"Holler" received mixed reviews from music critics; while some complimented the song's production and the Spice Girls' vocals, others found it too similar to works by Destiny's Child, Sister Sledge and TLC and thought it was too different from the group's previous sounds.

The song was promoted by the Spice Girls with performances on British televised shows such as SMTV Live, CD:UK, and Top of the Pops, as well as on the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards in Stockholm, Sweden.

After finishing the Spiceworld Tour in September 1998 and releasing their single "Goodbye" in December, the Spice Girls went into a hiatus period, during which the members of the group focused on their personal lives.

[2] They recruited American recording producers such as Rodney Jerkins and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to work on the album; the former was signed up to give the project a "tougher" sound.

[15] "Holler" was recorded in September 1999 at Sarm Hook End and Whitfield Street Studios in London, United Kingdom by Brad Gilderman, who also provided audio mixing for the track.

[19] Musically, "Holler" is an R&B and dance song,[20][21] representing a shift from the previous bubblegum pop works from the group, transitioning into a more mature and sexier sound.

[24][25] During the song, the members sing "come-ons" to a male, with lyrics such as "Let me take you into my fantasy room" and "I wanna make you holler, and hear you scream my name".

[28] Craig Seymour of Entertainment Weekly gave the track a B− rating, writing that the girls "sound like they really, really wanna be Destiny's Child" on the song.

[31] According to Jackson Langford from MTV Australia, "Holler" was "easily the biggest surprise the Spice Girls ever managed to pull off", but it "feels so far apart from what fans are used to", although being "at least somewhat enjoyable".

[33] Jenny North from Dotmusic considered the track "slick, fun, as catchy as crabs and the girls are sounding sexier than ever before", predicting it would "lodge itself in your head with the rest of their back catalogue" after a few listens.

[34] Whitney Matheson of USA Today called it similar to the works of Sister Sledge, Destiny's Child and Nu Shooz songs, writing that, "while the No Scrubs-y vibe briefly tempted me to shout a dirty word and bare my navel, styrofoam phrases such as 'Don't be afraid to play my game' are more Teletubby than T-Boz.

[27] In a review for the album, the Lincoln Journal Star staff considered that "attempts at uptempo, funky sounds" such as "Holler" "fall flat almost instantly".

Will Stroude of Attitude considered the track "funky, attitude-filled", but acknowledged that retrospective reviews of the song "haven’t always been kind, but they make the mistake of defining the era based on the cultural craze that had come before, rather than taking it on its own terms", but asserted that "connoisseurs know that ‘Holler’ still slaps almost two decades later.

"[37] While reviewing their Greatest Hits album, Nick Levine of Digital Spy stated that "Jerkins' slick, stuttering R&B numbers" from Forever, which included "Holler", failed to capitalise on the group's "very British sense of mischief".

[38] According to The Guardian's Alexis Petridis, Jerkins was a "great signing" as producer, although his "more avant tendencies" were "hemmed in by the necessity of making Spice Girls records with direct pop appeal"; hence, he described "Holler" as "serviceable, rather than thrilling".

[39] Dom Passantino of Stylus Magazine rated the single 3/10, saying the song is his "personal pick for the worst production job in musical history, ol' Darkchild took the most unique, epoch-defining, cultural maelstrom of a group he could find, and turned them into a facsimile of Fanmail-era TLC.

"[40] Tom Ewing of e-zine Freaky Trigger said the song "shifts and shuffles in a competent, modish way", but criticized the group and the producer for "not trying to change any games".

[54][55][56] In Oceania, the release entered at its peak of number two on Australia's ARIA Charts, staying there for another week, becoming their highest charting-single in the country since "Viva Forever" (1998).

Chisholm is seen levitating above cracked mud inside a room with wooden walls as the floor blooms into plant life, representing earth.

Rockol website commented that "the four put aside striped trousers and improbable outfits with preposterous colors to focus, also in this case, on black and above all on sexy winks and at least naughty necklines.

Mel B’s gone blonde, Emma’s not in pink, and can we take a moment to appreciate Victoria Beckham with long hair in a white jumpsuit and sunglasses getting Matrix-style blown around in a wind tunnel?".

[73] John Dingwall from the Daily Record compared the video to works by Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue, as the group "squeezed into leather and looking mean and moody".

[78] In order to promote Forever, the group performed it on British televised shows such as SMTV Live, Top of the Pops and CD:UK.

Jon Pareles from The New York Times considered the performance the "raciest stage moment" of the show,[83] while according to Chicago Tribune's Alison Bonaguro, the number "took things too far with the Spice Girls dressed in black leather and the dancers in collars and leashes.