Season 3, Episode 9: HOLD ON TO SIXTEEN

Quinn tells Rachel she plans to get Shelby fired by exposing her affair with Puck. Rachel points out that since Puck is 18 what they are doing isn't illegal. Quinn hints that the goal is to have Shelby to lose custody of Beth. Rachel thinks this would be her hitting rock-bottom. Will and Finn look at songs for sectionals, which for the first time since the '60s will be held at McKinley. Finn thinks they need to figure out a new singer and suggests going after Sam, who now lives in Kentucky. While Kurt and Blaine have coffee they are approached by Sebastian. The Warblers have won their sectional already. When Blaine leaves the table Sebastian and Kurt admit their mutual dislike and Sebastian says he's planning on taking Blaine from him by the end of the school year. Finn and Rachel go looking for Sam and see that he's a male stripper. Backstage he tells them this is the best-paying job he can find and his parents have no idea. They ask him to come back to McKinley in time for sectional. He says his dad won't allow it. Sam takes Rachel and Finn to his house and asks for permission. Sam says he misses being a teenager and his parents say he can go. Sam returns to the New Directions choir room. He grabs his guitar and sings "Red Solo Cup." Santana walks in afterwards and makes jokes about his mouth. Quinn puts the moves on Sam. He tells her to enjoy her senior year and not try to grow up faster than she needs to. Mike tells Tina he's applied to the Pre-Med program at Stanford, primarily because his dancing is tearing his family apart. She tries to convince him to stick to his dream and he pushes away. Puck tells Will he doesn't think they have much chance to win sectional without the girls. Sam tries to convince them they should push sex in their dance moves. This causes a rift between him and Blaine, who says he isn't for sale. Blaine and Finn start to bury the hatchet. Finn wants to make sure they do everything they can to win, without any regrets. It seems to work. Mercedes tells Sam that they had a summer fling, but it's over. She reminds him she has a new, very large boyfriend. He says he's going to fight for her and we see her smile as she walks away. Tina goes to see Mike's father. She brings him a bootleg DVD of his son's performance in West Side Story. He tries to tell her that the path of performer is going to be filled with difficulty and limited opportunity. She says she's well-aware of the challenges but it's something she and Mike were born to do. She thinks he should help his son honor his gift. Before New Directions goes on stage for sectionals the Trouble Tones come to see them. Santana says she has talked Shelby into letting New Directions them join them for regionals if they lose. Will doesn't like it because it seems like they are rubbing in the fact that they have a better shot of winning. The competition starts and The Unitards perform first. Rachel and Kurt realise the lead singer who is singing "Buenos Aires" is Harmony from the NYADA mixer at the start of the year. At the end of the performance, Quinn leave the auditorium. Rachel chases Quinn down in the hall and tries to stop her from telling Figgins about Shelby. She wants her to at least wait until the Trouble Tones perform, or short of that give Shelby the courtesy of telling her first. Rachel knows first-hand that doing the wrong thing feels awful. Quinn tells Shelby what she's going to do. Shelby tells Quinn that all of a sudden she'll find her youth has passed her by. The Trouble Tones perform. Santana and Mercedes lead them in "Survivor/ I Will Survive" The crowd loves it. New Directions starts with The Jackson 5's "ABC." During the performance Mike sees his father in the crowd. Kurt also sees that Sebastian is in the audience. They then sing Janet Jackson's "Control" and Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror." Afterwards Mike's dad rises to his feet in applause and Quinn gives Puck a hug. Backstage New Directions celebrate. Finn and Blaine hug. Mike's dad asks to speak with Mike and Tina. He tells Mike he thinks that Mikes path is dancing and he must follow it. He wants Mike to apply to dance schools and they embrace. Mike thinks he's missed the deadlines but Tina says she sent in his applications just in case. The judges announce that The Unitards came first place, Harmony is happy that she is only a sophomore and already this good. They then announce that second place is the Troubletones and first place is New Directions. Quinn tells Rachel she's not going to tell Figgins about Shelby and Puck. She loves Beth and doesn't want to ruin her life. She thanks Rachel for helping her make the right choice. Quinn is thinking about applying to Yale's drama school. Quinn talks to Mercedes, Britney and Santana about losing things. She says that in six months everything will be different and she doesn't want to grow up just yet. Quinn says that both Will and Rachel have agreed to let them sing lead on at least one number per competition. New Directions is performing a victory number and she asks them to join them. Mercedes, Santana, Britney and Sugar join New Directions and together they perform "We Are Young."
SONGS: Red Solo Cup
Buenos Aires
Survivor/ I Will Survive
ABC
Control
Man In The Mirror
We Are Young
NEXT EPISODE: Extraordinary Merry Christmas- With New Directions back in a happy place, they get into the Christmas spirit and pay homage to the 60's television Christmas specials. Mercedes is caught in a love triangle between Shane and Sam. Will considers taking his relationship with Emma to the next level.