"breakdown" garnered positive reviews from local critics. david browne from "entertainment weekly" praised the song, writing "for most of the album she keeps her notorious octave-climbing chops at bay. showing some admirable restraint, she nestles herself into downy-soft beats. in 'breakdown', she demonstrates she can match the staccato, lite-reggae phrasing of her guests, two members of bone thugs-n-harmony." rich juzwiak from "slant" called "breakdown" "the song of carey's career," noting its "lyrical strokes as broad and obvious as they are naked. mariah the chanter flawlessly adapts to their singsong style, largely boxing her multi-octave range into a sly, hypnotic melody so that when she really wails at the end, you really feel it. as with 'the roof', carey lunges toward musical maturity by embracing, not shunning hip-hop. this is the height of her elegance and maybe hip-hop-soul's, too."