Whilst grieving for her late boyfriend (her Glee co-star Cory Monteith) Michele contacted Sia, with whom she had previously collaborated on her album, to write the song with her.
"But I'm just thankful now, I think in any sense, whether it's difficult or whether it's good, music is such therapy, so for me this album as a whole has been very therapeutic and each song has helped me in a different way.
Jason Lipshutz of Billboard wrote, "If You Say So" takes place a week after the passing of its unnamed subject, with Michele repeating the phrase "seven whole days" while trying to shake off the numbness she feels.
The final verse is the most harrowing, with Michele declaring, 'I check my phone and wait to hear from you in a crowded room,' and the music builds as she concludes, 'I thought we would grow old/Mirrors in the smoke/Left me here to choke.
'"[3] Jessica Urgiles from The State Press wrote, "In "If You Say So", Michele reflects on the last conversation she had with Monteith and her inability to cope with his death.
The rawness of the song will touch the hearts of Gleeks with its emotional and sincere lyrics, 'I can’t get away from the burning pain, I lie awake/And the fallen hero haunts my thoughts/How could you leave me this way?