The track was written by Adam Schlesinger and Andy Chase, while production was handled by them in addition to Kurt Ralske.

In 1994, Ivy formed in New York City following a meeting between Andy Chase and French-native Dominique Durand.

After acquiring musician Adam Schlesinger, they recorded several songs which would later appear on their first extended play (EP), Lately (1994).

[4] At the time of its release, the "Beautiful" single was distributed during outings for Ivy's national tour to promote Realistic.

[5] In a retrospective review of Ivy's back catalog, a staff member at the Ectophiles' Guide recommended the song to its readers as one of the best on Realistic, and listed album tracks "Decay" and "Shallow" as two others.