaker 12: That I think I had in my life and I
Speaker 12: will he will always hold a special place in my heart.
Speaker 12: Whenever I think about him, my heart smiles, and I'm
Speaker 12: just so thankful that he came into my life. Frankent
Speaker 12: Teine Forever.
Speaker 4: I love you, guys.
Speaker 13: Hey, Jenna, Hey Kevin. This is Sharene from Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Speaker 13: I know that Corey was a huge fan of the
Speaker 13: Vancouver Canucks, which is our hockey team here, and it
Speaker 13: always makes me smile because there is this photo of
Speaker 13: Corey with the Canucks' mascot, who is coincidentally also named Finn.
Speaker 13: So just seeing Finn Hudson and Finn the Whale like
Speaker 13: hang out like bros makes me so happy.
Speaker 14: When I ride as.
Speaker 13: Him and I guess for a Glee related moment, one
Speaker 13: thing that's very vivid in my brain is Chris and
Speaker 13: Corey doing the interview for the props behind the scenes,
Speaker 13: and Corey's kind of fitsing Chris hair and then he
Speaker 13: impersonates Chris, you know, with Kurt Hummel's high voice and
Speaker 13: Chris tan Smet's arm and it's just watching two brothers
Speaker 13: be brothers, and I'm like, it just makes me so
Speaker 13: happy and it's so vivid in my mind. And that's
Speaker 13: probably because I watched it like thousands of times, but
Speaker 13: it's really cool to see that he was that big
Speaker 13: brother to you guys, the way we saw him be
Speaker 13: on TV.
Speaker 15: If that made sense.
Speaker 13: Yeah, those are two moments that I keep replaying in
Speaker 13: my head or like look up online whenever I missed
Speaker 13: The Big Guy.
Speaker 14: Thanks Iron Pecks and I live in England.
Speaker 16: I watched Clay as it aired and was quickly obsessed.
Speaker 16: Thing was immediately my favorite. He wasn't always perfect, but
Speaker 16: the way Corey played him was so charming. My favorite
Speaker 16: Finn moment is probably Paradise by the Dashboard Light, because
Speaker 16: I don't think he looked or sounded better anywhere else.
Speaker 16: Although he is great in the breakup, Corey quickly became
Speaker 16: my favorite cast member, and I can't choose a specific
Speaker 16: favorite memory of him, but I always love watching him
Speaker 16: at interviews. He didn't seem to take himself too seriously,
Speaker 16: but you could tell that he took his work seriously
Speaker 16: and he was very proud of what he did. He
Speaker 16: was open, honest, and entirely endearing. Jesse's Girl makes my
Speaker 16: Spotify wrapped every year. I loved his voice, his passion
Speaker 16: for music, and his silly sense of humor. He was
Speaker 16: a hugely talented actor and seeing him play the drums
Speaker 16: was always a highlight for me.
Speaker 14: I'll never not miss him.
Speaker 17: Hello, this is Pamela from Michigan. I was on the
Speaker 17: podcast last year for the fanfic discussion, and I wanted
Speaker 17: to share my favorite Finn moments because they were these little,
Speaker 17: smaller bits of humor that were often injected in the episodes,
Speaker 17: like when he popped up in front of the ice
Speaker 17: sculpture in Hearts and he started dancing, or when he
Speaker 17: mentioned that he couldn't get married because he had Jim,
Speaker 17: or that he didn't even remember he was taking history.
Speaker 17: The memeable ignoring You moment as the Almighty Trouble Cleff,
Speaker 17: and of course the very iconic the show must go
Speaker 17: all over the place or something. Finn was such a
Speaker 17: complex character, and it spoke to Corey's amazing acting ability
Speaker 17: that he was able to make him come alive in
Speaker 17: such a compelling and real way. And I really attribute
Speaker 17: Finn's sweetness and big heart to Corey because it feels
Speaker 17: like that light that Corey brought to the role shining through.
Speaker 17: Corey was such a wonderful, talented guy, and I'm so
Speaker 17: glad that we have such a way to look back
Speaker 17: and remember that.
Speaker 18: Hey, I'm Jacob Kyon and I'm from New Zealand. I'm
Speaker 18: such a big fan of the show and of Corey,
Speaker 18: and I think that part of the reason that Glee
Speaker 18: was so successful was because of the way that Corey
Speaker 18: played fan. And what's really interesting is listening to Kevin
Speaker 18: and Jenna's podcast, and every guest they have on who
Speaker 18: worked on the show, guest stars, cars, and crew all
Speaker 18: say the same thing, and it's how amazing Corey was
Speaker 18: and how he made a connection with everybody and made
Speaker 18: everybody feel special. And I really think that translated through
Speaker 18: the screen. And some of my favorite phanom moments were
Speaker 18: him singing faithfully, him singing girls just want to have fun.
Speaker 18: His vocal glow up between season one to season four
Speaker 18: was insane. And I know Paradise by Dashboard Light is
Speaker 18: like a fan favorite, and Finn carries that song. His
Speaker 18: vocals are crazy, and I feel so grateful that I
Speaker 18: had a show like Glee growing up with a male
Speaker 18: lead like Corey, and we can watch all these episodes
Speaker 18: and musical performances back, so his legacy will live on forever.
Speaker 3: Hello.
Speaker 19: My name is Victoria and I'm from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Speaker 19: And I remember the first time I watched Glee. I
Speaker 19: was in sixth grade and I felt like such a
Speaker 19: rebel because I was told by my mom I had
Speaker 19: to wait till high school to watch it, but the
Speaker 19: theater kid and me said no, so I started watching it.
Speaker 19: Since that, I've watched the whole season seasons in their
Speaker 19: entirety about six times. I think I'm working on my
Speaker 19: seventh time. But I remember first meeting Finn's character and
Speaker 19: being so upset because I was like, why are they
Speaker 19: ruining the show with a jock?
Speaker 15: Like what is he going to.
Speaker 19: Bring to the table? And what he brought to the
Speaker 19: table was hard work. And perseverance, and he his character
Speaker 19: really showed me that just because you're not super good
Speaker 19: at something, or just because you don't think it's for you,
Speaker 19: does not mean that you're not going to grow to
Speaker 19: love it and you're not going to grow to be
Speaker 19: an impactful part of it. And then I remember being
Speaker 19: a senior in high school and COVID had just happened,
Speaker 19: and it gets to the core back episode, which is
Speaker 19: one of the most heart wrenching episodes, and I remember
Speaker 19: watching it and crying because Glee makes me cry all
Speaker 19: the time, and getting to the end where it's showing
Speaker 19: his plaque and it hitting me, this is twenty twenty.
