The top Fox show “Glee” added to its hit-making track record via its November 9th episode, scoring its first #1 iTunes single ever with its cover of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream." Robert L. Smith of Defy Recordings recorded and mixed the project, helping to make the daring choral version into a radio-ready smash in its own right.
RECORDING THE “DREAM” CHORUS
Tommy Faragher produced the track, with Smith recording the show’s newest star Darren Criss and Tufts’ famed Beelzebubs men’s choir at NYC’s Avatar Studios. “The scene this song appears in is empowering and socially-minded,” Smith says. “An amazing choir presenting a great pop/dance song in this way really captured something special.”
Smith oversaw a fast-paced but meticulous recording session that recorded each vocal performance one at a time, an intensive process that yielded over 140 tracks. “’Teenage Dream’ was about getting it super-clean – the best, tightest recording possible,” he explains. “People keep asking me, ‘Where did you get that bass drum sample?’ but in fact there’s not a single instrument on the track. The drums, synth parts, and everything else on the original were reproduced vocally by The Beelzebubs. It’s a 12-man choir, and each guy has his role in the ‘band’ they create. We all took the same approach for Glee’s version of ‘Hey Soul Sister’ by Train, which also made Top Ten on iTunes.”
MIXING AS YOU MAKE IT
A highly experienced producer, engineer and mixer (Lady Gaga, Aerosmith, David Bowie), Smith made sure that “Teenage Dream” was coming together as it was captured. “You have to mix as you record, making parts into stereo pairs immediately on the console,” says Smith. “That way, when you’re done recording, you have a rough mix already constructed.
“When I was mixing on the SSL 4000G+ at Avatar’s Studio G, I went to work with my proven mix system. It’s a basic template with a couple of delays, a couple of reverbs, and an Eventide Harmonizer – some of the best mixes ever made have been done with that simple combination of tools.”
With the show’s first #1 resulting, “Teenage Dream” accomplished its mission and then some. “The goal was to make a real pop record,” Robert L. Smith says. “Katy Perry gave us all the inspiration to match her creativity with a just-voices version of her song. When you compare the two, they match up extremely well.”
