All the finalists are winners as 'The Glee Project' comes to an end

Ryan Murphy decides to write in runner ups in 'Glee' next season

By AP Staff Monday, Aug 22, 2011 12:14 AM

From left, Samuel Larsen, 19, Damian McGinty, 18, Lindsay Pearce, 20, and Alex Newell, 18 on "The Glee Project."

Credit: Oxygen

Are you a fan of Glee?

Sign up to get the latest updates instantly.

NEW YORK (AP) — If the creators of "Glee" are looking for new faces to bring into the fold then they've found it with "The Glee Project."

Nineteen-year-old Samuel Larsen from Los Angeles and 18-year-old Damian McGinty of Derry City, Ireland, both won the inaugural season of the talent competition show where they each get a seven-episode arc on "Glee."

Larsen, a rocker with dreadlocks, was described as having a "cool, indy, rock spirit" that has been missing from the hit Fox show

The judges believed McGinty, however, was the most likable and most improved.

The show put 12 contestants through a "Glee" bootcamp where they were critiqued on their singing, dancing and acting throughout the 10-week series.

The other finalists, Lindsay Pearce, 20, and Alex Newell, 18, didn't go home losers. The show's co-creator Ryan Murphy was so impressed he decided to write them into two episodes of the show.

"Glee" returns for its new season in September.