Speaker 3: I'm watching this show which.
Speaker 19: Is set in the future and it's twenty twenty, and
Speaker 19: I was like, wow, he I wish he knew how
Speaker 19: I wish Corey knew how impactful he was and how
Speaker 19: many boys he showed that it was okay to be
Speaker 19: part of theater, because that's yes, we know that as
Speaker 19: an adult we need men in theater, but sometimes in
Speaker 19: high school you need someone, even if it's on a
Speaker 19: TV show, to show that it's it's okay. And I
Speaker 19: really think that he was that for a lot of people,
Speaker 19: and I think about all the people that he has impacted,
Speaker 19: and I'm just so happy that I had changed my
Speaker 19: first judgment of him, and I'm really grateful for this
Speaker 19: opportunity to share how he impacted me.
Speaker 20: So thank you guys for that.
Speaker 21: Hi.
Speaker 22: I'm Sophie. I'm from Denmark and I would love to
Speaker 22: talk a little bit about Corey and how he impacted
Speaker 22: my life. He was the first character I think that
Speaker 22: I actually really noticed in Glee. I was watching it
Speaker 22: a bit of late as it got released later in Denmark.
Speaker 22: And my favorite episode and my favorite memory is probably
Speaker 22: the episode from season three I Kissed a Girl, where
Speaker 22: he helps Santana come to terms with her sexuality. As
Speaker 22: I at the time, I was also trying to come
Speaker 22: to terms with my sexuality, so I really enjoyed watching
Speaker 22: him help her like that, watching her have like a
Speaker 22: male figure to be that kind of support. Actually, when
Speaker 22: I had watched that episode, I went out to the
Speaker 22: living room and I came out to my mom right
Speaker 22: then and there. He really gave me the courage to
Speaker 22: do that and to be who I am. He and
Speaker 22: Naya did that, and the two of them, as well
Speaker 22: as Britney will always be my favorite characters in any
Speaker 22: fictional series. Also Naya, Heather, and of course Corey's real
Speaker 22: life personality. Just they're my favorite actors, all three of them,
Speaker 22: and of course I was heartbroken when we lost both
Speaker 22: of them. And I also wanted like to mention the
Speaker 22: tribute episode because I know for you it was such
Speaker 22: a tough time and there's many questions about if that
Speaker 22: episode should have actually been a thing. I just wanted
Speaker 22: to give the view that, like for me, it is
Speaker 22: to the date, still one of my favorite episodes, and
Speaker 22: it is that because I had no one to talk
Speaker 22: to about this grief in real life. No one I
Speaker 22: knew was watching Glee, so no one knew the characters
Speaker 22: or the people. And so when we lost Corey and
Speaker 22: this episode came out, I jumped straight to it, and
Speaker 22: for the first time since I heard about him passing,
Speaker 22: I felt like I had someone to grieve with and
Speaker 22: someone who understood my pain and the feelings I was
Speaker 22: going through. And I really loved to see you deal
Speaker 22: with it because it made me able to deal with it,
Speaker 22: if that makes sense. So I just want you to
Speaker 22: know that it hasn't been totally in vain going through
Speaker 22: what you went through for me. It was a really
Speaker 22: impactful episode and to this day is my favorite. I
Speaker 22: was rewatching it when I was going through the grief
Speaker 22: of losing Naya. It once again helped me to come
Speaker 22: to terms with it and just be okay and not
Speaker 22: feel so alone. So yeah, I also just really run
Speaker 22: it to thank you guys for what you're doing, for
Speaker 22: this opportunity to come on your podcast and to talk
Speaker 22: about these people that we love. I just love you
Speaker 22: guys so much. Thank you and bye.
Speaker 23: Hi Jenna, Hi, Kevin, Hi everybody, And that's what you
Speaker 23: Really miss podcast. This is Jaden from Manchester, England. I
Speaker 23: wanted to just critically tell you about Corey and Thin.
Speaker 23: A big song for me that stands out is Corey's
Speaker 23: song from the graduation Albert not the end. Since he's passing.
Speaker 23: That song has been on my regular and most played.
Speaker 23: It's almost very, very emotional to listen to it. It
Speaker 23: was not using an episode, but I can almost sometimes
Speaker 23: I can listen to it. I can picture the story
Speaker 23: that he would have matched with. A big scene that
Speaker 23: I always think sticks out for me with Corey is
Speaker 23: actually a graduation episode also where he says this is
Speaker 23: your Glee club and then it goes into you get what
Speaker 23: you give. Corey was always to me the character that
Speaker 23: represented the audience to most. He was new to the
Speaker 23: world of great episode one that's kind of like us,
Speaker 23: and we were on the journey with him. There's so
Speaker 23: many scenes with different characters like Santana and Unique Mercedes,
Speaker 23: Quinn Marley that stand out so much, which you can
Speaker 23: almost think that was probably written based on Corey's friendships
Speaker 23: as well, that you can see the love and the
Speaker 23: care and the banter, the love that everything. Corey was
Speaker 23: so special for many many reasons, and the day we
Speaker 23: found out what happened over here in England, my family
Speaker 23: all came together. Glee was a show we all watched
Speaker 23: as a family and it was the first time we
Speaker 23: had a shared grief for a celebrity that as a
Speaker 23: family as well. The episode that was dedicated to him
Speaker 23: we watched as a family and it affected us all
Speaker 23: different emotional ways and as we get that. Every year
Speaker 23: on his anniversary and his birthdays, I do some kind
Speaker 23: of post about Corey and I will continue to do
Speaker 23: so because he was an idol.
Speaker 24: He was.
Speaker 23: He was Glee to me. The question you always ask
Speaker 23: people is what feed Glee leaves you with. Glee will
Speaker 23: always leave me with love and happiness that comes from
Speaker 23: the cast members, especially Corey. Thank you for listening to
Speaker 23: my story.
Speaker 25: Thank you, Hey, guys, it's free from the fan fiction episode.
Speaker 25: I just wanted to pop on and say a few
Speaker 25: things about Corey. You know, I think we know that
Speaker 25: he was a really special person, and what I've really
Speaker 25: enjoyed is hearing stories about him from you guys and
Speaker 25: others who have worked with him, because it shed such
Speaker 25: a beautiful light on him and as a human and
Speaker 25: what he brought to the world. And I know for
Speaker 25: me that that information has really been so special and
Speaker 25: incredible to hear because it feels like we're continuing to
Speaker 25: get to know him in a way. I could sit
Speaker 25: here and tell you that I know exactly where I
Speaker 25: was when when I heard the news and exactly how
Speaker 25: I felt. But there's kind of something else that's really
Speaker 25: important to me that I wanted to touch upon, because
Speaker 25: what I think is really unique about the situation is
Speaker 25: that for a lot of us, we lost two people
Speaker 25: right because of what they did in the show. So
Speaker 25: we lost Corey and we also lost Finn and fans
Speaker 25: had to sort of grieve two losses at the same
Speaker 25: time because they are two different people.
