using distant footsteps and reverbed guitar to convey a clichéd sense of 'epicness'." Gary Graff of Billboard said that the line "I want to leave my footprints on the sands of time" in the song defined the whole album. Simon Goddard of Q magazine chose "I Was Here" as one of the best songs on 4, describing it as a "breast-clutching tour de fource". Rich Juzwiak of The Village Voice complimented "I Was Here" as knocking harder than anything on 4'''s "bloated predecessor", I Am ... Sasha Fierce (2008). Similarly, Embling of Tiny Mix Tapes wrote: "'I Was Here' is a heavy brick of a song — overwrought, maudlin, delusionally grandiose — but it is also disarmingly honest about the addictive, undignified dimensions of fame and celebrity." Genevieve Koski of The A.V. Club described "I Was Here" as "uncomfortably overwrought" although he said that Beyoncé manages to bring conviction to its lyrical content. Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly also gave the song a mixed review stating that it reached a "lifetime-movie levels of schmaltz". David Amidon of PopMatters stated that "I Was Here" is "plain awkward to here a woman as in her prime physically as Beyoncé is to even approach such a tune. The dull music from Ryan Tedder and an army of co-producers does not help matters." Michael Cragg of The Observer gave the song a negative review, stating that it disappoints as being "corny bluster at odds with the laid-back feel of her most accomplished album yet." Andy Gill of The Independent simply stated that "I Was Here" strains too hard for "Empire State of Mind" (2009) status. Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune described the song as a "toxic string of cliches". Hamish MacBain of NME gave "I Was Here" a mixed review stating the song sounds like an X-Factor winner's single, full of unbelievably trite sentiments. Chart performance Although "I Was Here" was never released as a single, it appeared on several charts across the world following the release of 4. Selling 14,173 digital downloads, the song opened at number 44 on the South Korea Gaon International Singles Chart for the week ending July 2, 2011 which became its peak position on that chart. Following the release of 4, "I Was Here" also charted at number 131 on the UK Singles Chart on July 9, 2011. "I Was Here" additionally debuted on the Swiss Singles Chart