Michelle performed "Hard to Do" at the BET Awards 2015, as part of a set with American singers Tamar Braxton and Patti LaBelle, and at the Power 107 Bash.

[2] Derek Blythe performed the guitar on the track; the vocals were produced by Atterberry and recorded by C Travis Kr8ts, with additional assistance from Jared Lynch and the Soundz.

[3] On April 17, 2015, "Hard to Do" was released as the fourth single from Michelle's second studio album Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart?

[2][7][12] Sarah Godfrey praised the single as "uniquely beautiful",[7] and a writer from The Rickey Smiley Show identified it as the strongest track from the album.

[12] Mike Wass positively responded to Michelle's vocals on "Hard to Do", and described the song as "another gripping, intensely autobiographical (and explicit) ballad".

"[15] On April 28, 2015, Michelle also released a photo of herself posing in a bathtub while wearing a thong and fishnets; Mike Wass called it an "eye-popping, pulse-quickening glimpse".

[16] She sings with a zebra in a white room while dressed in a striped bodysuit,[5] and performs in a bathtub surrounded by flamingos while wearing only a black thong and pink feathers.

[18] Emily Tan of The Boombox wrote that the singer chooses to follow a "playful route" and "channels her wild side" through the release.

Tan interpreted the video's emphasis on animals as connected to the song's sexual content and how Michelle "get[s] in touch with her primal senses".

Diana Renee Williams of The Augusta Chronicle praised Michelle's performance, writing that it "showcas[ed] her relevance on the R&B music scene and solidif[ied] her talent as a solo artist".