Speaker 26: But what's also.
Speaker 25: Unique is that, you know, usually when we lose someone
Speaker 25: in our lives, we often feel is that person is
Speaker 25: sort of frozen in time, sort of the only thing
Speaker 25: we tend to think about or the memories we have
Speaker 25: up until that person left us. But in this case,
Speaker 25: and really with Nya as well, is you know, they
Speaker 25: continue to live on through storytelling, particularly in.
Speaker 27: The fan fiction world.
Speaker 25: I know that fans, myself included, have really utilized the
Speaker 25: ability to continue to write for these characters, giving them
Speaker 25: sort of new experiences and creating new worlds for them
Speaker 25: every single day, and I think that's such a special
Speaker 25: way to honor them and give the comfort that's somehow
Speaker 25: you know, they're still with us in a way, no
Speaker 25: matter what you believe or don't believe on a deeper level,
Speaker 25: but they sort of exist in that world, and while
Speaker 25: we can't bring them back, we can continue to do
Speaker 25: what we can to keep their memories and their characters alive,
Speaker 25: which I think is really incredible. So thanks for having
Speaker 25: me back, and I hope all is well for you.
Speaker 24: Bye.
Speaker 20: Hello. So my name is Joanna. I'm from Bavaria in
Speaker 20: Germany and I'm a big Glee fan since the beginning
Speaker 20: when it first aired in two thousand and nine. And
Speaker 20: I really really liked character Finn and also Cory because
Speaker 20: when he played his character, he was so dirty all
Speaker 20: the time and he always brought a smile to our faces.
Speaker 20: And the funniest thing I think was his dancing because
Speaker 20: I'm a dancer myself and seeing him trying his very
Speaker 20: absolute beast was absolutely hilarious. So every time I'm not
Speaker 20: in a good mood or something, I watched Glee and
Speaker 20: I'm pretty happy again.
Speaker 28: Hi, Jenna and Keavin. My name is Sidney. I'm from
Speaker 28: on her New Jersey. I'm so honored to be a
Speaker 28: part of today's episode and I absolutely love your podcast.
Speaker 28: I look forward to it every single week. I wanted
Speaker 28: to share one of my favorite Finn moments from the show,
Speaker 28: and honestly my favorite Glee episode ever, which has to
Speaker 28: be Girled Cheese, as anytime I make a girl cheese
Speaker 28: and or eat one, I constantly think of this episode.
Speaker 28: I feel like this episode truly captured not just Finn
Speaker 28: as a character, but Corey's goofy and outgoing personality. It
Speaker 28: is truly, again one of my favorite episodes and I
Speaker 28: reference it all the time. I recommend it to friends
Speaker 28: who have never seen this show. It is just iconic.
Speaker 28: And since listening to the podcast, I've loved hearing all
Speaker 28: the amazing stories castmates and guest stars and previous co
Speaker 28: stars have told about Corey. He truly was one of
Speaker 28: a kind. I'm thinking of him always. I'm thinking of
Speaker 28: our quarterback always and again, I'm so honored to be
Speaker 28: a part of today's episode. I love you guys so much.
Speaker 21: Hey, So, this is Dave from London and I just
Speaker 21: want to say about how Finn reminded me of like
Speaker 21: all of my straight friends who stood up for me.
Speaker 21: And it was absolutely heartbreaking to hear about Corey. And
Speaker 21: I think what they should all know and they should
Speaker 21: people should always remember is he was there for people
Speaker 21: and he made you feel loved and seen. Like hearing
Speaker 21: you guys talk about him and how he was like
Speaker 21: the leader is it just makes things amazing. Thanks for
Speaker 21: the podcast, all the love. This is Dave from London.
Speaker 21: All right, love love.
Speaker 24: Hi Owe.
Speaker 29: My name is Chastity. I'm from New Jersey and I
Speaker 29: am a Gleek. I started watching Lee as an adult.
Speaker 29: I was hooked from the music and definitely stayed for
Speaker 29: everything else. The characters, the storyline, the actors. I have
Speaker 29: to say, I think my favorite coupling or favorite actors
Speaker 29: or characters I guess on the show, We're definitely Finchel.
Speaker 29: I loved the whole Finn Rachel Quinn dynamic. I loved
Speaker 29: having a little Puck in there, and even in later
Speaker 29: seasons having that Rachel, Finn and Brody kind of dynamic.
Speaker 29: I loved listening to Finn and Rachel sing. I really
Speaker 29: feel like their voices meshed so nicely together. My favorite
Speaker 29: song from Finn would have to be Jesse's Girl. I
Speaker 29: think anytime where you have Corey mont teeth in his
Speaker 29: element with the drums and just his singing and the
Speaker 29: way that song tied in with the storyline, it definitely
Speaker 29: was a performance that I really enjoyed watching, and you
Speaker 29: can see how his character matured throughout the seasons. From
Speaker 29: season one to season four. You got to see even
Speaker 29: just how Corey Montite's voice changed over the seasons as well.
Speaker 29: So it was definitely something that was fun to watch,
Speaker 29: and from performance to performance, I feel like it was.
Speaker 5: Just something that kept you.
Speaker 30: He kind of kept you.
Speaker 29: Coming back for more and seeing you know kind of
Speaker 29: where that storyline was gonna go. Being that I was
Speaker 29: late to the game, I was not aware of Corey
Speaker 29: as an actor until Lee.
Speaker 31: But from a lot.
Speaker 29: Of the interviews that I've seen and just hearing Jenna
Speaker 29: and Kevin talk about him, outside of being Finn and
Speaker 29: being a great actor on Glee, it sounded like he
Speaker 29: was a really wonderful person, a caring individual. I've heard
Speaker 29: nothing but nice things said about him on podcasts and interviews,
Speaker 29: and it's just sad to know that we'll never know
Speaker 29: what he could have been capable of.
Speaker 16: Hi.
