For a period of time, prior to the release of Eye to the Telescope, the demo versions of "If Only" and "Other Side of the World" were available for download free of charge on Tunstall's website.

[3] The music video for "If Only" was directed by James Caddick and filmed at the Olympic Ski Jumping Hill (Lysgårdsbakken) in Lillehammer, Norway.

Reviewers for Channel 4 praised the song for its "chirpy chorus and beaming harmonies" and gave it eight stars out of ten.

[5] Christopher Hammer of AllGigs.co.uk gave it three stars out of five, calling it an "[almost] perfect song for a lazy Sunday afternoon drive".

[6] Sarah Walters of the Manchester Evening News was less impressed, viewing the song's "chart-ready pop" sound and "bah-bah-bah backing vocals" as a step backwards from her earlier hits such as "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree", and gave it two stars out of five.