"Time" was negative towards "I Hate U, I Love U" labeling it as one of the worst songs of 2016 and writing, "Forget The Chainsmokers and Halsey's chart-conquering smash 'Closer'—the most depressingly zeitgeist-defining song of 2016 is gnash's piano ballad 'i hate u, i love u,' with singer-songwriter Olivia O'Brien, which inexplicably rose to the Top 10 of the Hot 100 this year.