The album received a generally favorable reception upon its release; it was seen as a fair representation of her music career, while the new material was praised for its "mature" sound.

For You achieved moderate commercial success, debuting at number 24 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 36,000 equivalent album units during its first week of release.

The single went on to become her second top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, and sold over one million copies in the country.

Gomez performed the song live at the American Music Awards of 2014 the day before the album's release date.

[4] Following the cancellation of the planned third single from Stars Dance, rumors began circulating that Gomez would be parting ways with Hollywood Records.

[5] Gomez later cancelled the Australian and Asian legs of her Stars Dance Tour (2013), claiming she wanted to spend time with her family.

[6][7] Despite initially neglecting to comment, Gomez confirmed in 2015 that she had been diagnosed with an auto-immune disease named lupus, and that she had cancelled the tour and entered rehab to undergo chemotherapy.

[12] This decision fueled the rumors of Gomez leaving her label, and speculation began to arise that she was in talks with Interscope Records.

[19][20] The song lyrically speaks of a troubled romance, and was inspired by Gomez's publicized relationship with Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber.

[28] The fifth and final new release is "Más", the Spanish language version of a song taken from the Selena Gomez & the Scene album Kiss & Tell (2009).

On the project, Gomez stated "I love my music so much and that’s the idea of this album…kind of collecting the past four years and my favorite songs that I’ve been able to do from when I was 15 to now being 22.

AllMusic gave the album four out of five stars, writing "Gomez might not be a belter or have the electric personality of some of her contemporaries; what she does possess is style, a winning voice, and lots of good songs – as For You proves again and again.

"[1] AXS gave the album a score of three and a half, claiming that "Instead of just packaging her hits, Gomez's For You is layered with elements of her personality.

The album reflects Selena's highs and lows from the past five years in the industry and serves as closure to her time with Hollywood Records.

"[33] Idolator also gave the album a three and a half, and wrote "If you’ve slept on Selena’s music career, For You is a great starting point.

We've got the punky-emo cuts like "Falling Down" to salacious songs like "Come & Get It" and also uplifting anthems that have defined her musical career till date.

[41] The album rose to number thirty nine the next week, aided in part to the ongoing success of the project's lead single.

[49] For You had minor success in territories such as Italy, Norway, and Spain, reaching the lower part of the top forty in each country.