The electropop song features a vocoder-backed chorus and lyrics that describe the protagonist's willingness to take risks in a relationship.

"Mistakes" received acclaim from music critics, who commended its pop sound and catchiness paired with its detailed production.

Joanna Nordahl directed the accompanying music video in which Styrke portrays a bride who runs away on her wedding day.

[1] The two reportedly spent months "perfecting" the song and the structure of the chorus was altered several times, before they settled on a "stomping vocoder breakdown".

[8][9] The song was digitally released on 15 September 2017 through Sony Music,[10] alongside an accompanying lyric video uploaded to Styrke's official YouTube channel.

[1] Raisa Bruner of Time identified the instrumental backdrop as "boom-clap drums, echoing synth, [and] a bubblegum keyboard", while describing Styrke's vocals as "accessible" and "nimble".

[18][22] The production incorporates sound effects and samples from various sources, including a flickering street-light lamp and a buzzing bee, that correlate with the lyrics.

[20] Regarding its lyrical theme, Styrke divulged to The Fader that the song is about "embracing your wrongs, letting go of yourself and not being perfect",[25] and further elaborated to V that it speaks of "never really feeling like you can stay in a place, and that sort of urge to ruin things, and do what you shouldn't".

David Smyth of the London-based Evening Standard selected the song as one of the best tracks the week of its release, writing that "Tove Styrke is overdue a breakthrough in this country.

[29] Bruner, writing for Time, considered the song a "fresh new sound of pop", exclaiming that the singer "doesn't shy away from stripping her tracks down to their absolute catchiest elements".

[21] Simon Österhof of Västerbottens-Kuriren called the song "fantastic",[30] and Lindsay Howard of Variance declared it a "pop gem".

[27] Mas Karin Gustafsson, whose review appeared in Nya Wermlands-Tidningen, called the song catchy and the best track on Sway.

[31] PopMatters critic Steve Horowitz deemed the song "brilliant" and opined that Styrke "sings the lyrics with infectious bravado and a touch of vulnerability".

[32] Hannah Mylrea of NME viewed the song as "the glorious musical equivalent of getting butterflies in your stomach" and called it "pure pop perfection".

[33] Similarly, Margaret Farrell from Pitchfork wrote that the "pleasure of Sway is in the witty, unexpected details", highlighting the zipper and phone sounds on "Mistakes".

[35] The song received a gold certification by the Swedish Recording Industry Association (GLF), indicating over four million streams in Sweden.

"[25] With the video's concept, Nordahl wanted to avoid a "typical love story", stating that they "ended up speaking about religious symbolism, the Madonna–whore complex, femininity, 90s rom-coms, Britney Spears, and the well behaved, wholesome bride as a traditional representation of the 'perfect woman'".

[43] Regarding her styling in the video, she told Fashionista that "it's this romantic theme with the wedding dresses, pink, red lips and lots of lashes.

Styrke continues to run through different scenery including a field and a forest until she reaches a cliff facing the ocean during the song's bridge.