"[3] They originally sat down to write a song about a woman suffering a breakup and still wishing for her ex to be happy, but Barrett decided to turn it toward a more revengeful nature: "The fact is that sometimes we hope for the worst when it comes to our exes.

"[6] After the single reached number one and its popularity on streaming services began to skyrocket, American singer-songwriter Charlie Puth messaged Barrett on Instagram expressing how much he loved the song and wanted to remix it.

[7] In a review for Goldmine, Bob Paxton of Sounds Like Nashville called the song "the anthem for every heartbroken girl" and praised the songwriters for exploring a "new angle on the "woman scorned" theme.

"[8] Markos Papadatos of Digital Journal wrote that Barrett "is able to convey a wide range of raw emotions" in the song and that "I Hope" proves she has "everything it takes to become the next big female star in the country genre.

"[9] Mike Wass of Idolator wrote that "I Hope" is the "rowdiest, most biting country breakup anthem since Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats".

[13] Barrett performed the song live at the 54th Annual Country Music Association Awards alongside Charlie Puth that was televised on November 11, 2020.

[21] Additionally, it replaced Maren Morris's "The Bones" at number one, making it the first time since 2011 that two back-to-back solo female artists topped the chart.