It was written by the Weeknd, Doc McKinney, Cirkut, Prince 85, Cashmere Cat, Dylan Wiggins, and Billy Walsh, and produced by the former five.

On February 24, 2023, the Weeknd released a remix of "Die for You" with American singer-songwriter Ariana Grande, which was included on the deluxe edition of Starboy.

[7][8] The song was also scheduled to be sent to US contemporary hit radio on December 5, but its release to the format in the country was cancelled for unknown reasons.

[11] As a result, the song would begin receiving contemporary hit radio airplay in early August 2022, following its initial cancellation from the release in 2017.

[15] In an interview with Zane Lowe, the Weeknd stated that "Die for You" was the final song finished for Starboy, and that it was difficult to write, specifically its lyrics.

[16] Mosi Reeves of Rolling Stone said that the song "is a euphoric slow jam where he finally summons the poetic sincerity he mined so easily in the past.

"[17] Christopher Hooton of The Independent said that the song "has a tragic ecstasy to it befitting an end of the world party that happens to fall on New Years’ Eve.

[20] In late 2021 and throughout 2022, "Die for You" saw an increase in consumption as the song went viral on the social media platform TikTok alongside fellow album track "Stargirl Interlude".

[29] On November 25, 2021, to celebrate the five-year anniversary of Starboy's release, the Weeknd surprise-released the music video for "Die for You", directed by Christian Breslauer.

On October 4, 2021, an unreleased remix of "Die for You" featuring singer-songwriter SZA premiered on the eighteenth episode of the Weeknd's Apple Music 1 radio show Memento Mori, following a streaming surge the song received in September of that year.

[116] A remix of "Die for You" with American singer Ariana Grande was released on February 24, 2023, alongside an accompanying lyric video uploaded to YouTube.

[118] The song marks the fourth collaboration between the Weeknd and Grande, after "Love Me Harder" (2014), "Off the Table" (2020), and the remix of "Save Your Tears" (2021).

The Weeknd joined Michael Jackson as the only male soloists in history to have multiple number one hits on the Hot 100 from three albums.