Billboard wrote that "equal parts Cher's Believe and Enrique Iglesias' Enrique, Renaissance finds Richie in an oh-so-contemporary setting, encompassing uptempo dance, Latin-hued and funky pop, and power ballads [..] While this may sound like a farfetched concept on paper, it works surprisingly well on disc – albeit without breaking any new ground." Rolling Stone critic Richard Skanse called the album Renaissance "unabashedly slick adult contemporary fare – file between Eric Clapton's work with Babyface and the last Tina Turner album – but Richie can still write and sing the hell out of a get-you-right-there-where-it-hurts ballad [...] Richie scores a hit with it himself."
Billboard wrote that "equal parts Cher's Believe and Enrique Iglesias' Enrique, Renaissance finds Richie in an oh-so-contemporary setting, encompassing uptempo dance, Latin-hued and funky pop, and power ballads [..] While this may sound like a farfetched concept on paper, it works surprisingly well on disc – albeit without breaking any new ground." Rolling Stone critic Richard Skanse called the album Renaissance "unabashedly slick adult contemporary fare – file between Eric Clapton's work with Babyface and the last Tina Turner album – but Richie can still write and sing the hell out of a get-you-right-there-where-it-hurts ballad [...] Richie scores a hit with it himself."