Critical Reception
"London Bridge" received mixed to negative reviews for music critics. Rolling Stone called the song a "total ripoff of Hollaback Girl", Gwen Stefani's number one single of 2005. Another reviewer described the song as being "Hollaback Girl" "slathered in puerile sexual raunch". Steve Yates of The Guardian describes the song as being "much in the M.I.A. vein". Amy Phillips of Pitchforkmedia noted how much the song and Lil Mama's Lip Gloss resembled M.I.A.'s songs such as her 2003 single "Galang", serving as a reminder of how much the mainstream pop, dance, and rap musical landscape had shifted since M.I.A. "first appeared in 2004". M.I.A. later asked Interscope boss Jimmy Iovine after hearing the track "If I don't sell records and make money for you you're just going to make them with her anyway", however Iovine notes that the song is yet another example of how M.I.A. was "an artist who inspires other artists." James Simons of CHARTattack described the song as unoriginal, simulating the sound of MIA's "Galang", J-Kwon's "Tipsy" and Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" "playing simultaneously".
Allmusic writer Andy Kellman selected "London Bridge" as one of the album's best tracks, writing that it is "terrific" and "inexplicably asinine". Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly writes that Fergie plays the role of a sexaholic superstar, especially on the refrain, where she "unsubtly, if memorably", combines winky sexual metaphors and club-banging beats. Bill Lamb of About.com rated the song two out of five stars, praising the spirit exuded, claiming it resembles that of Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl". However, he labeled it as a derivative of higher quality pop music and criticized it for its explicit sexual lyrics. Benjamin Boles of NOW Magazine expresses dislike for the song in this comment, "Basically, if London Bridge doesn’t make you want to rip your ears off, you’ll enjoy almost 80 per cent of the album." Sal Cinquemani of Slant magazine also expressed dislike for the song's sexual suggestiveness, writing that it is "the most uninspired metaphor for oral sex in recorded history." Norman Mayers of Prefix Magazine labels "London Bridge" as one of the album's highpoints. Dan Gennoe of Yahoo! Music compared the song to music by American recording artist Gwen Stefani, writing that the "raucous thump has Gwen Stefani stamped all over it."
Spence D. of IGN labels "London Bridge' as the album's centerpice, but notes that compared to "Fergalicious" and "Clumsy" it appears to be "a calculated banger aimed at the unscrupulous club goer." John Murphy of musicOMH would disagree, as he finds the song annoying "nothing more, nothing less", but predicts that it will be a commercial success. Heather Murray of Glasswerk.co.uk criticized the song for its lyrics, lack of originality, and Fergie's voice, which she describes as "whinely drawl."
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