'Don't Bother' reached number five on the singles chart in Hungary, and also peaked at number six on the airplay chart. Its stay in the chart, however, was very short and lasted for only a week. In Finland, the song entered and peaked at number four on the chart, becoming Shakira's highest peaking single in the region since 'Whenever, Wherever', (2001). In Austria, the song entered the singles chart at number 17 and peaked at number six, spending a total of 24 weeks on the chart. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic picked the song as a highlight from the album. from IGN Music felt the highlight to the song was Shakira's spoken bridge, saying that it lets the 'light tinges of her accent roll of her tongue and present her as herself rather than the obvious result of previous pop matrons'. Pam Avoledo from Blogcritics was also positive towards the song, noting improvement in Shakira's vocal delivery and calling them 'brassy yet sensitive'. Edward Oculicz from Stylus Magazine gave it a positive review, calling the song's chorus 'bruised' and 'anthemic' and the lyrics 'impossible for native speakers to emulate'. Alexis Petridis from the The Guardian complimented the unpredictable nature of the song, although he also noted that the lyrics at times suggested a 'faltering grasp of English'. Matt Cibula from PopMatters praised its theme and Shakira's 'furious and sexual and self-mocking' vocal delivery, but found the song 'strange' and 'internally inconsistent'. The song received generally mixed reviews from music critics. Shakira described the song as a feminist anthem, saying: Pam Avoledo from Blogcritics found the theme of the song similar to the one in Shakira's 2002 single 'Objection (Tango)'. The song contains a spoken bridge in which Shakira lists a number of things she could do to make him stay with her, such as 'move(ing) to a communist country', but admits that they would not have an effect on him.

She promises him that he 'won’t ever see me cry' and that she will move on in her life without him. Through the lyrics of the song, Shakira urges her former lover not to 'bother' feeling sorry for her after he chose another woman over her.

Shakira's vocal range on the song spans from the key of E3 to E5. According to the sheet music published at by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is published in the key of E minor (Relative key G major is in the chorus) and has a moderate rock tempo of 130 beats per minute. 2, (2005), 'Don't Bother' musically shifts to a more rock styled composition as compared to Shakira's previous releases. Similar to her seventh studio album Oral Fixation, Vol. 'Don't Bother' was written by Shakira and American pop music production trio The Matrix, which is composed of Lauren Christy, Graham Edwards, and Scott Spock.

Empire shakira music video