"I Got a Boy" was met with critical acclaim from music critics, who praised its eclectic sound and noted it as a "phenomenon" that could challenge popular Western artists like Katy Perry or One Direction. It was a commercial success domestically, debuting at top of the Gaon Digital Chart and has sold over 1.3 million digital copies in South Korea in 2013. Internationally, the single peaked at number 98 on the Japan Hot 100 and number 3 on the US World Digital Songs.