Speaker 30: My name is Spencer and I'm from Lexington, Kentucky. When
Speaker 30: I think of Corey and Finn, I think of one
Speaker 30: word heart. Both of them were the heart of Glee,
Speaker 30: and that extended beyond the cast and the crew to
Speaker 30: us fans as well. The kindness that Corey showed others
Speaker 30: was unparalleled, and I love that he used his platform
Speaker 30: to openly share his past struggles, letting others know that
Speaker 30: they weren't alone and our own battles. Seeing a character
Speaker 30: like Finn the All American High school jock except and
Speaker 30: champion those who were different than him was monumental for
Speaker 30: me to see as a gay man growing up. It
Speaker 30: reminded me that people aren't always what they seem on
Speaker 30: the surface, and sometimes your support system can come from
Speaker 30: the most surprising places. Beyond that acceptance for the outcasts,
Speaker 30: Finn also reminded fans that it was okay to make
Speaker 30: mistakes because at the end of the day, that's how
Speaker 30: you grow and you do better going forward. Over a
Speaker 30: decade later, I still think back on the lessons Corey
Speaker 30: and Finn taught me, and much like the star Finn
Speaker 30: gifts Rachel for Christmas, I like to think that Corey
Speaker 30: Monteith is up there somewhere reminding us all to lead
Speaker 30: with love.
Speaker 32: Hi.
Speaker 33: My name is Kathy and I'm from Temecula, California. My
Speaker 33: favorite Finn solo is Losing My Religion. Corey did such
Speaker 33: a great job on the song, and after he passed,
Speaker 33: whenever I listened to the song, I can't help but
Speaker 33: tear up listening to it. And I remember when the
Speaker 33: Quarterback episode air, I dvr'd it, but I couldn't watch it.
Speaker 34: It was just too sad.
Speaker 33: For me to watch. It when it first air, so
Speaker 33: I waited until the show came back from the hiatus
Speaker 33: with Katie Versus Gaga episode, and I'm glad I waited
Speaker 33: to watch it, even though it was so unhinge of
Speaker 33: Glee to follow up the Quarterback episode with the outrageous
Speaker 33: Katie Gaga episode. I was so sot after watching the
Speaker 33: Quarterback that the chaos of Katie Gaga was exactly what
Speaker 33: I needed to get me out of this badness. All right,
Speaker 33: love you guys.
Speaker 15: Hi, Kevin, and Jenna, This is Alexa in New York City.
Speaker 15: I think that my favorite Finn moment from the show
Speaker 15: was probably his relationship with Kurt and seeing how they
Speaker 15: went from strangers to classmates and teammates to brothers. I
Speaker 15: wish we did get to see a little bit more
Speaker 15: of their home life together, but I feel like watching
Speaker 15: kind of the character development that they both went through together,
Speaker 15: as well as that their parents went through, was just
Speaker 15: so interesting to see. And I really enjoyed the storyline
Speaker 15: on the show. And I also just wanted to say
Speaker 15: that I have always loved hearing everyone who's ever worked
Speaker 15: with Corey met Corey, even just briefly, always has the
Speaker 15: same things to say about him. They always are saying
Speaker 15: that he, you know, was so kind, so welcoming, so approachable,
Speaker 15: and I think that that's just very telling of the
Speaker 15: kind of person that he was. And it was very
Speaker 15: comforting to hear for me when I was thirteen when
Speaker 15: he passed away, and that was kind of the first
Speaker 15: experience that I had had with grief, especially for someone
Speaker 15: that I had never met before, I had never interacted with.
Speaker 15: It wasn't someone that I personally knew. He was just
Speaker 15: somebody that I knew through my TV and I just
Speaker 15: think that it was such a complicated time for me,
Speaker 15: and I can only imagine how it was for the
Speaker 15: people who truly knew him and were loved by him.
Speaker 15: But I just think that it has been so comforting
Speaker 15: over the last decade to hear just about the amazing
Speaker 15: person that he was.
Speaker 35: Hi, Jenna and Kevin, my name is Charlotte and I'm
Speaker 35: from the UK, in Yorkshire, so hopefully you can all
Speaker 35: understand my Yorkshire accent to me. Carey, whilst Gley and
Speaker 35: He was the leader of the show, he was the
Speaker 35: hot of the show. You can see it through the
Speaker 35: way that everyone talks about him on the podcast.
Speaker 36: You and all your guests.
Speaker 35: It was clear that he was well loved by many,
Speaker 35: including fan and I think my favorite moments were the
Speaker 35: bodline up and your Heart performance. Him and Leah performing
Speaker 35: that in the Madonna episode is one of my favorite performances.
Speaker 35: It's my top played Glee song on Spotify, which might
Speaker 35: be controversial, I'm not sure. And then also the graduation
Speaker 35: Superlatives behind the scenes interview where they asked who has
Speaker 35: the hottest spoty and he really quickly says Leah Michelle
Speaker 35: and does that little adorable half smoke smile, which I
Speaker 35: just love so much.
Speaker 4: Is so cute.
Speaker 9: Hi, this is Nina from the Netherlands. What I loved
Speaker 9: about the character of Finn was his kind heart, earnestness,
Speaker 9: and endearing naivete. Corey's portrayal really made him more multi
Speaker 9: dimensional than the typical jock attractive male lead character. I
Speaker 9: thought he was especially good at the balance between drama,
Speaker 9: silliness and romance that the character needed. The Girl Cheeses
Speaker 9: episode sticks out to me specifically as one of my favorites. Yank,
Speaker 9: Shannon and Kevin for taking us behind the scenes of
Speaker 9: the show with you and curious to hear your thoughts
Speaker 9: on season five.
Speaker 7: Hi, I'm Carla or Carla as the North Americans say.
Speaker 7: I am from Perth, Western Australia, but I currently live
Speaker 7: in Vancouver, Canada, working in the film industry or attempting to.
Speaker 7: I'm from the same place as Mike's Mike one of
Speaker 7: your very popular guests, and I'm a big fan of
Speaker 7: him as well. My favorite memory and just like experience
Speaker 7: with watching Glee growing up and Corey slash Finn is
Speaker 7: kind of just how genuine Finn's character was, which you
Speaker 7: could tell was partly Corey coming through. I think, especially
Speaker 7: in the later seasons when he was acting alongside Rachel
Speaker 7: or Leah. I get really emotional watching the later seasons
Speaker 7: because you can just tell hell in love they are.
Speaker 7: I started watching Glee when I was eight. I am
Speaker 7: now twenty three. It is still my comfort show. It
Speaker 7: was there for me when I didn't really have friends
Speaker 7: and I was bullied. I also am a lesbian, so
Speaker 7: it did some good with the representation. I won't lie.
