The Climb (song) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Critical reception for the song was generally positive. Fraser McAlpine of the BBC felt the song's lyrics were generic, but complimented Cyrus vocals: "Miley acquits herself well vocally — there are moments where her voice sounds a tad strained, but it's good to hear her on a track that's a little more subdued and with less frantic production than the uptempo, sassy pop songs we're used to." Michael Menachem of Billboard magazine called the song "one of the year's strongest ballads". Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe praised "The Climb" for being a "pretty liberation anthem". Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly said, "On tunes like 'The Climb', the 16-year-old Tennessee native turns up her homegrown inflections, but a few elongated r's won't exactly shut out her huge pop audience." Todd Martens of The Los Angeles Times believed that "The Climb" was "buried in cheese" and described it as "pre-Valentine's Day gooeyness". However, Martens said, "'The Climb' is the rare Miley ballad that's on par with some of her more spunky teen pop."

Heather Phares of Allmusic said, "the best songs that Cyrus sings on the soundtrack have her own name on them". She also made musical comparisons to Shania Twain and described the song as "natural, down to earth and grown-up". While reviewing The Time of Our Lives, Michael Hann of The Guardian called "The Climb" a "one rather superior ballad", compared to "When I Look at You" and "Obsessed". Hann said the song was added to the extended play in order to "add some ballast since this collection's US release." Jon Caraminica of The New York Times described "The Climb" as an "appealing new single is just the sort of demure, inspirational country-rock that could easily be mistaken for self-reckoning." While reviewing a concert performance, James Reed of The Boston Globe called the song "bland but inspirational fare".