Cory Monteith signs autographs for fans in the King of Prussia Mall, PA
From glitzy Hollywood premieres to a 10-city mall tour that spanned the country, GLEE star Cory Monteith is truly having a moment. Heck, tonight he gets a whole hour as FOX gives fans another chance to watch — or get their pals to watch (hint, hint) — the pilot of this fall’s most buzzed about new series tonight at 9PM (Global TV in Canada)
“We all knew it was a great show,” says the actor who plays singing jock Finn Hudsonon the series. “But we all wondered if it was going to resonate with everybody who watched it. And it has. Everybody gets it. The response has been unbelievable.”
Anyone who doubts just how much momentum has been gathering for this show didn’t see 2,500 people cramming themselves into an auditorium during Comic Con to get a glimpse of the rising stars, who also managed to inspire thousands of screaming fans to line up at Hot Topic stores across the country so they could squeal in the general direction of the performers.
Yup, it’s official: Monteith is popular. Which is a far cry from his own high school experience.
“I was unpopular and not a jock,” he admits. “I didn’t necessarily fall into any specific group. I wasn’t a jock, I wasn’t in musical theater, I guess you could say I was a floater.”
But with millions of self-declared “Gleeks” dying for new episodes to hit the airwaves (the show’s second outing debuts on Wednesday, September 9), it’s safe to say Monteith is poised to become the Big Man On Campus.
“I’m really taking it in stride, and thinking, ‘I have to go from that end of the carpet to this end of the carpet without falling down, saying the ‘F’ word or pissing someone off.’ Other than that, it’s just another day.” 
Tonight’s “Director’s Cut” of May’s series premiere features all-new scenes and songs and airs at 8:58PM, so be sure to set your PVR/DVR accordingly.
Photo Credit: Lisa Lake/FOX