Why he is awesomesauce:

1) He produced/directed/co-wrote the songs in the Harry Potter Musical.

Watch the awesomeness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmwM_AKeMCk

2) He plays as Kurts older gay mentor on Glee.

3) He is half Filipino and half Irish. Say whattt ... He doesn't have any physical Filipino traits, which is why it's so weird. But it's legit. I googled it, ha. (I could still be wrong, wouldn't be surprised.)

4) He co-owns his own production company called Starkid Productions with several of his other friends.

I've also been very obsessed with his rendition of 'Teenage Dream' on Glee, I've probably watched the video more than a hundred times.

Watch talented people sing here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E46BhMIRujI

Actually, it's not just Darren Criss that caught my attention in this video, I think the video has a lot of character development in terms of Kurt finding his safe 'haven' in the Dalton Academy (is that what it's called?) for boys.

This is what I thought:

1) Kurt enters the room saying "Oh, I stick out like a sore thumb" and Darren's character says "Next time don't forget your jacket, new kid."

Kurt saying that he sticks out like a sore thumb is what he inwardly thinks of himself because he is the only openly gay person in his high school. He is then happy to know that with the right clothes, i.e. their uniform, he can fit right in a place that is willing to accept him.

Darren's character (I really have to google his name -_-) also touches/caresses his shoulder and arm while telling Kurt that he will fit right in. In his own school, no one touches Kurt, except to push him into a locker and bully him. The only other time people might touch Kurt is when they are trying to comfort and hug him, but no one touches him 'just because.'

And although Kurt is not wearing the uniform that everyone else is wearing, he happily finds himself in a room full of guys that do not point out the difference with snide remarks, instead they let him watch them perform. Before this scene, Darren's character explains to Kurt that the Glee club in Dalton Academy are treated like rock stars, this then would be the equivalent to Kurt being accepted into the football team in his own high school just for being 'who he is' and not because he looks like everyone else.

2) Teenage dream is ABSOLUTELY perfect in reflecting what Kurt is going through since in this very episode, the assignment was to sing a song that would not normally be sung by the opposite gender. Also, it's perfect because Darren's character is singing what Kurt is thinking/feeling, so that Kurt himself doesn't have to say it. They have a mutual understanding.

"Before you met me, I was alright but things were kind of heavy."

Before meeting Darren's character, things were inwardly hard for Kurt. No one understood what he was going through and no one cared to find out. He pretended they were 'alright' on the outside and refused to talk about his struggles. They were 'heavy' because he had no one to relate to.

"You brought me to life, now every February you'll be my valentine (valentine)."

Now that Kurt has an older, gay mentor whom he can look up to, he has been brought to life. 'Every February you'll be my valentine' alludes to the possibility of the two of them hooking up, although at this point of the show the audience is unaware of Darren's character sexuality, making the performance seem like Kurt's fantasy.

"Let's go all the way tonight, no regrets, just love"

Something no one has every said to Kurt before, 'just love' means full acceptance of everything that makes him unique, i.e. his homosexuality.

"You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream."

Darren points to Kurt as he sings this, letting it seem like this is not only Kurt's fantasy, but Darren's characters fantasy as well. Together, they will 'live the teenage dream' that embodies love and acceptance and as well the 'nomality' that heterosexuals take for granted.

3) At 1:20 Kurt takes his eyes off Darren and looks around the room. He sees guys his own age dancing and enjoying a song that is traditionally sung by a female singer. In his own Glee club, Kurt usually finds himself signing songs by female artists (i.e. the Lady Gaga episode) and is comfortable doing so, however, Mr. Shuster has pointed out that he can't keep doing that, and must sing with the guys. As well, the guys in the Glee club has expressed that they do not want to sing songs sung by women. Kurt struggles with this concept.

So when Kurt looks around in this room and sees guys singing along and dancing without any prohibition, he is shocked to find a place that does not draw the line between genders and sexuality, especially since everyone is male and there are no females in the room. (In his own school, it is usually the girls who sympathize with him first.)

4) At 1:34 Kurt smiles for the first time as Darren sings "I'm going to get your heart racing," and then smirks when Darren sings "In my skin tight jeans." Kurt then continues to smile for the rest of the scene and does not take his eyes of Darren. Then at 2:18: Kurt starts to bop along with the song, like everyone else. At the end, Kurt, cannot help but be awed, and claps along with the rest of the school who obviously has high respect for the singers.

Kurt's willingness to conform with the group/copy their actions (i.e. bop along to the song and clap at the end) shows that he has found a place to be himself and feels comfortable, as seen with his wide smile and smirks. In his own school, Kurt does not conform to what everyone else does: he dresses differently, acts different and sticks out. As well, he never seems to smile. But now Kurt is conforming to what everyone else is doing and is actually smiling, it means that he has found a place where he no longer has to be different from everyone else and be accepted.

--

Even though I would personally think that Kurt would be better off in the Dalton Academy for boys, I doubt the producers of Glee would keep him there because then the show would get boring.

Anyway! That's all my reasons for loving the video and Darren Criss. I will continue watching it a hundred times more ^.^

Ohhh and on one last note: The actor who plays Kurt's first name is Chris, which sounds like Darren's last name: Criss. Apparently, it gets confusing on set for them sometimes, the interchangeability of their names is a really weird coincidence.

(And I also hope no one was bored reading this, heh.)