 Critics likened "Girl on Fire" to Keys' previous singles "No One" (2007) and "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart" (2009).Throwing "If I Ain't Got You" (2004) into the list of comparisons, Erin Thompson from "Seattle Weekly" said "Girl on Fire" compares to previous Keys' ballads with its "quiet, unassuming verses leading into big, empathic choruses.