"Gay Times" Daniel Megarry felt that "the bittersweet 'Lucky', which almost feels autobiographical, remains the ultimate throwback for 90s kids". The staff from "Entertainment Weekly" placed it at number 10 on their ranking of Spears's songs and said that "given everything we know about Spears’ past decade, it’s hard not to hear 'Lucky' as a haunting premonition packaged in fairy dust". Erin Strecker, from "Billboard", called it "one of the pop princess' great ballads", and "undoubtedly one of the high points of Britney Spears' career". Writing for "Pink News", Mayer Nissim called it a "a ‘60s-infused self-reflective bit of pop", but pointed out that "there’s a real sense of genuine emotion Spears gets across with some neat vocal flourishes". For Christopher Rosa from "Glamour", it's Spears' fifth best song, as well as a "perfect blend of the sweet-pop sound from her first record and lyrics that feel just a little more grown-up". "Bustle"s Alex Kristelis said that the song's "bubblegum pop gloss disguises even its most devastating lyrics". In the United States "Lucky" peaked at number 23 on "Billboard" Hot 100 and number nine on the Top 40 Mainstream chart. It also peaked at number 39 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales component chart, and number 14 on Rhythmic Top 40. "Lucky" also achieved commercial success worldwide, reaching number one in Austria, Europe, Sweden and Switzerland, while reaching the top ten in several European countries. On the week of August 28, 2000 "Lucky" debuted at number 5 in the Official Charts Company from the United Kingdom, falling to number six in the following week. According to the Official Charts Company, it is her tenth best-selling single in the country, having sold over 225,000 copies there. In Australia, the song peaked at number three, and was later certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for shipments of more than 70,000 units of the single. In Germany, the song reached number one on the Media Control Charts, being certified Gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for shipping over 250,000 units of the single. Jive Records commissioned a music video for "Lucky" to be directed by Dave Meyers.