Madonna, to whose music the show will devote an entire episode April 20, released a statement to Us Weekly calling the episode “brilliant on every level.” She added, “The entire cast was amazing. They’re all so talented. I especially loved Sue Sylvester and Kurt Hummel’s characters.”

Jane Lynch and Chris Colfer, who play Sue and Kurt, respectively, were overwhelmed by the news. Lynch described their reaction to E! Online: “Chris was shaking, going, ‘Look! Look!’ We hugged each other and we held each other closely for a moment.’”

Colfer gushed, “How do I respond? It doesn’t get any better than that. If I’m ever down, I’m just going to remember, ‘Madonna knows who you are.’”

In addition to her pop career, Madonna counts among her film credits the title role in the film version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical Evita. She appeared on Broadway in David Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow.

“Glee”’s Madonna episode, titled “The Power of Madonna,” airs April 20 at 9 PM ET on Fox.

—Thomas Peter