While its lyrics focus mainly on themes of romance, perseverance and devotion, Return of the Tender Lover incorporates pop-soul love songs as well as elements of old-school R&B that evokes some his earlier work.

[4] Return of The Tender Lover is the singer's first solo album since Playlist (2007), and his first consisting of only original material since Grown & Sexy (2005).

[5] Following the release of his collaborative album with Toni Braxton, Love, Marriage & Divorce (2014) which was a commercial success, Babyface finished Return of The Tender Lover with Daryl Simmons and Kameron Glasper.

[13] Andy Kellman of AllMusic gave the album four stars out of five, calling it "smooth, all about romance, devotion and perseverance" while adding that it's "among Babyface's best".

[14] Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe gave the album a B−, stating that "Babyface remains polished yet funky...", realizing that he "can't compete with the obsessive bedpost-rattling Ty Dolla Signs and The Weeknds of the world".