Release BBC Music called "Brave" a
You Raise Me Up'-style anthem".
Billboard said the song is "the latest example of Groban's continued move toward more guitar-based, rhythmic arrangements—the kind he's been trying out on tour for years to surprise his fans." For its review of
All That Echoes,
Newsday wrote, "[on] the "
Coldplayesque first single, 'Brave... [Groban's] classically trained, powerful vocals compete with the extra drama of the orchestral arrangements."
The Independent found the song "vaguely uplifting".
The Village Voice called it "cinematic" if positive in its message. "Be careful, though: it's like a sprayed-white Christmas tree covered in blue lights and tinsel—works fine in the bank, but you might not want it in your house."
Performance In concert in 2013,
MLive called the song "the first of many heavily orchestrated numbers with lush instrumentation, designed to be vehicles for his throaty vibrato." The
Orlando Sentinel said "Brave" was a "zestful, melodic anthem ". The
Toronto Star said the song "might be a metaphor for the singer's charmed connection with loyal fans."
The Morning Call was more critical in its review, writing that Groban seemed to be "trying too hard to be contemporary rather than classical.... He sang too much of the song in an affected voice". ==Charts==