Heart to Yours is primarily a contemporary gospel album, which incorporates elements of other styles and genres such as neo-soul, inspirational, R&B and rock music.

Writing on her vocal performances, critics drew comparisons to Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Ross, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott.

[12] After the release of Survivor, the group announced in early 2002 a temporary break-up to focus on solo projects, including working on their own albums.

[14] Williams worked in the studio with several musical collaborators, including Scott “Shavoni” Parker, Damon Elliott, Warren Campbell and gospel producer HR Crump.

"[16] She echoed this sentiment in speaking with Billboard about the album and its artistic direction, saying: "Some people will do gospel when their career fails, but I chose to do it at the height of the popularity of Destiny's Child.

[15] The album features guest vocals by various artists, including Williams' Destiny's Child bandmates – Kelly Rowland and Beyoncé Knowles – on "Gospel Medley" (originally produced for the group's 2001 album, Survivor) which consists of an interpolation of Kirk Franklin's "Holy is the Lamb", the popular Anna B. Warner hymn "Jesus Loves Me" and concludes with the famous final section of Richard Smallwood's "Total Praise".

[21] In discussing the collaborations, Williams said it was "no problem" to connect with the featured artists on the album, saying "a phone call was made and we were already cool with one another.

William Ruhlmann of AllMusic complimented the non-hasty production of the album, noting that "there are different producers on nearly every track, and the arrangements for the most part are state-of-the-art urban contemporary efforts".

[24] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine also described Williams' voice was "warm", noting that it recalls "the playful wisps of her R&B contemporaries (Jill Scott, Erykah Badu) and the breathy timbre of Diana Ross".

Cinquemani then described the album as being "a mix of slick hip-hop-style beats, inspirational themes and catchy, pop-friendly hooks" with "admirable", "largely restrained arrangements", lending particular praise to the "surprisingly eloquent (and non-denominational) sentiment" that is featured within the lyrics of the album's title track ("Heart to Yours").

[23] Tracy Hopkins of Rolling Stone magazine gave the least favorable review however, stating that despite Williams' collaborations with contemporary gospel singers, they "only reinforce the thin-piped vocalist's shortcomings".

Hopkins also wrote that although Williams "is in the right place", her vocals are "too quiet" and the production is too "tame to start a real Holy Ghost party".

[19] On the contrary, Mike Rimmer of Cross Rhythms gave a very favorable review of the album (10/10), describing "the quality" as being "superb throughout" and "Michelle's soulful laid back vocals" as being "delicious throughout".

[22] While her musical cohorts were finishing their projects, Williams' management strategically planned a successive release of their albums to avoid "rivalry" on the charts.

[26] Between October and December, 2002, "Heart to Yours" appeared several times as a 'New & Active' title receiving airplay but did not debut in the Urban AC Top 30.