Perri drew inspiration for the song from a real-life experience with a love interest who wanted to rekindle a broken relationship.

After teaching herself to play six chords on the guitar, Perri wrote "The Perfect Man" about the same person "Jar of Hearts" describes.

[5] The song was featured on the singer's first EP titled The Ocean Way Sessions,[6] and has additionally appeared on Perri's debut album, Lovestrong.

[7] "Jar of Hearts" has been described as an autobiographical song for Perri, recalling an ex-boyfriend who wanted to reconnect after a tough breakup.

"Jar of Hearts" is a pop ballad that is about shunning the continued advances of a former flame who was ungrateful while together, yet now wants to rekindle a failed romance.

"[2] Perri stated that she does not know how to read or write sheet music, but knew how to perform certain piano chords, which were used in the song.

[12] Gavin Edwards of Rolling Stone described the song as "a wrenching, string-drenched ballad in which she delivers a kiss-off to an ex who won't stop hanging around.

[14] Much less impressed, giving it two stars out of a possible five, Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone described the song as both insipid and bombastic.

[8] Hill continued stating "There have been countless 'you did me wrong' songs through the history of pop music, but identifying a serial dater as a collector of broken hearts is one of the more unique ways of displaying both hurt and frustration," only to later conclude that the song is a bona fide hit and contains longevity making it an "impactful introduction" for Perri.

[8] Common Sense Media gave the song a rating of three-out-of-five stars, stating that although Perri is a "newcomer" to music, she proves that she can "hang with the big girls" with "Jar of Hearts",[9] and said she was vocally superior both to Selena Gomez and Hayley Williams of Paramore.

"[22] So You Think You Can Dance contestants Allison Holker and Kathryn McCormick appear as dancers in the music video, performing choreography by Stacey Tookey.

As Perri begins walking, a smoke reflection is shown over her chest, showing that her "jar" is empty - her heart is missing.

As the song continues, Perri walks through different scenarios of hearts being collected, all by the same man, whose "jar" is being filled.

This includes an intimate moment in a car and another in a phone booth, both of which leave the women whose hearts are stolen (through their mouths) with empty jars.

Towards the end of the video, Perri is watching as the collector, the love-interest, collects more hearts while dancing with different women.

[24] During the premiere of Perri's "Daydream," VH1 compared it to the music video of "Jar of Hearts" stating that it took a more cinematic route that "relied heavily on slow motion to connote emotions.

[29] On November 2, 2010, VH1 allowed Perri to perform the song, along with other tracks from her EP, in the elevator lobby as part of an ongoing "Live At VH1" series.

On February 18, 2012, she performed the song before the world heavyweight boxing championship fight between Vitali Klitschko and Derek Chisora in Munich.