ryan brockington, from the "new york post," was amongst the first to review "motivation." in his review, he said "the single is a big leap from the dance club synth pop that kelly has been releasing the past year and it seems like she might be trying to shimmy her way back into the hip-hop world by teaming up with the midas touch vocals of lil wayne." both "rap-up" and aol music's scott shetler called the song "sexy." becky bain from idolator disliked the song for not being memorable. the short review was summed up with the closing phrase, "she’s going to need another hit to help promote her album when it finally is ready to drop." wesley case from "the baltimore sun" complemented the song's sexy quality. "if this isn't the year's hands-down sexiest song thus far, it has to be in the discussion. rowland, whose sultry voice could get a priest hot, weaving in and out of the minimal beat, and setting the table for lil wayne's stuttering, after-hours guest-verse. stack the pieces together and it's an understated knockout that gets sexier with each spin." billboard ranked it number five on their "critics' picks: 20 best songs of 2011".