Critical reception Paul Verna from Billboard gave the song a positive review, writing "the lovely 'Butterfly' is classic Carey, from its gospel-kissed ballad instrumentation and choir chants to the diva's soaring, glass-shattering performance." Verna concluded, "This should not imply, however, that she is covering crusty old ground. The notable maturity in her lyrics and worldly warmth of her vocal reflect the growth that she has continually strived to attain." British magazine Music Week rated it four out of five, adding, "This is as smooth as any of her ballads, but it's in the vocals where the difference lies. No longer over-singing for the sake of it, Carey has rarely sounded more stunning." Rick Juzwiak from Slant Magazine gave the song a mixed review, but felt it was a pivotal part of Carey's vocal and musical transition. Juzwiak wrote "The agonizingly slow 'Butterfly,' with its predictably soaring chorus and if-it-comes-back-it-was-meant-to-be message, would have been ignorable tripe. Here, it's a show for the peeping. Echoes of her newly failed relationship with Mottola bounce off the gospelly song's cheap stained glass and then garble so that it sounds like some insane document of Stockholm Syndrome." He felt however, that the song was an important part of the album, "It isn't just subject matter that elevates 'Butterfly' above Carey's usual melodrama. Carey's vocal delivery and her willingness to experiment with it helped define the album, so it's only appropriate that its title track is the first of many to showcase Carey's much-debated 'whisper voice.'" Ian Hyland from Sunday Mirror gave it eight out of ten, commenting, "Flouncing around in sexy beige slips apart, ballads are what Mariah does best. And I'm more than happy to report she's still doing fine on both counts." Chart performance "Butterfly" was a moderate success on the charts, performing weakly in many music markets. In the United States, the song charted on the Hot 100 Airplay, peaking at number 16. In Canada, the song entered the RPM Singles Chart at number 57 on the RPM issue dated November 3, 1997, and reached its peak of number 22 on December 1, 1997. It was present on the chart for a total of 14 weeks. The song's success in Europe was very limited as well, due to its non-commercial release. In the United Kingdom, the song entered the singles chart at its peak of 22, the week of December 13, 1997.