At this point, we've actually moved beyond the point of calling it a concert tour. According to their press release, this is an "all-new singing and dancing celebration of the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning show." People, we're at the celebration phase.
And a celebration needs a sponsor, so Samsung and AT&T have teamed up to help underwrite the Glee Live! In Concert! Tour 2011 – and not so coincidentally feature their new product, the Infuse 4G Android Smartphone. Whether or not that gets used in the concert is unclear.
With these two worlds coming together, it's only logical that some of the Glee cast members would make appearances at AT&T stores at various major stops. So today in San Jose, we got Cory Monteith (Finn) and Naya Rivera (Santana) signing autographs for lucky fans lined up outside.
It wasn't just the two actors, however. To beat the heat, passers-by could sample Glee-themed slushies, Rachel's Berry Blast and Finn's Fruit Punch. Fans could pose for pictures by a bank of brightly colored lockers (under a shaded tent), singing into inflatable microphones.
To help localize the event, the store also featured an appearance by a local high school performance choir, a joint project between Bellarmine College Preparatory and Notre Dame San Jose. Likely high school choirs across the country will get a chance to sing near the television stars, entertain the gathered crowd, and remind people that performing arts are vital in schools.
Capping it all off was the chance to win the Infuse, which was being advertised in the store with videos of Glee, of course. The Infuse boasts a 4.5 inch screen utilizing Samsung's Super AMOLED Plus display, with 50% more sub-pixels than their previous Android smartphone. Honestly, I didn't get a chance to take a close look at the product, but those fans that won phones seemed pretty excited about it.
Then there's tonight and tomorrow night at the HP Pavilion, then beyond across the country. The celebration will have Lea Michele (Rachel), Monteith , Amber Riley (Mercedes), Chris Colfer (Kurt), Kevin McHale (Artie), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina), Mark Salling (Puck), Dianna Agron (Quinn), Rivera, Heather Morris (Brittany), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike), Chord Overstreet (Sam), Darren Criss (Blaine), Ashley Fink (Lauren) and members of "The Warblers" performing.
That pretty much covers everybody, doesn't it? Monteith promised there are guest stars at various dates, but they're supposed to be a surprise, and apparently, the lanky actor is very good at keeping secrets. So if you made it to the concert, why not let us know?