[1] Furtado said she "kind of hit bottom" a week before writing the song, elaborating that she had been going through a rough patch in her life at the time.

[5] The first song they wrote together was "Flatline",[2] which emerged from Congleton's criticism of the pre-prepared GarageBand demos Furtado had created in preparation for their sessions.

[7] While recording The Ride, Congleton introduced Furtado to people involved in the local Texan art scene, including Samantha McCurdy, who created the album cover.

It consists of Furtado clutching a bouquet of flowers and two hands holding a pyramid-shaped piece of wood behind her, while a green protrusion on the right side of the image closes in on her face.

I like that it conveys a feeling of humility," and explained that disabling comments on the image was in part a reaction to the negative response to her performance of "O Canada" at the 2016 NBA All-Star Game.

[11] Furtado promoted the album by doing many interviews and performances with BBC Breakfast,[12] Loose Women,[13] Q,[14] Larry King Now,[15] Forbes,[16] GQ,[17] Refinery29,[18] Billboard,[19] Paper,[20] Idolator,[21] Maclean’s,[22] The Today Show,[23] and Late Night with Seth Meyers.

[29] Furtado released "Behind Your Back", a song that she called "a palate cleanse" and "an appetizer" for her then-untitled sixth studio album, on 13 July 2016.

[45] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic compared The Ride to Furtado's 2003 album Folklore, but said that "she hasn't abandoned the deep bass and dance beats that propelled Loose".

"[42] Slant Magazine also compared the album to Folklore, and praised Furtado's "refusal to play to type [which] ultimately makes her something of a pop maverick—impossible to pin down but also improbably distinct".

[46] Although Clash complimented Furtado's vocals and songwriting, it was critical of Congleton's production, calling some of the electronic songs "jarring".

While comparing The Ride with the work of other artists, she said, "It's difficult to avoid making endless comparisons when an album feels so miserably storyboarded ...