Other versions of "Fever" were recorded by Elvis Presley, Boney M., Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Michael Bublé, Sylvester, the McCoys, La Lupe, Eva Cassidy and Beyoncé.

[5] "Fever" is a soul and rhythm and blues minor key opus with an arrangement consisting of low saxophones played by Ray Felder and Rufus "Nose" Gore and guitar by Bill Jennings.

Bill Dahl from the website AllMusic noted a contrast between the song's "ominous" arrangement and the vocals along with the finger snapping which "marginally lightened the mood".

[11] Bill Dahl from the website AllMusic credited "Fever" for winning the "boisterous teen an across-the-board audience" for Willie John.

[2] The writer further opined that the singer's "sweaty case of love-rooted 'Fever' was seemingly grave, judging from his riveting intensity, yet he doesn't sound like he minds at all".

[2] Lee's cover, arranged by the singer herself with arranger/conductor Jack Marshall, was described as being in "torchy lounge" mode, accompanied only by bass (played by Joe Mondragon) and a very limited drum set (played in part with fingers by Shelly Manne), while the finger snaps were provided either by the singer herself, by Howard Roberts, the guitarist for the date, who set aside his guitar for this number, or possibly even by the producer, Dave Cavanaugh.

[27] John Fordham writing for The Guardian felt that the "heated" atmosphere heard on Lee's version of "Fever", "has an underlying suggestion that the person raising the temperature for her right now doesn't have to be the one doing it next week".

[46] In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at its peak position of number six on the UK Singles Chart on the issue dated April 3, 1993, and had sold 86,077 copies by August 2008.

He noted that when Madonna and the team of producers that worked on the album "push beyond the expected... [it] really heats up, providing a sound that is body-conscious in the best sense of the term", exemplifying his statements with "Fever".

[53] In August 2018, the magazine named it as the singer's 66th greatest single; "while most versions of this classic smolder, Madonna gets distant and detached, delivering an icy club banger that sounds less like a torch song from yesteryear and more like a soundtrack for anonymous encounters that would make Ms. Lee blush".

[55] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly criticized Madonna's voice as "souless", "You and Shep sure do a bang-up job – pun intended – transforming 'Fever,' that old Peggy Lee hit, into a techno drone, but listen to the parched sound emitted from your throat on such tracks.

"[59] The New York Times editor Stephen Holden wrote that "the album's softer moments include a silky hip-hop arrangement of 'Fever'".

[45] Slant Magazine' Sal Cinquemani opined that it's "Madonna's vocal performance that's the real star here [...] she may lack Peggy Lee's command, but she exudes a detached confidence and control that is the pitch-perfect embodiment of Erotica's main thesis: love hurts".

[61] Alfred Soto of Stylus Magazine felt that this song has its unique, idiosyncratic energy which he compared with material by Joni Mitchell from her album Blue (1971).

"[63] The accompanying music video for "Fever", directed by French director Stéphane Sednaoui, was shot on April 10–11, 1993 at Greenwich Studios in Miami, Florida,[64] and received its world premiere on May 11, 1993, on MTV.

[65] The music video alternately features Madonna with a red wig and silver bodypaint in a variety of costumes dancing in front of funky, kaleidoscopic backgrounds.

[68][non-primary source needed] To start the promotion for Erotica, Madonna performed "Fever" and "Bad Girl" on Saturday Night Live in January 1993.

[69][70] During the 1000th The Arsenio Hall Show, Madonna performed the original version of "Fever" accompanied by a band, wearing a black classic dress and smoking a cigarette.

Her original recording of the song was included on the soundtrack album for the 2003 American musical dramedy film, The Fighting Temptations, in which she also had a leading role.

[96] Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine provided a positive review for the cover, saying: "The seductive iciness of Peggy Lee's 'Fever' is successfully transplanted with a gumbo sound and sexy Southern comfort.

"[97] Beyoncé appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on September 17, 2003, to promote The Fighting Temptations with a live performance of "Fever".

In a review of the show, Dave Simpson from The Guardian felt that the performance of "Fever" was "a note perfect if pointless version" of the original.

[105] In February the following year, "Fever" was included on the track-listing of the extended play (EP) Heat, a limited CD released with the perfume.

[106] As promotion for the fragrance, a TV commercial for Heat was directed by Jake Nava, who had previously worked with Beyoncé on various of her music videos.

[107][108] The commercial features Beyoncé in a red satin dress sweating in a steamy room while the 2010 cover version of "Fever" plays in the background.

[110] In an interview with Women's Wear Daily, the singer described the sexual tone of the video stating: "My sexiest moments are when I'm just getting out of the tub or the shower and I'm clean, so I wanted to incorporate that in the ads.

[107] The commercial for the fragrance found controversy in the United Kingdom with the Advertising Standards Authority where it was banned from daytime TV rotation for its "sexy imagery".