"Survivor" was a commercial success, peaking at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topping the charts in Ireland, Norway, and the United Kingdom.

Critically acclaimed, the song won the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards (2002).

[7] The lyrics address the hardships that the band experienced in 2000,[8] when original members LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett split from Knowles and Kelly Rowland, and were replaced by Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin.

"[10] Dent initially envisioned his instrumental track to be recorded by rapper Lil' Kim,[11] before Beyoncé used it to pen the lyrics, melody and vocal arrangement for "Survivor.

[15] Billboard critic Chuck Taylor noted that "Survivor" was "careful not to stray from the well-established formula that has made Destiny's Child the pop act du jour – a skittish stop- and-start beat, the puissant vocals of co-songwriter/producer Beyoncé Knowles, and a lyric about life in the victory lane when mankind does you wrong.

[17] AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine found that "Survivor" was "painfully labored, stuttering over a halting melody that Beyoncé Knowles breathlessly pushes to absolutely nowhere, working it so hard that it's difficult to listen.

The song was not released on physical formats until after its airplay had peaked; it topped the Billboard Hot Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales chart for eight weeks.

An accompanying music video for "Survivor" was directed by Darren Grant and filmed in various locations throughout Los Angeles County, California on January 27–29, 2001.

Following their shipwreck, they uncover an island where they change clothes and walk into a waterfall leading to a deserted temple where it transforms into a dance break.

[13] One of Destiny's Child's "most difficult videos" to film due to the unseasonal weather conditions in California in late January 2001,[13] the band was reportedly "sick for days" after shooting beach scenes in their skimpy outfits.

[22] The "Survivor" music video was later released on DVD with a live performance of "Independent Women Part I" at the 2001 Brit Awards on May 15, 2001.

The release was a standard full-frame transfer that preserved the original aspect ratio of the video, with an English soundtrack rendered in Dolby Digital Stereo.