Billboard described it as "outstanding" and "spectacular" and said it would effectively shoot down all preconceived notions that Norwood only made bubblegum pop.
After starting her career as an actress in the short-lived television series Thea in 1993, the then fourteen-year-old Brandy Norwood began work on her self-titled debut album launched by Atlantic Records in 1994.
The album sold platinum in the US and made Norwood one of the 50 biggest and most successful teenage stars in music history.
Fearing not being able to match the debut album's success, Norwood was unsure if she wanted to continue her music career.
It consists of a "dribbling bass line" that Chuck Taylor of Billboard compared to a "dreamlike, moonlit night".
Norwood quoted: "An angel in disguise she was / But somehow you fell for her / Till she broke your heart that day / And left you in the rain / But still I love you".
Her first two singles from the album were "The Boy Is Mine", a duet with Monica, and "Top of the World" with rapper Mase as the guest artist.
Chuck Taylor of Billboard wrote that the song was a "spectacular and funky mid-tempo production that borrows ingredients from Janet Jackson's creative pantry."
"[4] Thomas Inskeep at Stylus Magazine described "Angel in Disguise" as "ridiculously good" and then went on to say: "It's definitely one of my Brandy favorites and a classic Darkchild production.
"[8] Daryl Easlea, writer for the British website BBC Music, was positive about Never Say Never as a whole and wrote that "Angel in Disguise" was "loaded with emotion" thanks to her gospel-trained voices.
[9] Aamir Yaqub from the British website Soul Culturewrote that Norwood's voice for the most part sounded restrained.
The writer continued his review by writing: "The album begins with tasteful 'Angel in Disguise' which has a touch of adult sensuality.