The track was well received by music critics who found it catchy and praised it for giving reggaeton dance floor appeal. It received a number of award nominations, winning Best Collaboration at the 2018 Soberano Awards. "Criminal" became a crossover success and helped relaunch Natasha's music career, becoming her first top five single on the US Hot Latin Songs chart since 2012's "Dutty Love" and first chart-topper in Spain where it spent three consecutive weeks at number one. It also topped the charts in El Salvador, Paraguay, Peru and Spain, and reached the top 10 in 10 other Latin American countries.