The song is the band's most successful single to date and was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards.

The song originally appeared on the 1996 independent album MMMBop with a slower tempo, but was reworked as an upbeat pop track by producers the Dust Brothers.

Try to imagine what the Jackson 5 might sound like with the accompaniment of a skittling funk beat and scratchy faux-grunge guitars, and you will have a clear picture of where Hanson is coming from.

"[4] A reviewer from Scottish Daily Record noted, "They're about half the age of the Spice Girls, but Hanson can sing, play their own instruments and string a sentence together.

"[6] A reviewer from Music Week gave the song four out of five, stating that "media attention is sky high for these three Tulsa brothers, aged 11, 14 and 16.

He explained, "Built on a turntable-scratch update of the soul rhythms that served as turn-of-the-'70s bubblegum rock's secret weapon, the song is as unintelligible as it is indelible.

"[8] Ben Knowles from Smash Hits said "MMMBop" sounded like "a one-off, tasty, unbelievably ear-tingling, perfect pop treat.

"[9] Ian Hyland from Sunday Mirror gave the song eight out of ten, commenting, "Teenage brothers from America who sound a bit like Sheryl Crow on helium.

Twenty years after the first recording of "MMMBop", approximately 93,000 cover versions of the song were counted by MTV reporter Patrick Hosken in March 2016, as represented on YouTube.

[107] The Hansons told Rebecca Milzoff at Vulture that they had not heard any good cover versions, because "People can't sing the chorus right.

[109] In July 2019, the official Hanson Twitter feed shared a video by Scary Pockets, a band founded by keyboardist Jack Conte.

The Scary Pockets version was fronted by Lucy Schwartz on lead vocals, and Adam Neely covered the electric bass.