Lea Michele Will Star in ‘Funny Girl’ on Broadway, So ‘Glee’ Is Basically Real Life
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When Beanie Feldstein announced Sunday that she was leaving the Broadway revival of Funny Girl earlier than originally expected, she paved the way for some truly meta casting news: Lea Michele will assume the role of comedian Fanny Brice starting in September.
Anyone who watched Glee when it aired on Fox from 2009 to 2015 will remember that Michele’s character, Rachel Berry, was obsessed with both Barbra Streisand and her signature role in Funny Girl. Rachel performed “Don’t Rain on My Parade” from the musical in a pivotal season 1 episode and eventually auditions to star in — you guessed it — a Broadway revival of the show in seasons 4 and 5.
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While she landed the part on Glee, it took her a little longer to lock it down in real life, and on the newest episode of the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are talking all about what a wild turn of events this is. Basically, Glee is now real, and we’re all just living in it.
Also on the show, we’re talking about Backstreet Boys announcing their very first Christmas album, A Very Backstreet Christmas, and we even got BSB’s Kevin Richardson on the line to talk all about the three original songs on the project.
Plus, we’ve got chart news on how Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti holds atop the Billboard 200 albums chart, while rock band Shinedown clocks its fifth top 10 album on the tally with its latest release, Planet Zero. Also, Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” is inching ever closer to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, as the track rises from No. 3 to a new high of No. 2. Can it go all the way and become her second chart-topper? And, Metallica scores its first hit song on the Hot 100 in more than a decade with a song from the 1980s, as its classic track “Master of Puppets” debuts on the chart following its prominent placement in the latest season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. Do we have another “Running Up That Hill”-sized hit on our hands? And what is up with these massive Stranger Things bumps for ‘80s songs? Keith and I are talking all about just how rare it is and why now.
The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s senior director of charts Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)