Speaker 7: I miss Corey and Naya a lot. I think being
Speaker 7: in Vancouver, I feel really connected and I think about
Speaker 7: Corey often. Also. I started watching the show when I
Speaker 7: was in grade three. Insane, I know, But in grade
Speaker 7: five I started playing percussion slash drums, and I think
Speaker 7: subconsciously Glee slash Corey had a bit of an influence
Speaker 7: on me, and I still play drums and I really
Speaker 7: love it. And I just loved the scenes where Corey
Speaker 7: as Finn is playing drums and singing. You can tell
Speaker 7: he's in his element. And yeah, Glee is still my
Speaker 7: comfort show and I miss Corey a lot, but I
Speaker 7: think about often, especially when I'm walking in the Vancouver streets.
Speaker 7: Sending love to Sam and Jenna and Kevin. Thank you
Speaker 7: for the podcast. Glee has continued to be here for
Speaker 7: me in many years, over ten years, and I'm very
Speaker 7: grateful to be a part of this.
Speaker 16: Thank you.
Speaker 1: Hey, this is Ian alred Hi. I'm Lena Kanatzer, and
Speaker 1: we're the co hosts of the podcast Recovering Gleek.
Speaker 36: Our podcast is all about how much Glee meant to
Speaker 36: us growing up and revisiting those feelings as adults, and
Speaker 36: something that has come across while we've been rewatching the
Speaker 36: show is how much Finn means to us. So genuinely,
Speaker 36: from the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much
Speaker 36: for giving us this chance to talk about him like this.
Speaker 1: What I love most about Finn Hudson is how human
Speaker 1: he is as a character. He feels like a real
Speaker 1: teenager when the show starts. He is deeply insecure, He
Speaker 1: lets his emotions get the best of him, he puts
Speaker 1: his foot in his mouth. He really messes up at times,
Speaker 1: but at him his core, he has an incredibly genuine
Speaker 1: and earnest heart and just wants to be a good
Speaker 1: guy who does the right thing. And watching him go
Speaker 1: on the transformation from deeply insecure fifteen year old who's
Speaker 1: way in over his head and is incredibly scared to
Speaker 1: then becoming the coach of the new directions, being an
Speaker 1: advocate for these kids, leading them, standing up for them.
Speaker 1: It's so beautiful to watch. And Corey puts so much
Speaker 1: heart and sincerity into his betrayal of this character that
Speaker 1: even when he messes up, I cannot help but root
Speaker 1: for Finn every step of the way. I see that
Speaker 1: at his core he is good, and at his core
Speaker 1: he wants to do the right thing, and I'm cheering
Speaker 1: for him every single step of that journey.
Speaker 36: One of my favorite plot lines of all of Glee.
Speaker 36: Genuinely ever is the Furt plot line. I am from
Speaker 36: a blended family. I also see a lot of myself
Speaker 36: in Kurt and like as and also as a person
Speaker 36: who sees myself as like a member of the Glee club.
Speaker 36: It is like so special to me the journey that
Speaker 36: Finn goes on with Kurt. I think about him singing
Speaker 36: for Kurt at the wedding. I think about him standing
Speaker 36: up for Kurt in born this way. I think about
Speaker 36: Kurt showing all of them his prom kilt and Finn
Speaker 36: calling it gay, brave heart. As a weird kid, it is,
Speaker 36: I don't know, speaks to a weird dream of having
Speaker 36: the coolest person you know, the coolest, most popular person
Speaker 36: in school, choose you, choose to be your friend, stick
Speaker 36: up for you, show you their heart and give space
Speaker 36: for yours. And I don't think any of that could
Speaker 36: have been possible without Corey's heart. And I'm just I
Speaker 36: love Finn. He means so much to me.
Speaker 26: Hey guys, my name is Mylin and of from Nutre.
Speaker 26: I discovered Glee during the second half of season one.
Speaker 26: My English teacher is the one who told me about
Speaker 26: the show. He would play the music all the time
Speaker 26: during class and we even put on a Glee show
Speaker 26: for the entire school during our eighth grade year. During
Speaker 26: that time, Jesse's Girl was my favorite song, which I
Speaker 26: don't think is a coincidence. Since that year, I also
Speaker 26: realized that I was bisexual. During season three, when Santana was
Speaker 26: going through her coming out story, I was facing something
Speaker 26: very similar at home, and I had this routine of
Speaker 26: whenever I was feeling angry or sad, I would watch
Speaker 26: the Nationals episode from season three and then follow it
Speaker 26: up with the Glee Concert DVD. And every time Corey
Speaker 26: would appear on my TV singing Jesse's Girl and I
Speaker 26: would see that bright smile, all of those negative emotions
Speaker 26: will fade away. I never met him, but he had
Speaker 26: a way of showing his heart through the show, and
Speaker 26: I felt that as a fan, he was there for
Speaker 26: me too. I'm always going to keep his memory and
Speaker 26: what he did for me very close to my heart.
Speaker 26: I thank you guys for the show, for being a
Speaker 26: part of it, and for this podcast. Thank you guys
Speaker 26: so much.
Speaker 22: Hi.
Speaker 37: I'm Montana and I'm from Melbourne, Australia. I started watching
Speaker 37: Glee when I was twelve years old, so think in
Speaker 37: two thousand and nine. I want to preface this by
Speaker 37: saying I never met Corey personally, but as a longtime viewer,
Speaker 37: it seemed that there were so many similarities between Finn
Speaker 37: as a character and Corey as a person. From watching
Speaker 37: the show and from all accounts of people who knew
Speaker 37: and loved him in real life. The goofiness and genuineness
Speaker 37: and vulnerability that Corey put into Finn, it seemed to
Speaker 37: me like that was really indicative of just how good
Speaker 37: Corey was as a person on and off screen. And
Speaker 37: as viewers, we didn't just love the character's huge heart,
Speaker 37: we really loved that the person behind the character had
Speaker 37: a huge heart too. And on a personal note, as
Speaker 37: a musician and a singer who also kind of stumbled
Speaker 37: accidentally into being a front man, not unlike both Corey
Speaker 37: and Finn, he was a huge inspa like to all
Speaker 37: budding artists to follow their raw, innate talent and let
Speaker 37: the show go all over the place or something.
Speaker 38: Hi, Jenna and Kevin. My name is Louise. I'm Irish.
