It was released on November 14, 2019, as the seventh single from Lauv's debut studio album, How I'm Feeling (2020).

[2] Speaking about the track, Lauv stated "I started 'Mean It' from the perspective of what I thought somebody might want to say to me (I’m not perfect and I’ll be the first to admit it).

Paul [Klein] and I had been talking about working together for a long time, then one day I texted him the idea for the song and it just clicked".

[3] The music video for "Mean It" was released on December 17, 2019.

[4] Set in the deserts of Los Angeles, it features Lauv and LANY's lead singer Paul Klein dancing around painted red rocks and a vintage convertible car.