A midtempo pop and R&B song, it features Latin music and hip hop influences, with lyrics revolving around the beginning of a new relationship, during which Lopez confronts her admirer with a number of ground rules.

The provocative video received heavy rotation on MTV networks internationally, allowing Lopez to establish herself in a field that was primarily dominated by Janet Jackson and Madonna.

[5] "If You Had My Love" was produced by Rodney Jerkins; Lopez recorded her vocals for the song at Sony Music Studios in New York City with engineers Franklyn Grant and Robb Williams.

[21] Billboard writer Leslie Richin wrote that it "served as a cautionary tale for admirers who might one day have a chance with the budding starlet.

"[19] Lopez explained in her book True Love (2014) that the lyrics refer to "the beginning of a new relationship and what I expect and what I want", saying that "there's a little bit of fear in there too, and a feeling of, what will you do if I give you my heart?

Lopez might remind listeners of the funkier side of Vanessa Williams [...] Curiosity alone will propel this onto the pop and R&B airwaves; at that point, the hook, along with an undoubtedly compelling video clip, should take this debut far.

Johnson also observed: "Considering the dustbins filled with movie stars' vanity discs, why expect this actress' recording debut to be hit-bound?

[31] However, Jerome Joseph, also from the Los Angeles Times, was not as positively receptive of the single, arguing that it sounded like a "Brandy or Monica reject", and called Lopez "Paula Abdul 2000".

[32] Similarly, Hartford Courant writer Roger Catlin stated that the song is "more of a bland R&B number that could have been sung by anybody", suggesting it has "little Latin flair".

[33] While Scott Iwasald of the Deseret News characterized Lopez's vocals as "sultry" but thin, he noted that she finds a "nice ring" in songs such as "If You Had My Love".

[34] A retrospective review by Tom Breihan of Stereogum bemoaned that in spite of production showcasing "state-of-the-art late-’90s R&B flutter-gleam" and Lopez's convincing delivery, the song was "overly repetitive and a little too slow", particularly for trading a bridge for two more utterances of the chorus.

This week, "If You Had My Love" became the second song in the magazine's history to be number one on the Hot 100 and be the "Greatest Gainer" in both sales and airplay, after "Livin' La Vida Loca" in May.

Lopez, who had a specific idea of how she wanted the dance break to be, described the music video as a collaboration between herself, Hunter, Combs, and her manager Benny Medina.

"[68] Lopez's outfits and accessories in the music video included a white bikini top and low rise sweatpants,[69] a "plunging" gold necklace,[70] and a mini mirror dress during one of the dance sequences.

[72] The clip begins in a dark room, where a man (Rodriguez) searches "Jennifer Lopez" on his computer and is redirected to her website[74] (which is displayed by special effects emulating binary numbers).

[75] She appears in a number of settings, including a living room and crawling over a table, and is visibly aware of the viewers, waving to the camera before the song begins.

[78] In August 1999, a writer from Billboard discussed the video's international impact, writing that Lopez "isn't too far behind Ricky Martin as the leading light of Latin music in Asia.

"[79] Jeff Selamutu, a programming manner from Channel V, opined that Lopez "really pushed the envelope for international female artists" in the Asia-Pacific region, noting: "Up to now, it's only been Janet Jackson and Madonna.

[75] Breihan described the video as "a great little time-capsule image of the circa-Y2K internet", and praised the dance interlude, considering the segment "lively enough that I would always feel a serious energy dropoff when the main track came back".

"[74] In Rewind, Play, Fast Forward: The Past, Present and Future of the Music Video (2015), authors Henry Keazor and Thorsten Wübbena observed that "the idea of an online presence of a musical star was conceived and visualized" in the video, writing: "the singer was presented as a sort of 'belle captive' (as one could put it by quoting the title of a novel by Alain Robbe-Grillet), because she seems to be confined to a series of white, clinical rooms where everything is under observation".

[81] Justin Myers of the Official Charts Company said that the "reality TV-inspired video" which predated the UK version of Big Brother in fact resembled the first series, calling this "J-Lo's #impact".

[83] Monica Castillo of Cosmopolitan called Lopez's outfit "inexplicably sexy",[69] while Latina magazine writer Nichole Fratangelo said she "looked angelic in white but of course, she gave it a naughty twist".

[95][96] Describing it as the "first real intimate moment of the show", she wanted to perform a "pared down" version of the song so that it would feel like a conversation, "like I'm talking with the audience, sharing where I began and where I find myself now".

[23] Gerrick Kennedy of the Los Angeles Times wrote that while "Live ballads still aren't firmly in her wheelhouse", Lopez "sounded best" during the acoustic performance.

[97] Michele Amabile Angermiller of The Hollywood Reporter called the performance "a sweet and intimate moment", adding: "Sometimes, simply delivering a song without all the bells and whistles is enough.

[103] Following the release of "If You Had My Love", which according to Taylor was preceded by a "hype storm that has clapped like thunder for months",[26] Lopez rose to international visibility and was propelled to pop stardom.

[108] The release of "If You Had My Love" and On the 6 allowed Lopez to join an "elite circle" of actors who had successfully crossed over to music, becoming the first since Vanessa Williams in 1992 and Martika in 1989.

[11] Writing for Dazed, Kat George opined that Lopez was celebrity feminist, a premise that was defined by "If You Had My Love", which had a "succinct and demanding message about womanhood".

"[4] Chris Poppe, vice president of marketing for Epic Records, noted: "It was easy for the media to lump Jennifer into that, even though this is technically not a Latin album.

[11] In 2012, Lewis Corner of Digital Spy described "If You Had My Love" as an "R&B classic", which serves as "a firm reminder of her fiercely independent but hopeless romantic nature, which seems to reflect her colourful personal life".