Naya Rivera made her television debut as a child star in Kmart commercials. She went on to star as Hillary Winston in The Royal Family when she was just 4 years old. However, she became a household name with her role as Santana Lopez in 2009’s high school musical comedy Glee. As per Rivera, she auditioned for the role to have the opportunity “to sing, dance, and act all in the same show”. Moreover, the actress was also a fan of Ryan Murphy’s previous work in Nip/Tuck.
Naya Rivera has stated that she drew on her own high school experience to prepare for the role. She was promoted to a series regular in the second season and got her first solo in “The Rocky Horror Glee Show”. Meanwhile, she has received a lot of critical acclaim for her acting and singing performances on the show. While all Santan Lopez performances on Glee were a showstopper, there were some performances that really stood out. Here are 5 of the best Naya Rivera performances in Glee.
Top 5 Naya Rivera Performances In Glee
5. Smooth Criminal
This battle of sass between Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) and Sebastian Smythe (Grant Gustin) resulted in an episode stealing performance. Their musical spar was one that audiences really enjoyed and it was one of the highlights from the “Michael” episode. The future Flash perfectly complements the high notes of Naya Rivera as the two smoothly win over viewers.
4. Girl On Fire
Naya Rivera perfectly captures the uncertainties of growing up in this power-packed song. In the beginning, Santana is lost and confused but by the end of the song she comes out of the subway full of confidence. She makes her way to Kurt and Rachel’s apartment and moves in.
3. Mine
Mine is such a tender, sweet song and it sets off the tone beautifully for this heart-to-heart moment between Brittany and Santana. This is the song Santana sings to Brittany before she unofficially breaks up with her.
2. Valerie
Valerie was the first song where Naya’s character truly breaks out on her own. It is featured in Special Education, the ninth episode of Season Two. Santana takes the lead as the New Directions perform at the 2010 Western Ohio Sectional Championship. In addition, it also features Brittany and Mike performing dance solos.
1. If I Die Young
This song was painful to watch due to the intensity it had. Reeling from the shock of the real-life death of Cory Monteith, Naya Rivera’s performance