Speaker 38: I live in Ireland and I'm not going to say
Speaker 38: how old, but I'm probably a lot older than most
Speaker 38: of your regular geeks. I remember the day Corey died
Speaker 38: so well, I couldn't believe it. Well, to be honest,
Speaker 38: I still can't believe it because when I watch Glee now,
Speaker 38: he's so larger than life and so alive and so
Speaker 38: I don't know, so real, so genuine. I mean, he
Speaker 38: always came across as being such genuine, real person. Maybe
Speaker 38: like most viewers, I didn't know anything about his struggles
Speaker 38: with addiction, and you know, it stound me now to
Speaker 38: think that he had been going through something like you know,
Speaker 38: his addictions are dealing with the addiction and still turning
Speaker 38: in such great performances on the set, and you know,
Speaker 38: dealing with all of the pressure you all were under
Speaker 38: to get through, you know, learning lines and and singing
Speaker 38: and dancing all at the same time, and you know,
Speaker 38: like the regular showtime that people had to do. And
Speaker 38: I remember the day he died, myself and my kids
Speaker 38: had gone to the concert in Dublin, the first concert
Speaker 38: I think it was, and it was amazing. We had
Speaker 38: the best time and you know, we were all all
Speaker 38: there singing along and what have you. And then I
Speaker 38: think that was in twenty eleven, and then two years
Speaker 38: later I remember, like I walke the kids up to
Speaker 38: tell them, and it was it was hard because I
Speaker 38: think that was the first celebrity death they had they
Speaker 38: knew of, and especially someone we kind of thought we knew,
Speaker 38: you know, the way you see them on television, you
Speaker 38: think you know somebody, and they were they were very
Speaker 38: upset and it was a difficult conversation to have with them,
Speaker 38: you know, as to what had happened to Corey. And
Speaker 38: I have to say that listening to the podcast this
Speaker 38: last for for series four, it's been kind of hard
Speaker 38: listening to because I know what's coming, and you know,
Speaker 38: I think most people do. And but what really made
Speaker 38: me happy listening to your podcast is that anytime anyone
Speaker 38: has been asked about Corey, you know, it aligns with
Speaker 38: what I think or what I think he was like
Speaker 38: that everyone points to the fact that he was such
Speaker 38: a kind person, such an honest, genuine person person. And yes,
Speaker 38: he's really really missed by the people who knew him,
Speaker 38: and obviously the fans and everything. And I'm sorry for
Speaker 38: your loss. It's been a long time, but I'm sorry
Speaker 38: for your loss. It must have been really hard for
Speaker 38: everyone who knew and loved him. If it was hard
Speaker 38: for us fans, who didn't know him anyway. Thank you
Speaker 38: very much.
Speaker 32: Hi, Jena and Kevin. This is Joseph from the Philippines
Speaker 32: and I am a huge, huge, huge fan of Glee.
Speaker 32: I watched a show during its run while I was
Speaker 32: still a teenager, and I'm so glad I had to
Speaker 32: go through high school with and with Finn. Well, Finn
Speaker 32: is such an amazing guy. I look up to him.
Speaker 32: He was a great leader. He has wisdom, He's very wise,
Speaker 32: he knows what to do, he knows what to say,
Speaker 32: and what I love most about him is he puts
Speaker 32: passion in everything he does. He can see he's a
Speaker 32: passionate guy with football, with delete club, when he's with
Speaker 32: his friends, everything. Such an overall amazing guy. Plus his talent, Wow,
Speaker 32: I really love listening to his songs. So his voice,
Speaker 32: he's very moving and I love his entire character art
Speaker 32: in the show. And despite in season four he was
Speaker 32: quite lost, he can still see the wisdom in him.
Speaker 32: He was a great teacher to the new directions. And
Speaker 32: I'm just so happy that his season four ended with
Speaker 32: him going to college pursuing a degree in education. And
Speaker 32: I'd like to think that was his ending. He would
Speaker 32: have been a great teacher, definitely, and with Corey, based
Speaker 32: on her stories, I can also see he's a great
Speaker 32: guy and much like the Finn, and I'm so glad
Speaker 32: he existed. I'm thankful for his assistance and for his life.
Speaker 32: Thank you so much for including me on this. I
Speaker 32: wish I could have thought more about believing you guys,
Speaker 32: but yeah, more power to their podcast, and thank you
Speaker 32: so much by.
Speaker 34: Hi, Jenna Kevin and producer Sam. My name's Lauren and
Speaker 34: I'm from Melbourne, Australia. If I had to pick a
Speaker 34: memory of Corey, it would probably be this specific clip
Speaker 34: of Corey and Diana from the Glee video Diaries that
Speaker 34: missed to get posted on YouTube. I always remember the
Speaker 34: clip of them filming each other and they just cut
Speaker 34: back and forth saying, I'm.
Speaker 14: Filming you film and me filming you film and me.
Speaker 34: Those ones always made me laugh and always kind of
Speaker 34: just reminded me that Corey always found joy in such
Speaker 34: little things. But I think no matter if he was
Speaker 34: on screen as Finn or off screen as Corey, the
Speaker 34: immense joy and happiness that his presence brought to the
Speaker 34: lives of so many people was second to none. Whether
Speaker 34: you knew him personally or you were just a fan
Speaker 34: like me, felt like he was a long lost friend
Speaker 34: who could always make you laugh. When I think of Corey,
Speaker 34: I can only ever think about his smile and his
Speaker 34: ability to bring joy to those around him. I didn't
Speaker 34: know him personally, but I feel like he could never
Speaker 34: say anything bad about the kind of person that he was.
Speaker 34: Corey had a unique voice and was truly such a
Speaker 34: gift to the world, and I hope together we can
Speaker 34: all remember him.
Speaker 24: Hey, Jen, I Kevin. My name is Isabella and I'm
Speaker 24: from a small town in West Virginia. I just wanted
Speaker 24: to say thanks for allowing me to speak about Corey
Speaker 24: for his Tribe episode. I don't know how difficult it
Speaker 24: must be to you know, I really have that time
Speaker 24: in your olds lives, but I really appreciate and love
Speaker 24: the fact that you guys always try and keep Corey's
Speaker 24: memory alive. I unfortunately never doubt the opportunity to meet Corey,
Speaker 24: But in like this weird sense, I kind of I
Speaker 24: kind of feel like I knew a piece of him.
Speaker 24: I think he was just that kind of person you
Speaker 24: know that no matter who you are, he would just
Speaker 24: make you feel welcome and see. He always seemed to
Speaker 24: exude such like a positive energy, and he seems so
Speaker 24: magnetic towards anyone and was just so willing to basically
Speaker 24: be an icon for people at you know, like such
Speaker 24: a young age. He just seemed like such a down
Speaker 24: to earth and loving guy with an immense talent, which
Speaker 24: I think is still underrated, but you know, just a
Speaker 24: genuine talent that's that's so rare to find these days.
