 He added that "Caught Out There" was "[the] only one song [that] could announce Kelis with a bang" when her debut album was launched.AllMusic editor Jaime Sunao Ikeda picked it as a "standout" track of the "Kaleidoscope" album.Daryl Easlea for the BBC said in his 2012 review that "it still steals the show today, and was one of those songs that was heard everywhere at the time."