saying, "there's the deranged helium synth pop of 'Stronger' with the huge ABBA chord change in the chorus that sounds scarier and more robotic than the Backstreet Boys." Andy Battaglia from Salon said "Stronger" "could crush the entire self-help industry with its melody alone." Digital Spy's Alim Kheraj pointed out the "deeper element of defiance embedded both within the lyrics and the epic chord progressions". Writing for Pink News, Mayer Nissim deemed it "a perfect pop masterpiece". For Alex Macpherson from The Guardian, it's one of the best examples of Spears' "distressing vulnerability" as well as her second best song; "for the first but by no means last time, Britney embraces the inhuman qualities of her strange, hiccupping voice with vocals distorted and ground up against the beat". Shannon Barbour from Cosmopolitan opined that it was "proof that Empowered Britney is the best Britney". Similarly, Gay Times Daniel Megarry called it "an empowering gay club favourite". Entertainment Weekly ranked it at number 14 on their ranking of Spears' songs; "['Stronger'] foretold the future, both lyrically (she vowed to do things 'my way') and sonically (the stormy electronic touches hinted at a shift in her Scandi-pop sound). Today, it’s the theme song for her resilience". Rolling Stone hailed it "a dance pop anthem of self-empowerment that is both obviously autobiographical and highly relatable to anyone eager to define themselves as a young adult". Caryn Ganz from Spin said that "Britney’s first self-empowerment anthem is still her best: a strutting finger-wagger that’s somehow also a fist-pumper". Chart performance In the United States, "Stronger" entered the top 40 at number 29 on December 30, 2000. It also peaked at number 17 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart. It was also certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Stronger" also peaked at number two on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales component chart, and number 37 on Rhythmic Top 40. As of June 2012, "Stronger" has sold 415,000 physical units, with 270,000 paid digital downloads in the United States. It is Spears' third best-selling physical single in the country. "Stronger" also achieved commercial success worldwide, reaching number one in Mexico and was the number-one best-selling single in 2001, and reaching number four in Austria and Sweden, six in Ireland and Switzerland, and eight in Finland, while reaching the top 20 in several European countries. On the week of December 16, 2000, "Stronger"