"Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart" is a downtempo song written by Keys, NAJ - lyricist Patrick Reynolds and Jeff Bhasker in the key of F major (pesante) with a time signature in common time and a tempo of 83 beats per minute and combines elements of synths and drums to create a retro 1980s power ballad feel.

The basic chord progression of the song is B♭, C, and F.[2] In the lyrics, the narrator vows to move on from a failed relationship, but struggles to overcome constant thoughts of her lover.

Entertainment Weekly called it "insidiously, almost obscenely hooky: a slithering riff on early-'80s Prince with a monster synth line.

"[6] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone stated that "The superb Prince hommages, "Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart" and "This Bed," are experiments that pay off big, submerging Keys' pipes in unabashed 1980s synth cheese.

"[7] Andrew Burgess of MusicOMH referred to it as a "fever dream", citing it as a "standout moment" while Clover Hopes of Vibe magazine praised the song as "instantly timeless" and described it as a "gorgeous drum-powered exercise in vocal discipline (with its whispered huffs and puffs) that deals with the loss of a man's mere presence".

"[10] Randy Lewis of the LA Times was highly impressed with the track and wrote: "In "Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart," she's crafted an intriguing refrain: "I'm gonna find a way to make it without you .

[11] PopJustice said that the song is the album's "secret weapon" and called it "amazing", adding that it's "a head-explodingly brilliant, timeless 'n' modern R&B ballad".

There, some retro synth work lends a funky backdrop for Keys's breathy vamping, alternating disco-diva choruses with Prince-worthy verses".

[13] Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave the song four out of five stars, branding it as one of the stand out tracks from the album.

[14] He also stated that the verses were good because of Keys's breathy vocals with military-style drumming in the background, he felt the chorus was full of "palpable emotion".

The beat of the music then starts, showing what appears to be a purple sea at first, however is then shown to be Keys' bed sheets.

She then spots a dog having just collided with a car in the road, with a young girl crouching down by its side crying.

Scenes are then shown of her driving her BMW motorcycle with a purple laser beam increasing the speed of the bike.

Keys is then seen to appear back in the alley way, returning to her bike, however is stopped by the hooded figure, who turns out to be her lover.

The video then moves back to the original scene of Keys sitting on her bed, looking at the photograph of her lover, with a teardrop falling down the face onto the picture, turning it black.