Two years after the group disbanded, American singer Jennifer Lopez recorded her own version of the song for her debut studio album, On the 6 (1999).

Music critics have credited "Waiting for Tonight", along with several other Lopez dance songs, for making her one of the leading artists in the dance-pop genre.

The music video for the song was directed by Francis Lawrence and depicts a New Years theme-party celebrating the upcoming millennium, as well as a potential Y2K problem.

Lopez has performed the song on television programs such as Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve and the 11th Billboard Music Awards.

Scheuer, Franklyn Grant, and Thomas R. Yezzi provided engineering for the song, with assistance from Juan Bohorquez and Robb Williams, while David Barrett served as production coordinator.

[15] Los Angeles Times writer Gerrick D. Kennedy stated that "we can all admit that 'Waiting for Tonight' played at our respective millennium celebrations.

"[16] Dee Lockett, writing for the Chicago Tribune, stated that songs such as "Waiting for Tonight" made Lopez "arguably the leading artist in the dance-pop movement at the time".

[9] Andrew Barker of Variety magazine called the song her "breakout club hit", and wrote that it "seemed to anticipate the rise of Euro-centric dance pop.

[20] In 2018, Rolling Stone ranked "Waiting for Tonight" at number thirty on a list of "50 Greatest Latin Pop Songs", with Suzy Exposito writing: "A reflection of her own experience as a Puerto Rican in the mainland – a perspective shared by many Latinx people living in the United States – 'Waiting for Tonight' pays a soft tribute to the island sounds that raised her, while dominating dance charts around the world and cracking Top Ten on the Billboard Hot 100.

"[21] In 2019, Billboard ranked "Waiting for Tonight" as the ninth greatest song of 1999, stating "its themes are universal, the music is infectious, and the chorus remains timeless (...) If 'Tonight' premiered today, it would still be a smash.

[25] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine observed that Lopez's vocals were best-suited for dance-pop songs such as "Waiting for Tonight" and not much other material.

[10] AllMusic's Heather Phares praised the Spanish version of the song, "Una Noche Más", for elevating its parent album On the 6 from a star's vanity project.

[56] "Waiting for Tonight" was one of four songs that reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1999 based solely on radio play.

[63] A second version of the music video featuring the Hex Hector remix of the song was released, later being included on her extended play The Reel Me (2003).

Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan of The Baltimore Sun stated that it revealed the "death-defying dance stunts" which Lopez undertook, "donning stiletto heels and a micro-mini to perform elaborate footwork on a narrow, 6-foot-high Plexiglas platform while cameras caught her from every possible provocative angle".

[63] The Hex Hector remix version features the same premise of the original clip, while including a variety of different shots, and new scenes of Lopez dancing in a jungle with green lasers flashing behind her.

"[77] American Idol alumnus Adam Lambert revealed, "I remember when I was a kid graduating high school and 'Waiting for Tonight' came out (...) And she had all the rhinestones on her face and she just looked like just dewy and stunning and amazing.

"[78] Diane Cho of VH1 noted that Lopez "trademarked" the glitter-look in "Waiting for Tonight", which was adapted by Britney Spears in "Toxic" and Beyoncé in "1+1".

[79] Monica Herrera of Billboard stated that Adam Lambert's music video for the song "If I Had You" took the "late-night wilderness party motif of Jennifer Lopez's classic 'Waiting for Tonight' clip" and added "more lasers, guyliner, thrashy dance moves, silver top hats and outrageously spiky shoulder pads".

[89] Lopez performed "Waiting for Tonight" for the first time on the British music chart television program Top of the Pops, on the episode that aired November 12, 1999, on BBC One.

Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter described her set as "Heavily choreographed, lavishly costumed and featuring the requisite pyrotechnics and video self-homage.

[97] The catsuit provoked a mixed reaction from the public; The host of the show Ryan Seacrest praised the outfit, saying that it "made my year", but others were not so admiring.

"[97] Months later in February 2010, Lopez performed "Waiting for Tonight" as part of a medley of her songs—a set that included "Jenny from the Block", "Love Don't Cost a Thing", "Get Right" and "Let's Get Loud"—at the Sanremo Music Festival, wearing a "skintight, studded leather black catsuit".

[98] At the Summertime Ball festival hosted by Capital Radio at Wembley Stadium on June 12, 2011, Lopez performed "Waiting for Tonight" among other songs.

[102] During the tour's European leg at a concert in Italy, Lopez supposedly had a wardrobe malfunction according to various sources during her performance of "Waiting for Tonight".

Andrew Hampp from Billboard wrote that the "laser-drenched" performance reached "World Cup levels of euphoria for a large swath of fans".

Along with her debut single "If You Had My Love", "Waiting for Tonight" was given "a bass-heavy remix that added to the arena rock atmosphere" according to The Straits Times.

[109] Lopez opened her performance at the American Music Awards of 2015 (where she also hosted the ceremony) with a "slower, sultrier" rendition of "Waiting for Tonight".

Kenzie Bryant of Vanity Fair described the set design during the song as "so leafy and green and neon it was reminiscent of her Versace Grammys dress",[113] and Billboard ranked Lopez's performance as the best of the night.

[122] In March 2024, Ariana Grande and Bowen Yang briefly performed "Waiting for Tonight" among other songs as part of a skit on Saturday Night Live.