Rachel's cover of "Firework" by Katy Perry was reviewed negatively by Coachman. She wrote, "I'm not loving Michele’s vocals on this track. It was like they wanted to purposely make her sound like Katy Perry. As much as I really like Katy Perry, Michele has more of a tremendous voice. There are parts where I thought she sounded really great, but for the most part this song just wasn't my cup of tea. Michele has such a beautiful voice; I wish she was given songs that would allow her to showcase it to her advantage." Katie Morgan of Billboard gave a positive review of the Warblers' performance of "Silly Love Songs", writing, "Not only do they sound great [...], but the song brings a sugary sweet end to a super-saccharine episode." The Marquee Blog at CNN gave the music numbers a positive review. A notable segment reads: "I just loved seeing The Warblers get their groove on amidst the jeans and cotton T-shirts. And Kurt was super gracious trying to be supportive of Blaine, in spite of his own feelings. I also totally loved the music [...] and overall this was one of my favorite episodes this season. Brett Berk of Vanity Fair praised Salling's performance of "Fat Bottomed Girls", as well as the casts' performances of "P.Y.T." by Michael Jackson and "When I get You Alone" by Robin Thicke. Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone gave Salling's performance a positive review. She wrote, "We were thoroughly entertained by Puck's attempt to win newbie Lauren Zizes over with his tribute to her larger figure. Only in Puck's world would Queen's raucous song qualify as a serenade—and our horror-turned-amusement was mirrored on his fellow New Directions' faces. Puck is no Freddie Mercury, but he handles the melody well and makes up for lack of range with swagger."
