The Australian single release coincided with the band's 2003 tour of the country, peaking at number 37 and becoming their first top-40 hit there as a group since "Island of Lost Souls" in 1982.

[1] Although the lyrics are not entirely identical, Queen threatened to sue, as was explained by Harry and fellow Blondie member Chris Stein on a VH1 special.

[2] "Good Boys" has been ranked among Blondie's greatest songs by publications including Billboard, Classic Pop magazine, and The Guardian.

[3][4][5] Ashley Zlatopolsky, writing in a 2017 Billboard retrospective, deemed the song "perhaps Blondie's most overshadowed single" that got "lost in the shuffle of their later career", complimenting both the lyrics and the music video.

[5] Classic Pop writer Jacob Wilson called the song "a forgotten high" and commended both the music video and the Giorgio Moroder remixes included on the CD single.