[8] The song has been described as having ".. rude metallic guitar" (by Al Ciner) and ".. a beautiful bass, clav and heavy breathing groove."

"[9] Bud Scoppa of Rolling Stone found the song has lots of "tension and charm from (Khan)'s tough, sexy vocals.

"[10] Jason Elias of AllMusic described the song as "a rare instance of an artist like Stevie Wonder giving away a tune that he could have had a big hit with himself.

[13] Rufus won a Grammy in the category of Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus for "Tell Me Something Good".

In 2021, Scottish DJ and producer Ewan McVicar released a dance version of the song on Trick Records which was licensed to Ministry of Sound.