‘Glee’ First Listen: Blaine, Artie and Tina Cover Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Breakaway’ (Exclusive Audio)

Blaine, Artie and Tina are preparing to break away from high school when Glee returns from its midseason hiatus this week.

During Tuesday’s return episode, titled “Frenemies,” Santana (Naya Rivera) auditions to be Rachel’s (Lea Michele) understudy in Funny Girl, while Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) and Artie (Kevin McHale) duke it out to become McKinley High valedictorian as the original members of New Directions head toward graduation. The duo will be joined by fellow graduating senior Blaine (Darren Criss) for a cover of Kelly Clarkson‘s “Breakaway” during the hour.

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The episode comes as the remainder of the Fox musical is poised to shift to New York full time. “Some are going to be graduating and moving; creatively, it would be ridiculous that everybody moves to New York,” Fox entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly said in January, declining to provide specific details on which characters will be making the move. “There will be some that will graduate and move on and they’ll arc back in when we do special episodes. They’ll always be a part of it. The way it’s going to dovetail next season, we’ll see some familiar faces coming around in some capacity. But for this season, there will be a graduation, several of the castmembers will move on and a few others will go to New York.”

Check out a first listen of Artie, Tina and Blaine’s cover of “Breakaway” below. 

Glee airs in its new night and time on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on Fox. Check out the full episode track list below as well as a special sneak peek inside the episode. For more music from Glee, head to GleeTheMusic.com.

“Whenever I call You Friend” (Kenny Loggins & Stevie Nicks) — Artie and Tina
“Brave” (Sara Bareilles) — Santana and Rachel
“My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” (En Vogue) — Artie and Tina
“Don’t Rain on My Parade” (from Funny Girl) — Santana
“I Believe in a Thing Called Love” (The Darkness) — Kurt and Elliott
“Every Breath You Take” (The Police) — Rachel and Santana
“Breakaway” (Kelly Clarkson) — Blaine, Artie and Tina

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit