Radio & Records described the song as "breezy" and "feel-good". UK radio station The Revolution head of music Chris Gregg said the song is more "mature" than Crow's previous material and could catch the attention of adult audiences. On April 27, 2002, Music & Media magazine named it their "Pick of the Week", with music editor Thorsten Weber noting that it does not take long for listeners to sing along, labeling the song as "melodic" and "catchy". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine noted that Crow's lyrics were a return to form and compared the song to the works of the Beach Boys. Retrospectively, Raymond Cummings of popular culture website Splice Today gave the song a negative review, referring to is as one of the most "loathsome" songs of the 2000s decade and criticizing its lyrics, comparing them to a superficial message one would find on a Hallmark card. Chart performance In the United States, "Soak Up the Sun" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 73 on April 13, 2002, becoming that week's "Hot Shot Debut". Fourteen issues later, on July 20, 2002, the song rose to its peak of number 17. It was Crow's sixth single to enter the top 40 and spent a total of 29 weeks on the Hot 100, last appearing at number 42 on October 26, 2002. In December 2002, Billboard ranked the song at number 35 on its year-end Hot 100 edition. The song became a number-one hit on two other Billboard charts: the Adult Alternative Songs chart and the Adult Top 40. On the former chart, it spent seven weeks at number one, while on the latter, it remained at the top spot for nine weeks. It additionally reached number five on the magazine's Adult Contemporary chart and number 15 on the Mainstream Top 40 listing. On the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, the Victor Calderone and Mac Quayle remixes topped the ranking on the week of June 1, 2002, becoming Crow's only song to top this chart. The RIAA awarded the song a gold certification in June 2005 for digital sales exceeding 500,000 in the US alone. In Canada, the song charted for one week on the Canadian Singles Chart, at number 24 on April 27, 2002. It was the second-most played song on Canadian radio in 2002. In the United Kingdom, "Soak Up the Sun" became Crow's 15th and penultimate