The track received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised its sound and deemed it as a standout on the album despite its "tired" subject matter.
[6] "Perfect Celebrity" is an electropop,[7] trip hop,[8] and arena rock song,[9] described as being "electro-grunge" by Stephen Daw of Billboard[10] and "alt-goth" by Robert Moran of The Sydney Morning Herald.
[21] Lyrically, the song focuses on Gaga's relationship with fame,[22][23] with Richard Burn of Rolling Stone UK writing that it "speaks of a star that has felt a lot of torture and pressure because of said stardom".
[26] Steven Horowitz of Variety also noted similarities between the lyrics of "Perfect Celebrity" and "Paparazzi",[27] while CJ Thorpe-Tracey of The Quietus instead commented how Gaga had already "mined the topic [of fame] to death" on Born This Way.
[10][18] Mary Siroky of Consequence similarly considered it a standout on the album,[15] while Marcus Wratten of PinkNews called the song the "nucleus" of Mayhem, praising its lyrical vividness.