been recognized as "empowering". On the first episode of RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked season 10, Aguilera said the song was about someone she loved but who "deserved it". Reception Critical reception "Fighter" received mostly positive reviews from music critics. David Brownie from Entertainment Weekly called it "spunkier than one would expect from a dance-floor strumpet who loves to flaunt her lung power." Chuck Taylor writing for Billboard complimented "Fighter" for demonstrating that Aguilera "[has] got the goods to rise above what so many lesser acts depend on for celebrity." On behalf of the same publication, Andrew Unterberger wrote that "Fighter" and "Can't Hold Us Down" are two tracks that helped "expand audience expectations of her image and sound." Digital Spy's Nick Levine named it a "strutting arena rock" song, while Nick Butler from Sputnikmusic simply called it "great." The New York Times editor Kelefa Sanneh positively viewed the track's theme as "fearless" and "full of mildly rebellious rhetoric." On a less positive side, BBC Music's Jacqueline Hodges called the song "hilarious", while Jancee Dunn from Rolling Stone wrote that the song "is a sterile foray into rock." Harper's Bazaar ranked "Fighter" among the fifty best songs of the 2000s. Chart performance In the United States, "Fighter" debuted at number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on April 12, 2003, becoming the week's best-debuting single. In the following week, it jumped to number 56. On the issue dated April 26, 2003, the single charted at number 46. In its fourth week charting, "Fighter" raised to number 38. The single grew ten positions, charting at number 28 on May 10. On May 17, 2003, it charted at number 22. "Fighter" finally peaked at number 20 in its seventh week charting, becoming Aguilera's ninth top-twenty hit on the chart. On the Pop Songs chart, it peaked at number five. The single also peaked at number 28 on the Adult Pop Songs. On October 14, 2022, "Fighter" was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipping more than 2,000,000 copies in the country. As of August 2014, the single has sold 1,184,000 million digital units in the United States. On the Canadian Singles Chart, it peaked at number three. Throughout Europe, "Fighter" also attained moderate success on charts, peaking within the top 15 in most of the countries where it charted. It reached number 11 in Belgium (Flanders)