bassy flow reminding me of knowingly devilish Chicago house classics like "Your Only Friend". "Mr Vain" is the hustling flipside to "All That She Wants", and almost as good a pop record." John Patrick from Lake District News stated, "The beat is a dream to any dance and the words become so familiar, you can sing along with the chorus on cue." James Masterton said in his weekly UK chart commentary, "Stand by for the dance hit of the summer." He added that "although in actual fact as one of the best European dance records of the year so far it would probably have been a major hit anyway." Diana Valois from The Morning Call noted its "formula of staccato beats, deep bass lines, and nervous and tinny keyboard riffs." She added, "Balancing the somber vocals of Jay Supreme is the optimistic soulfulness of a cheery Tania Evans". Machgiel Bakker from Music & Media viewed it as a "snappy and poppy dance groove". Alan Jones from Music Week declared the song as "maddeningly commercial but lyrically nonsensical", and with "hugely commercial hooks". Jim Farber from New York Daily News described it as "propulsive", with "snappy electronic rhythms and trendy rap break". He commented, "Musically, the song strongly recalls Snap's smash "Rhythm Is a Dancer", but its clash of two voices offers a fresh twist. One voice (provided by R&B singer Tania Evans) mockingly describes the ace narcissist "Mr. Vain", while a second (from a rapper named Jay Supreme) embodies the title character's selfish desire – it's a winkling comment on self-absorption on a track made for the indulgent world of dance clubs." In an retrospective review, Pop Rescue called it "fantastically catchy". Music video A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Swedish-based director Matt Broadley. It begins with Supreme in black-and-white, looking at himself in a mirror, putting on a ring. As he looks into the mirror again, he sees the cracks in his face. He then attends a house party. Now in colours, people are dancing at the party. Evans sits in the corner of the room and sees Supreme peeking by the curtain. He walks towards her and offers her his hand. She leaves, with him following her down the hallway. As the video ends, she takes a hand-mirror lying on a nightstand and puts it up to his face. In black-and-white, his face