a "fascinating twist, and one that makes it hard to choose sides". He added, "Santana has certainly been not-exactly-cuddly these past few weeks, but it's still clear that Finn totally crossed the line." Music and performances The opening number for the episode, "Hot for Teacher", was commended by most critics. Futterman described it as a "high-energy performance with the right amount of absurdity". Brett Berk of Vanity Fair gave the musical number a four out of five stars, and cited the choreography as the highlight of the performance. West gave it a grade of "A−", and wrote, "This was such big fun and the backup guys ... really helped amp it up." Slezak was less enthusiastic about the sequence. He was critical of Salling's vocals, and felt that a heavy metal song was not suited to his stylings; he ultimately gave it a "C+" grade. He also criticized the choreography, and stated that he had to "downgrade a little for Blaine and Mike Chang's grotesque 'whoopsie, I'm hiding an erection!' dance move that will probably haunt me to my grave." Berk said that the mash-up of the two "You and I" songs "almost worked", while Los Angeles Times writer L'Oreal Thompson praised the vocals of Menzel: "It's official. Shelby sings Gaga as good as, if not better than, Gaga sings Gaga." Slezak awarded the performance a "B" grade, and opined: "I loved the audacity of mashing up Lady Gaga with an Eddie Rabbit–Crystal Gayle chestnut, and the results had the sheen of '70s a.m. radio fare. Shelby's voice was almost too crystal clear for the Gaga half of the composition." Futterman said that Menzel "can kill a Gaga ballad", and while she "outshines" Morrison, he "complements her nicely". West gave the mash-up a "B+", called it "really well-done" and said it was "elevated" by Menzel's voice. MTV's Kevin P. Sullivan wanted Menzel to interpret more songs by Lady Gaga. In contrast, Rae Votta of Billboard denounced the sequence, and called it "horrendous". West gave the mash-up of "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" / "One Way or Another" a "B" grade, while Slezak gave the performance a "B+". Slezak wrote, "Santana's moments on lead were obviously stronger than Finn's Auto-Tuned into submission vocals, but that doesn't mean the number wasn't a hoot." Futterman called it a "fierce match", and added the mash-up was well crafted. Hankinson rated it the second