Wade "Unique" Adams is a new featured singer in Vocal Adrenaline who is a fan of both Mercedes and Kurt despite being a competition rival. Unique is a young trans woman, who wants to perform in competition. When she appears on stage in the Glee Club Regionals competition, Unique is a success—so much so that Vocal Adrenaline director Jesse St. James decides to build the group's Nationals routine around Unique, and to promote her as a show choir star.

Unique is dismayed by the publicity and pressure, but after a pep talk from Kurt and Mercedes, performs in and wins the MVP award at Nationals competition, though Vocal Adrenaline comes in second to New Directions.

Unique transfers to McKinley High and joins New Directions. She begins presenting as a girl in that episode during school hours, despite the pressure she experiences from classmates to appear in male attire. Though some staff or students at McKinley do not recognize Unique for the woman she is, others are more accepting.

She tries out for and is cast in the female role of Rizzo for the school musical, Grease , but Sue Sylvester informs her parents and they pull her from the show. Unique's problems using the school restrooms are revealed and Mr. Shue makes a deal with Sue that Unique can have a key to one of the private teachers' restrooms and the glee club will stop twerking.