Reception
Reception of "Light On" was generally positive to mixed.
Billboard's Chuck Taylor gave a very favorable review saying "melodically, there's no question that this bullet is heading right for the brain, where the only thing stickier than the chorus is Cook's appreciably sweaty performance." He predicted success for Cook, stating "Like Chris Daughtry before him, here's an Idol who is bound for true rock cred", summing it up with "Light On" is right on."
Todd Martens of the Los Angeles Times gave a decent review, predicting chart success by saying the song was "sure to be inescapable this holiday season." He called it "full-on, cellphone-waving arena rock schmaltz, with husky, slow-moving guitars and a wallop of meaninglessly earnest vocals."
Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly also gave a mostly good review, saying Cook "is poised to be part of a balanced, mainstream rock diet alongside artists like 3 Doors Down, Nickelback, and Staind." He also called the song catchy saying, "After two listens, the "Light On" chorus got caught in my head like butter in the crannies of an English muffin." Though unimpressed with the song's lyrics, claiming they "feel more like a logjam of carefully focus-grouped words than anything deeply meaningful", he concluded however that "the bottom line is: "Light On" is probably going to be a major hit."
Ken Barnes of USA Today however was unimpressed with the single, despite being a fervent supporter of Cook on American Idol. Barnes called the song "Daughtry lite" as well as "a paint-by-numbers rock-ballad tune." Los Angeles Times writer Ann Powers also appeared unimpressed with the single, referring to it as a "banger in the worst sense of the word."
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