It was released by Warner Bros. Records on October 10, 2000, in the United States to coincide with the premiere of her self-titled CBS sitcom.

Upon release, the album only reached number 69 on US Billboard 200, and Warner Bros. subsequently dropped Midler from its roster in 2001 because of declining record sales.

Was seems to conceive of Midler as a kind of pre-rock, neo-Brill Building performer, frequently putting her into mid-tempo pop arrangements of old R&B ballads [...] Fans of the bawdy Bette and the bathetic Bette may be disappointed, but the rest of her followers will enjoy the balance and consistency of this collection.

"[4] Richard Abowitz, writing for Rolling Stone, noted that Bette "finds Midler backed by her touring band, working ballads and vamps with a distinctive style perfected over decades of performing.

[10] This marked Midler's lowest-charting album by then, resulting into Warner Bros. subsequently dropping her from its roster in 2001 because of declining record sales.