Billboard commented "Miss Jackson follows her recent [pop] No. 1 "
Together Again" with a grinding ballad that is clearly designed to strengthen her credibility with hardcore R&B listeners."
Billboard also considered "I Get Lonely" to be "bold", "R&B flavored", and themed around a "sensitive subject" like other songs from
The Velvet Rope; in this particular case, "loneliness".
Vibe called "I Get Lonely" a "gigantic voicey song" and praised its structure, saying "the song starts with the beautifully overblown chorus [...] After that, it's official: you're singing it until next year. There're, like, 40 Janets singing the chorus, and she harmonizes with herself like she's
the Pips. Honey butter. This is where she wins." The review also noted Jackson's vocal performance as being both heartfelt and convincing, observing "Or maybe Janet Jackson really feels lonely. Because she sounds more convincing, more alive, on "I Get Lonely" than on
The Velvet Rope's title song, better than when she's singing about any of that tie-me-up-tie-medown, gettin'-freaked-from-behind "rope burn" stuff."
Yahoo! Music described "I Get Lonely" as highlighted by "catchy chord progressions" while
The L.A. Times says the song "plumbed relatively raw
neo-soul depths." A review from
Uproxx also praised the song's quality, stating "It's hard to pinpoint the best aspect of the song: the opening seconds, its melody, the hook or the way Ms. Jackson's voice flutters seamlessly over the beat. What's apparent, however, is that those three traits and more meshed to produce one of the standout records from the most famous female Jackson and a testament of what R&B once was." ==Remix versions==