It was written and produced by Mike Sabath, with additional writing from LunchMoney Lewis, Balvin and Sean Douglas.

On 25 February 2018, the artists announced the song on social media while they were shooting the music video in Miami.

[10] Mike Nied of Idolator opined that the song could easily become Payne's "best track yet", writing that "the Latin-tinged crossover hit is sure to storm the charts across the globe and may become his most successful release to date".

[10] Shanté Honeycutt of Billboard said, "upon first listen, [the song] induces flashbacks to Justin Timberlake's "Señorita" [...] as does the video," though she also considered Payne and Balvin "made a hit" all on their own.

Payne and J Balvin performed "Familiar" on 15 May 2018 on Good Morning America,[13] and on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on 17 May 2018.