[2] The song was a commercial hit, peaking at number five on the UK Singles Chart and reaching the top 10 in more than 15 countries, including Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Ireland, and Norway.

In the US, the song rose to number two on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for nine weeks, behind Los del Río's "Macarena".

[2] "I Love You Always Forever" is written in the key of C major in common time with a tempo of 104 beats per minute.

[7] The success of "I Love You Always Forever" earned Lewis a nomination for Best British Female Artist at the 1997 Brit Awards.

"I Love You Always Forever"'s chanted chorus, chugging rhythm, and bright melody make it obvious that the newcomer Donna Lewis, whose girlish voice often sounds like Cyndi Lauper's, knows the value of building tension and mood, even in a pop song.

Other scenes feature her against a black background, with snow boots on her hands against a wall, and playing a piano.

[citation needed] Billboard magazine ranked "I Love You Always Forever" number 408 in their list of "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time" in October 2023,[4] writing, "The gauziest pop smash of the mid-’90s, as soft and billowing and comforting as the fuzzy curtains Donna Lewis surrounds herself with in the song’s music video."

Kim Renfro added that it is a "true bop" that is reminiscent of Cyndi Lauper's music of 10 years earlier, but with "slightly more pizazz".

She was reluctant to include the song at all; but the track that appears on the album has a "completely different arrangement", and Lewis says she now likes it.