Grace Slick and Mickey Thomas, co-lead vocalists of Starship at the time, provide additional background vocals on the song.

The song was originally recorded in 1982 by Canadian rock group Toronto, of which songwriters Sheron Alton and Brian Allen were members.

Later, Michael McCarty at ATV Music Publishing was reviewing his song catalogue when he came across "What About Love".

Cash Box said of the single that it "retains the punch of [Heart's] hard rock tinged mid-’70s successes with a new vocal and melodic pliability," also saying that it has "less emphasis on guitar solos and more songwriting focus.

"[2] The song's chorus was featured in a series of Swiffer WetJet TV commercials from late 2010 into the following year.