[3] Before being announced as the third single, it was receiving airplay on the Top 40 radio format.

[4] The song was performed at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on November 24, 2016.

Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic said "Honing in on contemporary production trends, "Words" sounds like a tropical-influenced relative of something from Justin Bieber's Purpose or Sia's 'Cheap Thrills'.

"[5] Buzznet's Tina Roumeliotis stated "'Words' leaves a haunting Banks meets Bieber (believe it or not) feel in the air, making us curious as to what the next album may entail, despite it being way too soon to tell.

"[6] Daya performed "Words" at the 2016 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.