Radar (song) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Blender gave the song four and a half stars, named it the second potential hit from the album, and called it “a bubblegum-electro dance floor jam with a hook most pop stars would kill for”. Eric R. Danton of The Hartford Courant deemed it as "crackling" and "club-ready", while calling it one of the "killer tracks" off the album along with "Break the Ice" and "Hot as Ice". Denton Record-Chronicle's Mike Daniel said the best tracks of Blackout are "the unwaveringly catchy 'Radar' and the neo-wave curveball of 'Heaven and Earth'". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said some of the songs of Blackout, "really show off the skills of the producers", exemplifying "Gimme More", "Radar", "Break the Ice", "Heaven on Earth" and "Hot as Ice". He also selected it as one of his 'track picks' of the album. Jedd Rosche of The Maneater deemed it as one of the standout tracks of Blackout along with "Ooh Ooh Baby."

Nekesa Mumbi Moody of USA Today called it "a sexy techno groove that you can't help but bounce to." Theon Weber of The Village Voice said that "Spears's writers present her with the goofiest, most vivacious productions she's ever had, filling 'Radar' with pinging noises and polishing Madonna's dance-floor trash bright." Nick Levine of Digital Spy called it "a rave-tinged electro blipathon on which Spears is vocodered to the point of sounding extra-terrestrial." Alexis Petridis from The Guardian said that the song "seems to be bending over backwards to annoy the listener. Perhaps it's a last desperate tactic to win back some privacy: she's trying to get people to leave her alone by making as irritating a noise as possible." A reviewer from the Ottawa Citizen said that "some tracks just don't work, such as Radar, in which Britney's voice is tuned up so high she sounds like she's 14."

Laura Herbert of BBC News said that many of the album's songs, including "Radar" and "Toy Soldier" "are repetitive and over-produced." Jim Abbott of the Orlando Sentinel said that "Musically, songs such as 'Piece of Me,' 'Radar' and 'Break the Ice' are one-dimensional, robotic exercises." Chris Wasser from the Irish Independent said the album had single potential, exemplifying that "There's little doubting we'll hear the bouncing and digitally affected vocals of Radar and the livelier Hot As Ice on the radio soon enough, but both tracks still seem a little under par." After the release of "Radar" single from Circus, Nick Levine of Digital Spy said it "still sounds pretty ace, one of the best examples of the robopop sound Blackout essentially invented, but its fresh-out-the-box sheen has long since faded". On July 29, 2009, "Radar" was chosen as single of the week in FHM.