[2] According to AllMusic's Andy Kellman, Based on a True Story is a pop album with influences from country, rock, and adult contemporary.

[3] Jonathan Bernstein of Entertainment Weekly the songs "Any Which Way" and "Everyday Angels" as a "lurching rocker" and an "Oprah-ready anthem of gratitude", respectively.

[4] Locke covers Freda Payne's 1970 single "Band of Gold" as a bonus track; she performed the song as a contestant on American Idol, along with Frenchie Davis.

[4] Gordon Ely of Billboard praised it as "powerfully performed and perfectly presented", and referred to Locke as "a major new artist in the making".

[3] Despite his positive response to Locke's experimentation with musical genres, Bernstein wrote that she "fails to inject personality into these songs".