Harrington from The Washington Post was unfavorable of the song, calling it a "generic" dance track. Deseret News described Lopez's vocals as sultry but thin in songs such as "Waiting for Tonight". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine observed that Lopez's vocals were best-suited for dance-pop songs such as "Waiting for Tonight" and not much other material. AllMusic's Heather Phares praised the Spanish version of the song, "Una Noche Más", for elevating its parent album On the 6 from a star's vanity project. Lopez earned a Grammy nomination for "Waiting for Tonight" for Best Dance Recording, but the category was won by Cher for "Believe". Release and chart performance "Waiting for Tonight" served as the third single from On the 6. The track was released on October 27, 1999, in Austria, and five days later in the United Kingdom. It peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart, and had sold 255,000 copies there by July 2016. It debuted and peaked at number two in Spain, where it spent twelve weeks charting in the top ten. The song reached number six in Italy, and charted at number seven on the Single Top 100 chart in the Netherlands. In Belgium, the song peaked at number four in Wallonia and fifteen in Flanders. It was certified gold in Belgium for shipments of 25,000 units. In Finland, "Waiting for Tonight" charted for three weeks, peaking at number eight. The single also peaked at number ten in France, and was later certified gold in France by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique, marking shipments of 250,000 units. Elsewhere, it reached the top fifteen in Norway, Scotland, Switzerland, Ireland, and Germany (where it also reached the top of the airplay charts). The single peaked at number sixteen in Sweden, and reached the top thirty in Austria (number twenty-four). "Waiting for Tonight" debuted on the Australian Singles Chart at number 35 on October 31, 1999. In its eleventh week on the chart, it reached a peak of number four. Overall, it spent six weeks in the top ten and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for shipments of 70,000 units. After entering the Official New Zealand Music Chart at number 42 for the week ending October 31, 1999, the song peaked at number five one month later, and was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand for shipment of