Internationally, it was also commercially successful, peaking inside the top ten in countries such as Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, and Spain.

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 launched their solo careers and focused on their personal lives.

[5] Darkchild traveled to London to work with the group, and together they wrote three songs in five days, revealing that "everybody I've been playing them for can't believe it's the Spice Girls".

Brad Gilderman recorded the song while also providing audio mixing, whereas Dave Russell and Ian Robertson served as assistants during its production.

[20][21][22] Conversely, BBC News noted that the lyrics reveal a maternal side from the group, as they sing "words of wisdom to their babies", as members Beckham and Brown had become mothers.

"[25] On his review for the album, Arion Berger, a journalist of The Washington Post, declared, "On 'Forever', boilerplate girl-group R&B like 'Let Love Lead the Way' doesn't reinvent the genre, but it has a nice sing-along chorus.

"[28] According to Jackson Langford from MTV Australia, the song "is let down by its misuse of the group's charm", as "their appeal came from the fact they had complete disregard for the rules wherever they went, and 'Let Love Lead The Way' strips them of that fun entirely.

"[29] For Will Stroude from Attitude, while "parts of the Spice Girls’ attempts to embrace R&B-tinged noughties pop trends worked for them", the song "most definitely didn’t.

"[16] In a similar vein, Nick Levine of Digital Spy wrote that "Jerkins' slick, stuttering R&B numbers" from Forever failed to capitalise on the group's "very British sense of mischief.

"[14] Writing for the same publication, Lewis Corner opined that "Let Love Lead the Way" was "nice enough, but isn't packed with the Spice personality their early material conquered the world with.

"[30] Whitney Matheson of USA Today criticised the lyrics and wrote that "I've heard catchier jingles on feminine product commercials, although I must admit I'm impressed with the deeply imaginative third-person perspective".

[32] Peter Robinson of British music magazine NME commented that the group had "chosen a deeply unfashionable R&B; sound" for the track.

[38] The song also became Melanie C's 11th number-one single as a songwriter in the region, making her the female artist with more number ones than any other in chart history at the time.

[48][49][50] In Oceania, the release entered at its peak of number two on Australia's ARIA Charts, staying there for another week, and becoming their highest charting-single in the country since "Viva Forever" (1998).

The following weeks, it rose to its peak of number two, becoming the band's 10th consecutive top-10 single,[53] and was certified gold by Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ).

Upon its release in 2000, the Spice Girls performed "Let Love Lead the Way" on British televised shows such as The National Lottery Stars, CD:UK, and Top of the Pops, as well as on the latter's Christmas special.

[65] It was also included on the setlist for their Spice World - 2019 Tour (2019), with the group wearing flowing dresses as they "glided around on stage and sang their parts".

[66] Simon Duke of Evening Chronicle noted that putting "Let Love Lead the Way" and other ballads "Viva Forever" and "Goodbye" in quick succession was a "real trump card on the group's part as voices were raised and phones held aloft".

[67] David Sinclair, writing for The Spectator, commented that the performance was "surprisingly affecting amid the clamour and glamour that was the show’s default setting.

"[68] Melanie C later revealed that she found hard and challenging singing the song on the tour, as her voice range was higher at the time of its release, although she loved performing it.