[8] A demo of the song was recorded by American singer Gwen Stefani under the title "My Heart Wants What It Wants", which leaked online in December 2022.

It is a midtempo pop and R&B song,[10][11] that contains a minimal electropop beat complete with finger snaps, ominous synths and haunting groans.

[12] She sings, "The bed's getting cold and you're not here / The future that we hold is so unclear / But I'm not alive until you call / And I'll bet the odds against it all... / There's a million reasons why I should give you up / But the heart wants what it wants.

[16] Lucas Villa of AXS favorably compared "The Heart Wants What it Wants" to the music of Lana Del Rey for Gomez's use of "trip hop beats, guitar and distorted Emile Haynie-styled yelps" alongside her "darkest" lyrics yet.

He further wrote that the song "stands as a heartbreaking revelation in her five-year-old songbook, one that's vulnerably beautiful and unapologetically honest.

"[13] Tim Sendra of AllMusic highlighted the song and praised it by calling it "very adult and real-sounding" and adding that "she acquits herself well here too.

"[10] When reviewing single, Music Times concluded: "Emotional song channels Justin Bieber drama but is still stunning on its own.

On the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which combines digital sales with radio and streaming performance, the song debuted at number twenty-five; the best entry of the week.

[25] After performing the song at the American Music Awards on November 23, 2014, Gomez received her second top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it reached number six, the same position obtained by "Come & Get It" in May 2013.

The music video was filmed in black and white in California and directed by Dawn Shadforth over a year before its release.

[31] In her presentation, Gomez wore a skin-colored dress, and the background consisted of images as dark lights, thorns, roses, broken glass and wings appeared behind her on the screen.

Caitlin White from MTV described the visuals as "amazing" and said: "It is a more mature song for Selena, but one that almost everyone in the audience could relate, given the intense and emotional response public.

"[34] After her presentation at the American Music Awards, the song went to number one on the Billboard Twitter Real-Time, position it had occupied in its release.