The compilation of ballads presented a softer image for the singer and span over a decade, including a reworked version of "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" as well as three new songs: "You'll See", "One More Chance" and a cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You".

"You'll See" was released as the album's first single on October 23, 1995, accompanied by a Spanish version titled "Verás" and a music video directed by Michael Haussman.

"Oh Father", "One More Chance" and "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" were released as the follow-up singles, but gained little commercial response; the latter received a music video directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

"She knew it was time to make a change" as said by a member of her management team who claimed that she wanted to prove there was more to her than the constant media circus surrounding her.

[2] In August 1995, it was confirmed that Madonna had been working on a compilation album of full ballads, tentatively titled I Want You, which would be released around Christmas season.

[2] The new material for the album saw her collaboration with a well-known producer David Foster, who had worked with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Al Jarreau and Earth, Wind & Fire.

Other previously released material selected for the compilation were "Live to Tell" from True Blue (1986), "Oh Father" from Like a Prayer (1989), "Something to Remember" from I'm Breathless (1990), "Rain" from Erotica (1992), as well as "Take a Bow" and "Forbidden Love", both from Bedtime Stories (1994).

Throughout the chord changes progression to give Madonna's vocals dominance in the song, and after a minute the percussion starts with a tremolo guitar added later.

"[8] The opening track of the compilation, "I Want You" starts with a long introduction featuring a hip-hop drum beat with emphasis on the bass section of the instrumental alongside a semi-tonal string figure.

[18] The packaging included with the release showed Madonna looking "deliciously cosmopolitan" as she wore a tight-fit white cocktail attire, while the back cover artwork is predominantly more playful.

"[11] Designed as the Madonna album which would appeal to a larger audience in contrast to her previous records, Bedtime Stories and Erotica, the booklet featured red roses inside and a golden yellow flower on the back cover.

[11] According to The Guardian writer Caroline Sullivan who believed that Madonna removed her nose ring for the cover shot indicated she "wants the album to be taken on its own merits.

[24] In Japan, the album was released under the title Best of Madonna: Ballad Collection on November 10, 1995, containing her 1986 song "La Isla Bonita" as a bonus track.

[25] "La Isla Bonita" was re-released three months prior the compilation as a double A-side record with "Human Nature", the final single from Bedtime Stories.

Receiving gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), the song was added to Something to Remember track listing in the hope of boosting the album sales in the region.

It was originally intended as the album's first single, but cancelled due to contract problems between Madonna's label and Motown Records, the copyright owner of the song.

The song received poor commercial reception, peaking at number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100, while reaching the top forty in Australia and Canada.

[35][36] Its accompanying music video was directed in by Jean-Baptiste Mondino at the Confitería El Molino in Buenos Aires, Argentina, during Madonna's day off from filming Evita.

[1] Neil Strauss of The New York Times felt all the songs on the album "cohere better than a greatest-hits package would" and "they tell a story of their own, of a voice and attitude that have hardened in the dozen years that have elapsed between the bubble-gum-chomping innocence of 1983's 'Crazy for You' and the tortured torch singing of the new 'You'll See'.

Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey can sing circles (and octaves) around the most famous woman on the planet, but Madonna, through sheer force of personality sells her slow numbers with a panache few modern singers can match.

"[39] John Wirt from The Advocate said that the album shows that Madonna "can craft slow songs as effectively as she knocks out dance numbers" and found "an unaffected simplicity and sincerity" in her ballad singing.

[51] Writing for The Baltimore Sun, J. D. Considine believed that with the album "Madonna not only reminds us that there's more to her music than dance tunes, but also demonstrates that her voice is nowhere near as thin and chirpy as her detractors imagine."

"[52] Alwyn W. Turner in the book The Rough Guide to Rock stated that the album features "the best of her slow pieces" displaying that "Madonna had evolved over the years into an excellent ballad singer.

"[6] Tirzah Agassi from The Jerusalem Post said the arrangements on the new songs "show a great leap in sophistication" and felt that Madonna "has invested much in improving her vocal technique.

"[54] The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau dismissed the album with a "dud" rating,[43] which indicates "a bad record whose details rarely merit further thought".

[56][57] It stayed on the chart for 34 weeks and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of three million units.

[65] In Germany, the album reached number two on the Media Control Charts for two weeks and was certified platinum by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for shipping 500,000 copies.

[66][67] The album also reached the top ten of the charts in other European countries and peaked at number one in Austria, Finland and Italy, where it shipped more than 500,000 copies according to the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI).

[68] It stayed on the top 50 for 19 weeks and received quadruple platinum award from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 280,000 copies.

[76] Writing for Metro Silicon Valley, critic Gina Arnold deemed the release as a "triumph", labeling it as a "rare collection that has both a theme—ballads—and a measure of inspiration".