Gregg Henry and Charlotte Ross guest-star as Quinn's parents Russell and Judy Fabray, and Sarah Drew appears as Suzy Pepper, a student with a former crush on Will.

The episode features covers of seven songs, including a mash-up of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" by The Police and "Young Girl" by Gary Puckett and The Union Gap.

Elizabeth Holmes of The Wall Street Journal and Liz Pardue of Zap2it were disappointed that Jane Lynch did not appear as Sue Sylvester, though Mike Hale of The New York Times did not miss her presence.

[1] "Ballad" was the episode submission of Dianna Agron for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, but her nomination failed to make the final cut.

Recurring characters who appear in the episode are glee club members Brittany (Heather Morris), Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) and Mike Chang (Harry Shum, Jr.).

[2] Romy Rosemont plays Finn's mother Carole Hudson, her first appearance since the series' second episode, and Gregg Henry and Charlotte Ross guest-star as Quinn's parents, Russell and Judy Fabray.

[16] Mike Hale of The New York Times did not miss Sue's presence in the episode, and wrote that "Ballad" contained some scenes which were "as honestly emotional as any since this series began, most of them involving Kurt and Finn".

[17] Gerrick D. Kennedy for the Los Angeles Times appreciated the episode for subverting expectations, by having Finn's mother react supportively to the news of Quinn's pregnancy, rather than the more affluent and financially capable Fabrays.

[18] Dan Snierson for Entertainment Weekly opined that "Ballad" was not as good as the preceding episode, "Wheels", but that overall: "it did offer up a few choice cuts and fun moments while advancing one big story line".

"[20] The Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn, watching Glee for the first time, deemed the episode "deliriously, deliciously bad", deriding the casting of young adult actors as teenagers, the "one-dimensional stock characters" and the "kitschy plots".