The hit TV show ‘Glee’ has become such a cultural phenomenon that it recently overtook The Beatles for the most singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. But how does a night-time cable show surpass the legendary band that paved the way for many?

The Billboard Hot 100 recently recognized ‘Glee’ for having 75 top singles, beating The Beatles who held a 40-year record of 71 singles. While the show has yet to exceed the records of Elvis and James Brown, it is still a great feat that they have outdone such an iconic band.

‘I can’t believe ‘Glee’ did that, the Beatles are way better,’ said Beatles enthusiast Geoff Hetherington, a junior majoring in computer science.

‘Glee’ first aired in September 2009 and has become a quick success. The show focuses on a high school choir group who performs not only show tunes but songs by both old and contemporary musical artists.

Having been widely accepted by the general public and receiving generous reviews from the music world, many musicians have offered their songs to be used on the show. Even the professionals in the music industry respect this show’s talented cast.

Some of the more popular episodes included featuring songs by Billy Joel and Coldplay. Along with the much-hyped Britney Spears-themed episode, one of the most anticipated episodes of the season, airing Oct. 26, is ‘The Rocky Horror Glee Show,’ based off the cult-classic ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show.’

But still, is it OK that ‘Glee’ has more No.1 singles than The Beatles who spent their lives creating, performing and living their music?

Gina Taravella, a sophomore majoring in environmental science, feels that the cast shouldn’t be credited for creating the songs performed in the episodes.

’80 percent of ‘Glee’ viewers think that all the songs they sing on ‘Glee’ are original songs to the show and know nothing about the original performers,’ Taravella said. For instance, some never heard of Queen or don’t know that ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ is by The Beatles.

Many young people’s negligence of the classics could definitely be an explanation for the show’s overwhelming success.

Also, while this is an impressive achievement on behalf of ‘Glee,’ there is some consolation for Beatles fans. The band’s chart entries for the Billboard Hot 100 remained intact for 617 weeks (basically 12 years) on the chart, while the singles on ‘Glee’ have only been around for a mere 105 weeks combined. While ‘Glee’ is the new success out there, the Beatles have stood the test of time.

And some artists are still resisting the temptation of ‘Glee,’ like Bryan Adams and rock group Kings of Leon who both refuse to allow their music to be re-invented by the young performers.

There’s no doubt that ‘Glee’ has achieved huge success in the short amount of time that it has been around. But since the show recently topped The Beatles on the Billboard Hot 100, the question remains: Do they really deserve it?