"A Public Affair" received generally positive reviews from critics. It was likened by critics to the Madonna song "Holiday" and to songs by Janet Jackson. The song reached the top 10 in Canada, Ireland and Scotland and made the top 20 in US, Australia and UK. The song also topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, becoming Simpson's first number one on the chart. The song ranked at number 51 on Top 100 Pop Songs of 2006 by About.com.[2]
Chuck Taylor of Billboard magazine called the song's production "wildly adventurous" and "maddeningly catchy", and the song itself "A perfect record."[11][6]About.com's Bill Lamb gave the song 4 out of 5 stars, saying that is "one of the best pop singles of her career" and citing that the song "follows a classic disco game plan even including a retro percussion breakdown. The icing on the cake is a line borrowed from the Diana Ross version of 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough'. As it is, 'A Public Affair' is perfect for early evening party play. With some beefing up, it can easily become a peak hour dance hit".[12]Teen People called the song a fun, frothy dance track reminiscent of early Madonna. Some criticized the song because of its similarity to Madonna's "Holiday".[13] "A Public Affair" received numerous comparisons to Janet Jackson, considered to reference "classic Janet" for its "breathy vocals, cheery, almost sickeningly sweet melody," and "mid-song giggle."[9]Newsday also described it as "channeling Janet-era Jackson."[14]
The Yahoo! Music download of the song gained media attention because it was made available in MP3 format, without digital rights management, which is normally used to restrict copying of commercially released singles. However, the price to download the song was $1.99, higher than the $0.99 norm for most DRM-restricted tracks. The increased price was rationalized not by the DRM-free format, but by offering users the ability to "personalize" the song with a specific name.[16] The single was released in North America and Australia in 2006. Later the song was released in Europe in February 2007.
Chart performance
In the United States, the single debuted at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100, on the issue dated July 15, 2006.[17][18] On August 12, 2006, the single peaked at number 14 and was awarded the honor of that week's Greatest Gainer Digital.[18][19] The single became Simpson's sixth top 20 single in the US and her third song to reach number 14 tied with "With You" (2004) and "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" (2005).[20] The single stayed on the chart for twelve weeks. The song also peaked at number 16 on Billboard Pop Songs chart and was her fifth top 20 on the chart, since "Take My Breath Away" (2004).[21] The single was certified Gold by RIAA for selling 500,000 copies.[22] The song is her third best selling digital single with 890,000 copies sold.[23] "A Public Affair" was also a success on the club charts. On Hot Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at number one on the issues dated October 7, 2006.[24] It was her first number one on the chart.[25]
In Canada, "A Public Affair" became Simpson's third top ten single after "Take My Breath Away" (2004), peaking at number eight in July 2006. In Australia, the single debuted at number 18 on the ARIA Charts for the week of August 13, 2006.[26] The next week, it peaked at number 17 and stayed on the chart for ten weeks. The single became her seventh top 20 single in that country.[27]
"A Public Affair" was released in Europe in early 2007. In Sweden, the single peaked at number 36.[28] In Ireland, the song debuted and peaked at number nine on the issue dated February 8, 2007.[29] It was her second highest peak in the country after "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" (2005).[30] In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 20 on the issue dated February 17, 2007.[31] The single stayed on the chart for four weeks.[32]
On July 19, Simpson visited MTV's Total Request Live to premiere the video.[35] The following day the video entered the TRL countdown at number six, the highest debut for any Simpson video; on its third day on the countdown, it reached number two.[36] The video spent a total of 28 days on the TRL countdown. The video reached number eight on Canada's MuchMusic chart.
^Slezak, Michael (July 10, 2006). "Happy 26th, Jessica Simpson". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 20, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