Speaker 24: But he also seemed like someone who's had a lot
Speaker 24: happened to him in his life, and you know, I'm
Speaker 24: sure he didn't show or talk about it often, which
Speaker 24: I think that might be the main reason why I
Speaker 24: feel like I relate to him the most. As for Finn, though,
Speaker 24: you know, no matter how dumb or lost he seemed
Speaker 24: at times, he was always willing to take on the
Speaker 24: role of the leader who cared about his friends. He
Speaker 24: wasn't a saint, and he made a lot of mistakes,
Speaker 24: but that's just what made his character human. And I
Speaker 24: really love that he started off as that stereotypical job
Speaker 24: who only cared about football and girls, but ended up
Speaker 24: breaking his status quo and went after his passions. So
Speaker 24: I always invironed him for that uh and invited him
Speaker 24: for taking on that role. But for one specific storyline
Speaker 24: throughout the show that's always impacted me the most was
Speaker 24: when Finn and Kurt like lost both of their parents.
Speaker 24: That really resonated with me because Lee was a show
Speaker 24: I started watching back back in two thousand and mine
Speaker 24: and I would watch it with my parents every single week.
Speaker 24: But in twenty eleven, I was unfortunately in an accident
Speaker 24: and lost both of my parents. So, you know, going
Speaker 24: back and watching some of these scenes that I've watched
Speaker 24: before a few years later when I found Lee again,
Speaker 24: Cory's performance just, you know, I could still bring me
Speaker 24: to tears no matter how many times I've seen it,
Speaker 24: and he was just so natural and effortless when it
Speaker 24: came to those heavier and emotional scenes, And I personally
Speaker 24: think that's where he truly shined the most. Like he
Speaker 24: just left such an impact on not just me, but
Speaker 24: so many people like I can't speak for everybody, but
Speaker 24: his performance throughout the show has really helped me get
Speaker 24: through a lot of hard times and by just remembering
Speaker 24: that there will always be struggles along the way. So
Speaker 24: I'm obviously harder than others, but to just keep looking
Speaker 24: forward and I don't want to get cheesy, but you know,
Speaker 24: to just keep believing in something. But you know, it's
Speaker 24: still a little incomprehensible to me, like how a show
Speaker 24: and a person I've never met can have such a
Speaker 24: lasting impact on my life and he really had a
Speaker 24: hand in shaping him. I am today and sended you guys,
Speaker 24: but I just wanted to say that there's so many
Speaker 24: people who have gone through tragedy and it it really
Speaker 24: means a lot to me personally that you all are
Speaker 24: still so close.
Speaker 39: Hey, guys, it's from the Netherlands. I think as a
Speaker 39: fan in your teens of the show and of the cast,
Speaker 39: it felt very validating to know that whatever you think
Speaker 39: about the people that you're a fan of is actually true.
Speaker 39: And Corey just seemed like the absolute nicest and kindest person,
Speaker 39: and everything that everybody has ever said about him, like
Speaker 39: before and after his passing, was always the same thing,
Speaker 39: and that is that he was indeed very nice, very kind,
Speaker 39: very welcoming to people, even to paparazzi when it really
Speaker 39: didn't have to be, Like I remember videos of that
Speaker 39: time when they were following you guys, around tour and
Speaker 39: he was just nice to them and asked them how
Speaker 39: they were. Like, I feel like he really didn't have
Speaker 39: to be that nice, and he still was, so it
Speaker 39: was It's just lovely to see and to know that
Speaker 39: he was a very kind person, and that's how I
Speaker 39: will always remember him. Love you guys.
Speaker 40: Hey, guys, my name is Bronson ray Byerley and I'm
Speaker 40: from Sara Sota, Florida. I'm currently on my twelfth rewatch
Speaker 40: of Glee. If I had to choose one of my
Speaker 40: favorite Finn songs, it would be Jesse's Girl. Hands down.
Speaker 40: That performance was on a whole other level. His voice
Speaker 40: and his confidence were top notch and made me see
Speaker 40: why Quinn and Rachel were both so in love with him.
Speaker 40: One thing that I've always loved about Finn is who
Speaker 40: he represents to me. Finn represents all the people out
Speaker 40: in the world that don't know what the future holds
Speaker 40: or know how to get to the next step. And
Speaker 40: although he's struggling on the inside, he's still out there
Speaker 40: supporting all of his friends and their successes. Most of
Speaker 40: the time, Finn was the only character that felt the
Speaker 40: most realistic within the satire that Glee is him being
Speaker 40: on top of the world out one moment and hitting
Speaker 40: rock bottom the next. Is truly the high school experience,
Speaker 40: at least the one I had. Sure he made some
Speaker 40: mistakes along the way, but at the end of the day,
Speaker 40: we all do. Glee Fan and Corey will forever have
Speaker 40: a special place in my heart. Thank you so much.
Speaker 41: Hi, Jenna and Kevin. My name is and I am
Speaker 41: from New Jersey. I probably first watched Glee when I
Speaker 41: was too young to be watching it. I started watching
Speaker 41: it around the time it had started, so I would
Speaker 41: have been in elementary school and I'm twenty five now.
Speaker 41: But it is a show that has stuck with me
Speaker 41: and that I have greatly enjoyed. I still listen to
Speaker 41: the recordings and watch the performances to this day, and
Speaker 41: I the podcast so much. I think a big part
Speaker 41: of why I enjoyed the show was Cory's character and
Speaker 41: getting to see Finn integrate himself into the glee.
Speaker 33: Club and.
Speaker 41: Navigating high school as an athlete and also as a
Speaker 41: part of this club that became a sort of chosen family.
Speaker 41: And of course I enjoyed seeing his performances, and one
Speaker 41: that stuck with me was when he's sang I'll stand
Speaker 41: by you. And season one it was quite early on,
Speaker 41: so perhaps that's why it stuck with me. But of
Speaker 41: course he had iconic moment such as grilled cheesus, and
Speaker 41: it was a joy to see the bond that he
Speaker 41: and Kurt had. You could tell that Corey put a
Speaker 41: lot of heart and soul into his performance as VN
Speaker 41: and you know that has really stuck with me, and
Speaker 41: hearing the stories of how Corey was as a person
Speaker 41: has stuck with me as well. Thank you, Take care.
Speaker 6: Hi Kevin, Hi Jenna. My name is Barr and I'm
Speaker 6: twenty six years old. So I started watching Glee when
Speaker 6: I was twelve. I was a shy, super nerdy girl,
Speaker 6: and that made me an easy target for bullies. Unfortunately,
Speaker 6: when I found Glee, I obviously saw myself in a
Speaker 6: lot of the underdog characters, but I remember really identifying
Speaker 6: with Finn and his struggles between doing what he loves
Speaker 6: and desperately wanting.
