Perfect Moment

AllMusic editor John Lucas placed McCutcheon alongside her idols Barbra Streisand and Celine Dion. He stated that "her voice soars on the chart-topping power ballad".[7] Nigel Williamson from Billboard noted it as a "sweeping ballad in the style of Celine Dion".[8] Can't Stop the Pop described it as an "orchestral, sweeping ballad" and a "real showcase for her flexibility as a pop vocalist. The first verse and chorus are strikingly ethereal; there’s a calm serenity as the song shimmers and throbs alongside the gentle, warm vocals. If there was any part of Tiffany Mitchell in the song, then this is where she wakes up at the pearly gates of heaven."[9] Tom Ewing from Freaky Trigger noted that the song "starts with a gentle, gauzy arrangement that suggests some kind of celestial waiting room." He added it as "unashamedly, open-heartedly sentimental".[10]

Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian called it "a titanic belter of a ballad", noting the "diva's vibrato".[6] Liverpool Echo said "Perfect Moment" is "one of those soaring, Streisand-like ballads that no one admits to liking but mysteriously sells hundreds of thousands of copies."[11] A reviewer from NME described it as "total rapture".[12] Sunday Mirror commented, "Bound to be a huge hit. Sounds a bit like a breathy Kylie. Which is no bad thing."[13] Sunday Mercury noted, "It's surprising that Martine McCutcheon should release a ballad as her first single, rather than a catchy pop hit. But what's even more surprising is how good it is." They added, "It's a soulful number, sung with feeling by someone blessed with a superb voice. It's a slow burner, but it wasn't long before I was humming it to myself." They also concluded, "Goodbye Albert Square, hello Top of the Pops and a number one hit."[14]

The music video for "Perfect Moment" begins with McCutcheon standing in front of a microphone, in a room overlooking a New York City street. Sometimes she also sits against the wall or lies on a sofa while she sings. Occasionally there are black-and-white clips of McCutcheon at different sites in the city. More than halfway through the video, the singer is seen standing on a roof, singing to the microphone, overlooking the city. As the video nears its end, McCutcheon lies on the couch again, singing the last lines of the song.[15]