"Say It Right" attained worldwide success, topping the charts in the United States, New Zealand, and numerous European countries.

The accompanying music video for the song, directed by Rankin & Chris, features Furtado singing in various locations.

The process of creating the song began in the recording studio one morning at around 4:00 a.m., when Timbaland recommended that Furtado should go home because she was tired.

[1] Nate Hills and Timbaland soon joined her, writing and producing as they went, and according to Furtado, this process intensified as she sang.

[2] Furtado has cited the "spooky, keyboard-driven pop sound" of the band Eurythmics, particularly their 1983 song "Here Comes the Rain Again", as an influence on "Say It Right" and other tracks on Loose.

"[3] The song was played during the Miss Universe 2007 Introductory Ceremony,[5] the 2006 American Music Awards,[6] and Concert for Diana.

[7] Billboard magazine called the song "a Pussycat Dolls-inspired contempo jam, high on hooks and of-the-moment production.

"[8] About.com's Bill Lamb gave the song 4/5 stars, saying that with "Say It Right", "many pop music fans are likely to take a second look at purchasing [Loose]".

[6] IGN Music calls the song "...one of the brightest moments on the album" and "another throwback to the '80s" which "...lets loose with the most hypnotic chorus".

[9] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine considered the song "a dark meditative piece that would have fit on [Furtado's] previous records".

[10] The New York Times described the song as "building a groove from hard drums and ghostly, multitracked voices, and Ms. Furtado sings a melancholy chorus she doesn't quite believe", comparing the coda, with music getting louder and then slowly fading, "the way the best—and worst—nights out often do".

[11] Also, DJ Z's reviewed the song as "the only single in the world to work at both a club in Manhattan, and on a safari through the natives land of (fill in the blank).

"[12] The song received a nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, losing to Amy Winehouse's "Rehab".

[14] In the United States, the song was made available for airplay at mainstream contemporary hit radio stations on 30 October 2006.

[8] The song debuted on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart at number 22 on the issue dated 18 November.

[38] In Germany, it debuted at number two, where it stayed for nine non-consecutive weeks, behind DJ Ötzi and Nik P.'s "Ein Stern (...der deinen Namen trägt)", which topped the German chart for several months.

[50] The music video for "Say It Right" was directed by British duo Rankin & Chris and filmed in Los Angeles, California in late October 2006.

Furtado described the clip as "a throwback to the '80s ... the more surreal side" because the shots of her and Timbaland reminded her of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart in videos for Eurythmics' singles, and "the strange relationship [they] had, where ... you get this intense vibe from it.