[3][4][5][6] The song earned Grammy Award nominations for Cyrus in the categories Record of the Year and Best Country Vocal Performance, Male.

The title track also reached number 52 based on unsolicited airplay and Cyrus' cover of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" charted only outside the United States.

Reviewing for The Village Voice in December 1992, Robert Christgau was critical of Cyrus for "oversinging like Michael Bolton at a Perot rally" throughout the album and for celebrating warfare in the title song.

However, he offered some approval of Cyrus's "nice macho self-mockery" on "Achy Breaky Heart", "Wher'm I Gonna Live?

"[12] Overall, the album is his most successful album to date, which has been certified 9× Multi-Platinum in the United States and is the longest time spent by a debut artist at number one on the Billboard 200 (17 consecutive weeks) and most consecutive chart-topping weeks in the SoundScan era.