The accompanying artwork for the single was created by Brazilian graffiti artist Simone Sapienza, who won a contest sponsored by Johnnie Walker's Keep Walking Project in Brazil.

"Superstar" received mixed to positive reviews from music critics, most of whom felt it would be a potential single and praised the production, while others dismissed the lyrical content.

A music video for the track was to be shot, however it was controversial since Madonna wanted to dress as a "Terror Bride", a combination of an Iraqi bridal veil and a US soldier's uniform.

[1] The song makes references to historical figures including Marlon Brando, James Dean, Al Capone, Bruce Lee, Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln and John Travolta.

[4] Billboard's Keith Caulfied noted dubstep influences during the bridge, and like other songs on MDNA, "Superstar" takes time to change the composition into a fast-paced track.

[5][6] According to Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph, the composition features a "shimmering ambiance built up from a ringing guitar loop and echoing tom-tom pattern that might have been constructed from Beatles' drum fills."

[14] MuuMuse's Bradley Stern complimented "the sugary-sweet, instantly summer-friendly" nature of the song,[15] while Alexis Petridis from The Guardian described the composition of the track as "saccharine".

"[17] While reviewing the album, Robert Copsey from Digital Spy noted that "Superstar" was the most "relaxed [sounding] song" compared to the rest of the tracks which he described as kind of "in-yer-face.

"[21] Enio Chiola from PopMatters gave it a poor review for its lyrical content by calling it "badly written", but stated that songs like "'Superstar' and 'Masterpiece' indicates that Madonna isn't just a blubbering mess of bitterness.

"[22] In his review of MDNA for Pitchfork, Matthew Perpetua said that the track, along with "B-Day Song" from the album, are "mesmerizingly dumb lyrics" and are as "spiteful trolling rather than vapid pandering.

[24] In August 2018, Billboard picked it as the singer's 86th greatest single; "a blatant copycat of Solveig's smash Dragonette collab 'Hello', it also has one of the sweetest, most straightforward choruses of the whole MDNA set".

She was really proud of it and said it was her 'Terror Bride' costume [...] At first, when people started telling her it was madness, she just brushed it off, but when they mentioned that her actions could put her life at risk, she decided to ditch it from her video and certainly won't be wearing it on stage."