Speaker 37: To fit in.
Speaker 6: Since I didn't have a real life Finn or Glee
Speaker 6: club of my own who could have helped me stand
Speaker 6: up to some of the people at my school, I
Speaker 6: eventually decided to switch schools and start fresh. I could
Speaker 6: have used this opportunity to kind of like alter my
Speaker 6: personality to make sure I fit in with the popular kids,
Speaker 6: but I decided to stay tued of myself, kind of
Speaker 6: like Fin did. This of me not only find my
Speaker 6: own group of loyal and loving friends who accepted me
Speaker 6: for who I was, but I also got to help
Speaker 6: them because they all say to the day that they
Speaker 6: were inspired by my insistent to be authentic and by
Speaker 6: my refusal to give in to social norms. And I
Speaker 6: have Finn and Corey and Glee to thank for that.
Speaker 6: I love you guys so much. Thank you for this podcast.
Speaker 6: It really does bring me so much joy.
Speaker 31: Hi there, This is Josh from New York. Big fan
Speaker 31: of the podcast and huge fan of Glee obviously, So
Speaker 31: I heard you guys were doing a Corey tribute episode,
Speaker 31: and I just wanted to share a story from one
Speaker 31: of the times I had the pleasure of meeting Corey
Speaker 31: back in the Glee Heyday. In July twenty eleven, me
Speaker 31: and some friends made a road trip out to Hershey
Speaker 31: Park to see Corey and his band Bonnie Dune, who
Speaker 31: were performing some of their new songs. Hearing and playing
Speaker 31: the drums live felt so special. He had such a
Speaker 31: passion for performing, and it was such a memorable moment
Speaker 31: for me. Finn was always my favorite character on the
Speaker 31: show for a number of reasons. I found him so
Speaker 31: relatable and obviously so charming. I got a chance to
Speaker 31: see both of the Glee tours, but Bonnie Dune was
Speaker 31: a different kind of energy. After the show, the band
Speaker 31: did a free me and greet signing a poster, and
Speaker 31: we were all told ahead of time that Corey would
Speaker 31: not be doing any pictures at the event. Well, it
Speaker 31: turns out not only did he take pictures with anyone
Speaker 31: who asked, but he had the hugest smile in his
Speaker 31: face the entire time. He even thanked us for coming
Speaker 31: all the way from New York. He was just the
Speaker 31: sweetest human and I never had a bad interaction with him.
Speaker 31: I still think Finn was the beating heart of Glee,
Speaker 31: and I'm really looking forward to visiting the rest of
Speaker 31: the series. I know that he is no longer in
Speaker 31: season five and six, but you can really feel his
Speaker 31: spirit still present and everything that remains. So I'm excited
Speaker 31: to revisit and thank you for letting me share my story.
Speaker 27: Hi, my name is Brinn and I am from Toronto
Speaker 27: in Canada, and getting to meet Corey a few times
Speaker 27: as a child will forever be some of my fondest memories.
Speaker 27: Clee was and still continues to be such a huge
Speaker 27: part of my life and it taught me so much
Speaker 27: about who I am. After meeting Corey for the first time,
Speaker 27: he invited my family and I to fly out and
Speaker 27: visit the set in California, something we immediately said yes to.
Speaker 27: This was not something he needed to do in any way,
Speaker 27: shape or form. It was something he was doing because
Speaker 27: he knew what it would mean to me and my
Speaker 27: sister as kids, and how special that would be for
Speaker 27: us to experience that. When we got there, he had
Speaker 27: a whole tent set up for us. We sat on
Speaker 27: and he brought people over one by one to meet us,
Speaker 27: and it truly is one of the best memories I
Speaker 27: have in my life. This day, to me, is such
Speaker 27: an example of who Corey was as a person. He
Speaker 27: was so giving and kind and caring, and this was
Speaker 27: not something he needed to do, but he did it
Speaker 27: out of love and care for the people around him,
Speaker 27: and his loss is one of the greatest we've ever experienced,
Speaker 27: but we're so lucky to have had him in this
Speaker 27: show that still lives on to this day.
Speaker 5: Hello, Kevin and Jenna. It's Andrew from Glick the Week podcast.
Speaker 5: I want to thank you for having myself and other
Speaker 5: fans on to talk about Corey, but also thank you
Speaker 5: for being so vulnerable to discuss the quarterback episode and
Speaker 5: all of the feelings, those very messy feelings that come
Speaker 5: along with it. Admittedly, Finn wasn't one of my favorite
Speaker 5: characters while the show was on the air. I often
Speaker 5: got super frustrated that he continued to step in it
Speaker 5: and say the wrong thing constantly. But through the process
Speaker 5: of rewatching as an adult and dissecting the series with
Speaker 5: other fans, I realized that Finn is no different than
Speaker 5: any one of us, constantly making mistakes, and sometimes the
Speaker 5: same mistakes so many times over, Finn always persevered do
Speaker 5: mainly impart to all of his great friends in the
Speaker 5: Glee Club. And just like the Glee Club, the gleef
Speaker 5: fandom has been with each other through thick and thin.
Speaker 5: And while grief is possibly the world's most confusing and
Speaker 5: often frustrating emotion to live with, particularly in this case,
Speaker 5: someone that you've never had the privilege of meeting, but
Speaker 5: still had such a colossal impact on our lives. One
Speaker 5: of the silver linings of the tragedies that have taken
Speaker 5: place within this fandom is that you're not alone. Every
Speaker 5: last fan of the series is processing their grief at
Speaker 5: their own pace, but never alone. Everyone I've had the
Speaker 5: opportunity to chat with from the show never shies away
Speaker 5: from singing his good graces. It's so evident how much
Speaker 5: he loved Glee, the fans and the both of you,
Speaker 5: and I know that Corey loves that you're doing this.
Speaker 3: Those were really lovely stories and memories. It just goes
Speaker 3: to show how loved and adored that Corey truly, truly was.
Speaker 2: Thank you again to everyone who took the time to
Speaker 2: record these messages and to send them and to be
Speaker 2: so vulnerable with us and willing to share them with
Speaker 2: you know, all the Gleeks. We appreciate it so so much.
Speaker 14: That's what you really missed.
Speaker 2: Thanks for listening and follow us on Instagram at and
Speaker 2: that's what you really miss pod. Make sure to write
Speaker 2: us a review and leave us five stars. See you
Speaker 2: next time.