On the face of it, it sounds like a bright, cheerful pop song about 'oh yeah, we're in love' and all that sort of thing, but in actual fact there's a lot of cynicism and disillusionment in it.

People seem to feel the same way about relationships and that's kind of what the song is about, and I tried to make it seem more sort of poignant by having it sung as a boy and girl duet.

"[8] Billboard described "Happy Ending" as "uptempo pop" that was in "middle ground between the spontaneous-sounding R&B of "You Can't Get What You Want" and the precise craftsmanship of Jackson's Night and Day hits.

[10] In a review of Body and Soul, Steve Pond of the Los Angeles Times noted the song "rolls along at an infectious pace while tossing out echoes of the Ronettes along the way".

[11] Eleni P. Austin of The Desert Sun praised the song's "killer tenor sax solo" that "blends into a complete brass blast".