It’s no secret that TikTok moves at a break-neck speed, to the point where this writer is often clamoring over his keyboard to cover the platform’s next best beauty hack or hilarious sound bite. So short is TikTok’s attention span when it comes to new trends that the concept of the girl dinner or beige flags feels like an ancient relic, even though both of those only went viral last year.
In between Roman Empires and whatever new song Addison Rae is dancing to, it can be tricky for a trend, much less a niche one, to break through, which is why the sudden popularity of a years-old Glee song is all the more hilarious. That’s right, the Ryan Murphy show is doing the rounds on TikTok, courtesy of a snippet of Chris Colfer’s rendition of the song “Rose’s Turn”.
What is the “Rose’s Turn” trend on TikTok?
With any niche internet reference, it’s helpful to start at the beginning, which in this case stems from the removal of Universal Music Group songs from TikTok. While that controversial move has ridded the platform of UMG copyrighted material, users can still add the Glee version of their favorite songs to their videos, since the show’s soundtracks were released by Columbia Records.
It’s welcome news for fans of Gwyneth Paltrow’s cover of “Forget You” or a rendition of “The Winner Takes It All” by Jane Lynch (which we all need in our life), but it’s also worked in the favor of Chris Colfer, who portrayed Kurt Hummel on Glee. While Colfer performed many covers during his stint on the show, one particular song from season one has caught the attention of TikTokers the world over.
Taking to the stage in the eighteenth episode of the first season, titled “Laryngitis,” Kurt delivers his take on “Rose’s Turn,” a song that featured in the Broadway musical Gypsy and was originally performed by Bette Midler. While Colfer’s rendition of the theatrical song is stellar all the way through, the viral moment arrives when he theatrically sings the lyric “all that work, and what did it get me?”
Naturally, given the theatre of Colfer’s delivery on the lyric’s message of regret, “Rose’s Turn” has taken over our collective TikTok feeds. Often applied when users have completed an arduous task that still left them empty-handed, Kurt’s Turn has soundtracked a host of users’ regrets, like binge-watching Supernatural, getting a new haircut, or training for a sport only to quit when you become an adult.
Check out some more hilarious takes on the trend below.
It’s worth noting that Glee has long been a muse for TikTok users, due mostly to Lynch’s infinite one-liners and their surprising applicability to everyday situations. But with “Rose’s Turn,” we all might be due for an official Glee rewatch.
