Before Glee,Jonathan Groff would have not been able to sing Adele's guttural, smoldering anthem of heartbreak, "Rolling in the Deep," which he used to swagger back onto the hit show last week. The actor, previously best known for his work in New York theatre, says it was Glee that taught him to rock out.
"The first song I sang with Vocal Adrenaline was 'Highway to Hell' and I remember calling [music producer] Adam Anders and saying, 'Maybe we should sit down with a piano instead because I don't sing like this,'" Groff tells TVGuide.com. "But he pulled out this side of my voice I didn't know existed, this rock scream. It has totally changed the way I sing."
It was that rock edge that accompanied the return of Groff's Jesse St. James. A year ago, the devious show choir wonderboy made Rachel swoon to Lionel Richie's tender come-on "Hello," but since then he broke her heart, and deprived New Directions of a victory — so only Adele's pissed-off, breakup-mourning duet would do. Still, the 26-year-old actor says going back to Glee was as much of a surprise to him as it might have been to viewers who remember the cruel way his character ended things with Rachel: Right before leading Vocal Adrenaline through a title-clinching rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody," Jesse revealed his true colors, smashing an egg on Rachel's head and dumping her.
"Totally harsh," Groff says. "I remember reading the script and being like, 'Oh my God, that just happened. Okaaaay.'"
Jonathan Groff returns for Glee finale... and Rachel