[1] The song was written by Andrew Farriss and Desmond Child,[2] and was a tribute to Michael Hutchence, one of INXS' founders, who committed accidental suicide in 1997.

The video for the single features actress Estella Warren and J. D. Fortune in a loft in downtown Los Angeles.

J. D. Fortune walks alone on the empty Sixth Street Viaduct and is later joined by the rest of the band of INXS.

Music critic Matt Collar of the publication Allmusic praised the song as an "epic ballad", noting how it drew influence from U2's track "With or Without You".

[2] "Afterglow" peaked at number 24 in Australia on the ARIA Singles chart, spending 10 weeks in the top 50.