The song received widely positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its use of instruments and Bazilian's vocal.

The cover version was commercially successful, reaching number one in Czech Republic and Mexico, as well as the top 10 in Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and several other countries.

[3] Patrick Davitt of The Leader-Post praised "Bazilian's "Windwood-ish lead vocal [and] light mandolin accompaniment" for giving the song "emotional weight".

[10] Jerry Kishbaugh of The Citizens' Voice gave "Private Emotion" a positive review, naming it "one of the album's strongest efforts" and "one of the best ballads" he had heard in years.

[11] An author of SouthtownStar noted the song's "gentle love melancholy", while The Courier-Journal critic applauded Bazilian's "stirring vocal".

[16] The song topped the charts in more than 30 countries,[17] and Martin performed it at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards, which was greeted with a massive standing ovation and met with acclaim from music critics.

[18][19][20] On October 22, 1998, CNN confirmed that Martin had started working on his first English language album, following the huge success of Vuelve.

[27][28][29] On April 24, 1999, Billboard revealed the album's title as Ricky Martin in an article, mentioning that it was initially set for retail on May 25, 1999.

However, the huge interest in the disc encouraged Columbia Records to decide to rush the album to release two weeks ahead of schedule, on May 11.

[30][31] Ricky Martin was released on the specified date and a cover version of "Private Emotion", featuring Swedish singer Meja, was included as the eighth track on the album.

Six months later, Child told him he was recording a project with Martin and "thought it would be a great song for him" and Bazilian agreed: "Hey, go ahead!

In Japan, the single was launched by Epic Records on March 29, 2000, and the set contains "Private Emotion", a live version of "Livin' la Vida Loca", and "Almost a Love Song".

[6][35] In the Asian / Middle Eastern edition of Ricky Martin, "Private Emotion" features Turkish singer Sertab Erener instead of Meja.

[33] According to the song's sheet music on Musicnotes.com, "Private Emotion" is composed in the key of G♯ major with a groove of 76 beats per minute.

They called it a "lovely ballad" and praised Martin's vocals that are "more grittier and more textured than in past releases", while Meja "adds a dreamy layer of vulnerability and sweetness".

[43] Another The Indianapolis Star reviewer Diana Penner labeled it "a decent tortured power-ballad",[44] while an author of SouthtownStar described it as "a stirring duet".

[45] Carlos Mario Castro from El Sabanero X named "Private Emotion" Martin's second-best song, observing it to be a "very well done cover".

[46] Claudia González Alvarado from Chilango ranked it as Martin's tenth-best ballad in 2021, calling it "a nice fusion of vocals and the emotionality required for the lyrics".

[58] In Sweden, the track peaked at number eight and was certified gold by the Grammofonleverantörernas förening (GLF), denoting sales of over 15,000 copies in the country.