It was released on June 17, 2008, by Hollywood Records as the lead single from Cyrus' second studio album Breakout (2008), with no ties to her character Hannah Montana from the Disney Channel comedy series of the same name.

Also registered as "Seven Things I Hate About You", Cyrus developed the song during the Best of Both Worlds Tour while feeling numerous emotions for an ex-boyfriend, mainly anger.

Musically, "7 Things" bears aspects of both country and pop punk, while the lyrics in the song's refrain list seven traits Cyrus hates about an ex-boyfriend.

"7 Things" received mixed to positive reviews from music critics and enjoyed worldwide commercial success, becoming a top ten hit on charts in Australia, Japan, Norway, and the United States.

[5] In an interview with Ryan Seacrest, Cyrus said that she was "going through [...] nine-hundred different emotions while trying to write the song" and that her use of the word "hate" demonstrated how furious she was.

[4] Originally, "7 Things" was more "soft and nice" but Cyrus says she "went nuts" during the recording process and gave the song a harder sound.

[6] Cyrus had initially chosen "Fly on the Wall" as the lead single from Breakout, but replaced it with "7 Things" because she felt it was a "better introduction" to the album.

"[11] Jessica Herndon of People similarly points out the necklace and the fact that Jonas, "who split with Cyrus in late 2008 after two-and a half years of dating – has Type 1 diabetes and is a spokesperson for awareness of the disease.

[15] According to Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine, the song's verses are tinged with country while its refrains bear pop punk aspects.

[18] In the song's introduction, the band begins to strum acoustic guitars[19] at a moderate tempo while Cyrus chants "sha".

[10] In one verse, Cyrus asks for a sincere apology and states, "If you text it, I'll delete it", which Molly Lambert of The New York Times said "perfectly captur[es] our confusing age of technologically mediated courtship.

Fraser McAlpine of the BBC called the song "smashing", complimenting Cyrus' "punker attitude all wrapped up in an immaculate gloss".

[18] Todd Martens of the Los Angeles Times wrote that while he wished the song had played up Cyrus' frustration rather than concluding with the kind final verse, "the winning, full-on chorus -- and Miley's exuberance -- are enough to make it a success.

[22] Heather Phares of Allmusic contended, "7 Things" is a twangy, clever piece of love-hate pop that feels descended from Shania Twain's flirty mix of rock and country" and marked it as one of the best tracks on Breakout.

[23] Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly called it one of Breakout's "best tunes" because it "let Cyrus be feisty without graduating to Avril-like levels of petulance"[21] while Josh Timmermann of PopMatters finds it "appealing".

"[28] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine called the single "rather annoying" and not "a worthy follow-up to 'See You Again'",[16] while Bill Lamb of About.com said the "winning performance" demonstrated that "Miley Cyrus does not intend to simply be a TV-generated phenomenon in the pop music world.

[4] As a result, the video features numerous adolescent girls including actresses Nicola Peltz, Liana Liberato, Hunter King, and Maiara Walsh.

[4][44] During the planning session, Cyrus showed Ratner a collection of personal items her ex had given her, such as photographs and his dirty socks, which she had stowed away beneath her bed.

Cyrus then reappears, holding onto her necklace and wearing a multicolored sequin sundress designed by Sass & Bide,[45] black Chuck Taylor All-Stars, and leg warmers.

As Cyrus continues to sing, she is replaced by more girls holding different items, including teddy bears, stuffed animals, snow globes, and love letters.

At one point, Cyrus holds a photograph of her and an ex-boyfriend with black curly hair, his face obscured by a doodle on a piece of notebook paper.

[48] Todd Martens of the Los Angeles Times was disappointed with the video's special effects and production values, adding that it looked "as if it were filmed with one camera on a tripod in a single-bulb basement".

[19] Henry Freeland of Paste magazine said, "Cyrus wiggles to and fro, mugging for the camera like her face is fighting gravity and barely winning.

[49] The review continued that it was mildly angry, comparing Cyrus to "a watered-down version of Avril Lavigne's kid sister, and Lindsay Lohan's pseudo-rebellious character in Freaky Friday — minus the eyeliner".

"[50] Molly Lambert of The New York Times described Cyrus as the video's "charismatic center" and writes, "When she flashes Nick's dog tags and a picture of the two of them together, she seems so vindictive and so embarrassingly vulnerable, just like .

[52] Cyrus first live performance of "7 Things" took place on May 17, 2008, at the 2008 Zootopia, an annual summer concert put on by radio station Z100.

[63] Melinda M. Thompsen of The Oregonian said Cyrus' performance of "7 Things" the September 14 concert in Portland, Oregon at the Rose Garden Arena "showed what a powerhouse she can be using her voice and influence to get her message out".

[64][65] She later performed the song at the Rock in Rio concerts in Lisbon, Portugal and Madrid, Spain 7 Things has sold more than 1,500,000 million copies in the United States.

In 2021, Cyrus began performing "7 Things", at music festivals, for the first time since 2011's Gypsy Heart Tour, reintroducing the song during her Lollapalooza set.