"Lay It On Me" has a piano-driven melody and is laced with 808s and high NRG beats; the lyrics centre on Rowland describing sexual encounters with a lover.

An accompanying music video features interactions with Sean, as well as scenes including Rowland stroking an elephant and dancing with a troupe of black dancers against a white backdrop.

"Lay It On Me" was met with a positive response from music critics who generally praised the sex appeal of the song, progressive production and suggestive lyrics.

Big Sean follows with equally sexual lines like "The king of California kings/ You gotta call me sire/ Watch me lay it down/ And I ain't even tired.

A reviewer from the Sydney Star Observer described the song as a "slinky club banger," which was catchy and had the potential to be "another winner" for Rowland.

"[10] MTV Buzzworthy's Jenna Hally Rubenstein praised the song's "dopeness," stating that Rowland uses "Lay It on Me" to show "how she likes to uhhhh, get down."

In his review Capobianco said the song did nothing to help Rowland "establish her singularity" as the "diagramed arrangements" were "new iterations of the formula set out for many other female pop and R&B artists.

[16] Entertainment website Idolator described Rowland as getting up close and personal with the hunky male dancers as well as playing with Suzy the baby elephant.

Idolator's Robbie Daw wrote a positive reception, commenting: "There’s plenty of not-so-subtle imagery, such as when Kelly stretches out a Slinky and rubs it all over her body (kids, really don’t try this at home), and her co-star Susie The Elephant takes its trunk and, er, lays it on Rowland.

"[20] MTV News's Jocelyn Vena wrote that "Rowland puts her sexuality on full display, wearing several skin-baring bodysuits.

"[21] A publication of Rap-Up wrote that "the R&B diva piles on more sex as she gets intimate with her half-naked male co-stars (woah der), fondles a slinky, cozies up to an elephant, and flirts with Big Sean.