It was written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and Max Martin, and co-produced by Luke Ebbin.

"It's My Life" is Bon Jovi's most well-known post-1980s hit single and helped introduce the band to a new, younger fanbase.

[4] The song has many classic Bon Jovi features, such as Sambora's use of the talk box, and a line in the second verse "For Tommy and Gina, who never backed down" refers to Tommy and Gina, a fictional working class couple that Bon Jovi and Sambora first wrote about in their 1986 hit "Livin' on a Prayer".

"It's My Life" is also notable for its line referencing fellow New Jerseyan Frank Sinatra: "My heart is like an open highway / Like Frankie said / I did it 'My Way'."

Veteran critic Robert Christgau later hailed "It's My Life" as a "schlock-rock masterpiece" and "everyman anthem" with a lyric that is "all well-meaning Democrat-as-everyman Jon Bon Jovi".

[9] At the beginning, Tommy is watching a video of a Bon Jovi concert on his computer when he is ordered by his mother to take out the trash.

A much slower, acoustic ballad version of the song is featured on Bon Jovi's 2003 album This Left Feels Right, a collection of their greatest hits that were adapted into new formats.

At the 25th Annual Latin Grammy Awards on November 14, 2024, rapper Pitbull performed a cover of "It's My Life" under the title "Now or Never", featuring Jon Bon Jovi on chorus.

[99][100][101] On September 12, 2024, during Pitbull's show at the Jones Beach Theater in Long Island, Jon Bon Jovi made a surprise appearance before the duo performed "It's My Life".