One of the songs in this episode is "You Can't Stop the Beat" from the musical Hairspray. Matthew Morrison (Mr. Schuester) played the role of Link Larkin in the original Broadway cast of Hairspray.
Two dancers from So You Think You Can Dance (2005) appeared in this episode, Courtney Platt from Season 4 as one of the Skanks and Melinda Sullivan from Season 7 as one of the "Anything Goes" dancers.
The portrayal of Sugar Motta is considered highly offensive in the autistic community, due to the fact that the character not only describes herself as "self-diagnosed Asperger's", but also due to the fact that the character plays into prejudiced stereotypes of Autism. Many believed that the show crossed a line with the character, especially considering the show's history of being progressive issues, such as LGBT rights.
The character Harmony professes that she is the Gerber Baby. The actual Gerber Baby, Ann Turner Cook, turned 90 years old in 2016.
Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) is seen packing a lunch in a Superman lunchbox. Will's last name is the same last name as Joe Schuester, co-creator of Superman.