[2] Lead single "Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda" entered the top forty of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

AllMusic editor John Bush found that U-Turn "isn't the change of direction hinted at in the title; in fact, it's very close to format, with a pair of rap features but plenty of space for McKnight's earnest, heartfelt crooning.

"[3] Maurice Bottomley from PopMatters felt that the album "sees him making more concessions to current musical styles while retaining his fondness for the sentimental balladry that is constant trademark [...] Mainstream and safe, certainly – but McKnight always has been – it is arguably as well-crafted a parcel of post-millennium soul as you could wish for.

"[7] In a contemporary review, The Rolling Stone Album Guide wrote that "U-Turn successfully mixed mild, Superhero-style hip hop with McKnight's usual smooth jams.

"[4] Slant editor Sal Cinquemani called the album "so nondescript, filled with the kind of faceless R&B that sells millions but does little to resurrect a genre increasingly eclipsed by hip-hop, that I couldn’t find anything to say about it at all.