The writing credits of the song are a subject of debate among frontman Stephan Jenkins and former bassist Arion Salazar.

Despite Jenkins being credited as the sole writer of the song, Salazar claims to have written the bass melodies, bridge, and chord progressions.

[4] Billboard music reviewer and editor Chuck Taylor said that the song "packs in the hooks; a compelling opening guitar riff, a celebratory party ambience, an end-of-song spoken part that kids everywhere will be reciting ad-nauseam, and lead singer/writer/co-producer Stephan Jenkins' dead-on vocals, delivered in a pleasing falsetto at times".

[5] He continued to praise the song, calling the chorus "easy, spirited, memorable — the stuff that hits are made of.

"[5] Elysa Gardner of Entertainment Weekly called the song "crackling, power-pop", commenting that it is nearly as captivating as "Semi-Charmed Life".

[23][24] Despite failing to reach the top 100 in the United Kingdom, "Never Let You Go" debuted and peaked at number six on the UK Rock Singles Chart on June 11, 2000.

In the first chorus, another girl dressed in a black latex outfit and matching thigh-high boots appears and climbs this human ladder up to the platform.

On February 12, 2020, Portuguese-American musician RAC released a cover version of "Never Let You Go" as a stand-alone single, featuring both Matthew Koma and Hilary Duff.