Interscope Records released "The Sweet Escape" on December 19, 2006, as the album's second single and was commercially successful in mainstream and adult contemporary markets.

Interscope Records' CEO Jimmy Iovine, who helped with A&R for The Sweet Escape, arranged the collaboration between Stefani and Akon.

[8] Overdubbing is introduced in the middle of the first verse to produce a sequence of eighth note B♭ minor chords from Stefani's vocals.

[11] In contrast to her songwriting on No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom (1995), Stefani intimates a desire for a pleasant domestic life, most extensively during the chorus.

[12] "The Sweet Escape" received generally positive reviews from contemporary pop music critics.

In a review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the song as "an irresistible ... track, driven by a giddy 'wee-oh!'

[7] John Murphy of musicOMH referred to "The Sweet Escape" as "a lovely, summery bouncy pop song with a very infectious chorus".

[12] Alex Miller from NME compared the song to Madonna's early work but added that it sounded "cringey and saccharine".

[15] Bill Lamb of About.com called the song "a welcome change from the over-produced 'Wind It Up'", but noted that it "easily jets in one ear and out the other leaving little trace of its presence".

[11] Rolling Stone reviewer Rob Sheffield agreed, viewing the song as a fumbled attempt to capitalize on the success of Akon's "Smack That" featuring Eminem.

[9] The Observer's Paul Flynn was displeased with his presence in lieu of higher profile hip hop artists such as Dr. Dre and André 3000 on Stefani's previous album Love.

[19] In the United States, "The Sweet Escape" debuted at number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated December 30, 2006.

[23] The song was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 2008 Grammy Awards, but lost to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)".

[24] At over 2.1 million downloads, "The Sweet Escape" was the third best-selling digital track of 2007, and Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems listed it as the fifth most played song of the year.

[27] "The Sweet Escape" was similarly successful in Europe, topping the Billboard European Hot 100 Singles chart for three weeks in March 2007.

[28] In the United Kingdom, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number three, selling 30,000 copies in its first week.

[38] The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) certified "The Sweet Escape" double platinum for shipping 140,000 copies.

They are pursued by two of the Harajuku Girls as police officers, and the video closes with Stefani back in jail after two hours of chasing.

[43] The video features product placement for two General Motors vehicles, the Chevrolet Tahoe, and the Buick Lucerne.

[48] In December 2007, MTV International introduced a certification system to recognize music videos that were successful on stations outside the US.

She also performed the song with Akon at the 2007 Kids' Choice Awards, American Idol, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.