Heartfirst

It was released to country music radio on April 8, 2022, as the first single from Ballerini's fourth studio album, Subject to Change.

The final recording was one semitone higher than the demo and slightly faster in tempo, which according to Ballerini made the song "brighter".

[3] Ballerini also sang her own harmonies on the recording, with some parts of the song featuring eight vocal tracks dubbed over each other.

[4][5] Billy Dukes of Taste of Country wrote of the song, "A dreamy, acoustic open pins a vibrant arrangement that sits deeper in the mix than much of what Ballerini has released before.

[1] Rebecca Mills of Culturess positively compared the song to Taylor Swift's album Fearless.