About the new album, he said, "I'm shooting for Prince chord changes, Michael [Jackson] melodies, and the bigness of Madonna - fun '80s stuff.

He also stated about the album, "the urban slang doesn't sound very convincing but the melodies and excellent production are so sharp he gets away with it", giving it 4.5 stars out of 5.

[12] AllMusic described the album as "a successful attempt from McCartney but still not fully complete to prove that he's no longer a kid, breaking out of his Disney Past also a departure from the stuffy adult contemporary vibe of 2006's Right Where You Want Me, which found the then-teenager acting far older than his years"; and gave it 3.5 stars out of 5.

[6] Alex Macpherson from The Guardian reviewed (Departure) as a two step process: "First, put pen to paper and come up with Bleeding Love, the monster single that launched Leona Lewis on the world.

Also, giving credit to the production team, which includes JR Rotem, Sean Garrett and Tricky and The Dream, and as if comparing between McCartney and Justin Timberlake he stated, "JT needn't get scared yet, but he should be aware that a new pretender to his throne has arrived".

Levine gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, complimenting the change in McCartney's musical style and Departure for having "plenty of winning moments".