The song, written and produced by Keys and Swizz Beatz, features guest vocals by American singer Beyoncé.

The song was more successful in Australia, where it peaked at number eighteen and was certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for selling over 70,000 units.

An accompanying music video, directed by Melina Matsoukas, was shot in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Previews from the video portray Keys and Beyoncé dancing and singing around Rio, with locations including two favelas and the Sambódromo.

"Put It in a Love Song" was performed live with Knowles for the first time on March 17, 2010, at New York City's Madison Square Garden.

[6] A writer of The New York Times also compared the song with "Single Ladies" saying that it had a similar "thumping, step-dancing atmosphere".

'Love Song' is an oddly mechanical number that lurches from diva to diva but somehow doesn't fall over..."[10] Andrew Burgess of MusicOMH called it one of the album's "standout moments", describing it as having "the Sasha Fierce brashness" and that "the always fantastic Beyoncé takes a notable backseat to Keys for a delightful and surprising change of pace".

[7] Nick Levine of Digital Spy said, "Beyoncé nearly manages to jolt Keys out of her midtempo comfort zone on 'Put In A Love Song', encouraging 'A' to show her sassy side over bootyshakin' Swiss Beatz rhythms.

"[15] Ron Wynn of The City Paper noted that Keys matches Knowles "in force and attitude" on the song.

[16] Jim Farber of Daily News commented that Knowles' "gymnastic style" during the song, overshadowed Keys' vocals.

"[18] USA Today negatively stated "The only one that seems out of place is the club anthem 'Put It in a Love Song', a collaboration with Beyoncé that's catchy but ultimately underwhelming, considering the talents involved.

"[19] James Reed of The Boston Globe stated "in high vamping mode, has already made its way to radio, but it’s a slip of a song, coasting on its contagious chorus and delivering little more.

"[21] That was somehow echoed by Tyler Lewis of PopMatters who said, "In fact, when she shares a song with Beyoncé—the contemporary queen of pointless bombast—Keys' weakness in this arena is startingly apparent.

The song was more successful in Australia, where it peaked at number eighteen and was certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for selling over 35,000 units.

The music video for "Put It in a Love Song" was directed by Melina Matsoukas,[23] and was filmed at several locations on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,[24] on February 9, 2010.

[30]In a September 2020 interview for Stereogum, Keys stated she is trying to find where the video is, aiming to release it as a treat to the fans as she feels "at this point in our lives, since we've been able to do our thing and we all get that was a cool moment between us, we might both be at the place where we can say, 'Let's just throw it out there for fun'".