Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series produced by Fox. It focuses on the glee club New Directions, at the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio.The show was created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. It features cover versions of songs sung on-screen by the characters, and includes five to eight production numbers per episode.Musical segments typically take the form of performances, as opposed to the characters singing spontaneously, as the intention is for the series to remain reality-based. Murphy is responsible for selecting all of the songs used, and strives to maintain a balance between show tunes and chart hits, as he wants there to be "something for everybody in every episode." Once Murphy selects a song, rights are cleared with its publishers by music supervisor P.J. Bloom, and music producer Adam Anders rearranges it for the Glee cast. Numbers are pre-recorded by the cast, while choreographer Zach Woodlee constructs the accompanying dance moves, which are then taught to the cast and filmed. Studio recordings of tracks are then made. The process begins six to eight weeks before each episode is filmed, and can end as late as the day before filming begins.

Murphy was surprised at the ease with which use of songs was approved by the record labels approached.Composer and musician Billy Joel offered many of his songs for use on the show, singer Rihanna offered her single "Take a Bow" for use at a reduced licensing rate, and other artists have offered use of their songs for free. Madonna granted the show rights to her entire catalogue, and a 2010 episode featured Madonna performances exclusively. There will be a series of Glee albums released through Columbia Records. The first, Glee: The Music, Volume 1, was released on November 3, 2009. Songs featured on the show are available for digital download through iTunes up to two weeks before new episodes air, and through other digital outlets and mobile carriers a week later. The score of the pilot episode features a cappella covers of instrumental songs performed by The Swingle Singers. The remainder of the series background music features various instrumental and pop songs, including Juanes' "La Camisa Negra",and an instrumental version of Dionne Warwick's "Don't Make Me Over".