Who's Leaving Who

Johnny Dee from Record Mirror said, "Yes this record goes 'boom, chug-a-chug, chug, boom, chug-a-chug, chug."[7] The magazine's James Hamilton wrote in his dance column, "Stock Aitken Waterman-produced thuddingly bounding 120bpm galloper with an attractive Eurobeat-ish lilt".[8] A review in Pan-European magazine Music & Media stated about the song: "The beat is what used to be called Eurodisco; a stomping, electro dance groove with a very Abba-like song."[9] Retrospectively, in 2021, British magazine Classic Pop ranked the song number 14 in their list of 'Top 40 Stock Aitken Waterman songs', adding: "When PWL added their Hi-NRG motifs to Canadian country artist Anne Murray's version of "Who's Leaving Who" from two years earlier, the song took on ABBA-esque qualities that worked like a charm... When this put her into the Top 40, eventually climbing into the Top 5, things were looking up."[10]

In the UK, "Who's Leaving Who" debuted at number 37 on 2 April 1988 reached the top ten two weeks later, peaked at number four for consecutive two weeks, thus attaining the same position than "Whatever I Do (Whenever I Go)" four years earlier, and remained on the chart for a total of 11 weeks, five of them spent in the top ten.[11] It ranked at number 59 on the 1988's national year-end chart,[12] and peaked at number six for consecutive two weeks on the UK Dance Chart established by Music Week.[13] In the other European countries, the song achieved his highest position in Ireland where it attained number two and charted for five weeks,[14] and was also a top ten hit in Finland.[15] It failed to enter the top ten by one place in Switerland,[16] reached number 15 in Germany out of a 12-week chart run,[17] peaked at number 17 in both the Flanders region of Belgium and Austria,[18][19] and stalled out of the top 30 in the Netherlands.[20] On the Pan-Eurochart Hot 100 singles compiled by the Music & Media magazine, "Who's Leaving Who" debuted at number 71 on 16 April 1988, culminated at number 12 for consecutive two weeks,[21] and fell off the chart after 19 weeks of presence. It also featured for six weeks on the European Airplay Top 50 with a peak at number 25 in its fourth week.[22] Outside Europe, "Who's Leaving Who" was a top 20 hit on the US Dance Club Songs chart, peaking on July 9, 1988, at number 19, with eight weeks of charting.[23] In New Zealand, it debuted at a peak of number 44 in May 1988 and charted in the top 50 for four weeks.[24]