"butterfly" garnered generally positive reviews from music critics. nathan brackett, senior editor of "rolling stone" and author of "the rolling stone album guide", praised the album's producers and carey's "more controlled" vocals. brackett noticed a connection between much of carey's lyrics and her separation from mottola. jon pareles, editor of "the new york times" called "butterfly" "a new turn" in carey's career. he wrote, "carey has sold tens of millions of albums by being the girl next door with the startling vocal range... but for most of "butterfly" carey turned her voice into an airy whisper, as if she would rather charm listeners" compared to over-powering them. aside from commenting on its deviance from carey's previous work, he noted songs in which carey alludes to her failed marriage to mottola, such as "butterfly" and "close my eyes" which were both released on the album following the divorce with lyrics about letting love go and life struggles. additionally he wrote, "since carey writes her own lyrics, fans might expect a glimpse of marital discord or pride in her new-found autonomy." david browne from "entertainment weekly" gave "butterfly" a b- in his review. browne wrote: "in "breakdown", [carey] demonstrates she can match the staccato, lite-reggae phrasing of her guests, two members of bone thugs-n-harmony." he described an increased intimacy in the music but noted the arrangement made it difficult to hear the lyrics carey was singing. "butterfly is undeniably pleasant, with little of the all-conquering bombast usually associated with carey. but it's also the last thing anyone would have expected from her: blandly self-effacing."