Lee described "What You Want" as a departure from the band's previous sound and said she was inspired to write the song by several experiences she had with her fans.

"What You Want" was written by Amy Lee, Terry Balsamo, and Tim McCord in New York City and the production was handled by Nick Raskulinecz.

[4] Lee stated the song was inspired by and talked about her relationship with the band's fans, and the realization that following a music career "is what I'm supposed to do".

"[5] Speaking about the sound, Lee described "What You Want" as "very danceable" and her own vocals as "fun and snappy and it gives a cool dynamic [to the song]".

Lee revealed that she was initially embarrassed when she came up with the lyrics and the melody of the song as she thought the members of her band would think she was Janet Jackson due to the usage of a hook.

[7] On August 22, 2011 Lee went to Toronto's Liberty Studios, to preview 5 mastered songs from Evanescence to a selected crowd of thirty people.

Fans who identified an Evanescence song using the SoundTracking application and shared it to Twitter, using the hashtag #Evcomeback, entered themselves to win an album from the band.

[17] Kara Klenk of the same publication also confirmed the positive reception adding, "In the fast-paced music world where artists need to constantly reinvent themselves and pump out music, videos, appearances, and tours to keep their fans happy and interested, it's rare for a band to take a multi-year hiatus and come back to legions of fans who have anxiously awaited their return.

[24] Several critics noted that some of the gothic and metal elements were prominent in the band's previous material, mostly due to their songs' piano-driven melody.

[19] Lewis Corner of the website Digital Spy noted that the classical strings present in the song reinforced the band's medieval influences.

[25] Dane Prokofiev of PopMatters further compared the song with Korn's music[21] while Rick Florino of Artistdirect noted similarities to works by Depeche Mode.

[19] Laurie Tuffrey of NME summarized the song as a "standard goth-pop fare, full of rapid drum breaks, swathes of fuzzy riffing and a catchy, chant-friendly chorus.

[23][28] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard said that in the song, Lee is "trying to convince a romantic partner to stop 'spiraling down, down, down' and help her find a new beginning.

"[32] Talking about the lyrical content of the song, Laurie Tuffrey of NME opined: "It's quite hard to tell what the song's about, with lots of references to 'the unknown' and 'the pain', and it confusingly switches between suggesting people 'do what you want you want, if you have a dream for better' in the first verse and the decidedly creepier final chorus where Lee seemingly gets an ex-lover on the blower, only to tell them 'Hello, hello, it’s only me, infecting everything you love'.

"[20] Scott Shetler of Pop Crush described the song as a "forceful rock track that reminds fans why the group was one of the most successful crossover acts of the past decade" and praised Lee's "strong-but-pretty vocals".

"[6] Tom Goodwyn of the same publication wrote: "A big thumping drumbeat and driving guitar riff kick things off, before giving way to a stomping chorus written with NFL stadiums in mind.

"[33] Karen Bliss of the magazine Rolling Stone praised Lee's "haunting" and "crystalline" vocals in the "industrial-strength sound" of "What You Want".

[9] Nick Catucci of the same publication gave the song three stars writing, "Amy Lee trades anguish for defiance, goosing her wail with welcome sass.

Club wrote: "Lee really can sing, and the opener 'What You Want' shows she has the pipes (and even the submerged spunk) to become the new Pat Benatar this generation desperately needs.

"[36] In another review for the same publication, Matthew Perpetua wrote that the "heaviness is less top-heavy" in the song before adding that the band "never sounded so brisk and dynamic".

[39] Robert Copsey of Digital Spy described the song as a "hefty slab of dramatic rock which includes the band's trademark electric guitars with melodic choruses".

He further praised the "catchy-as-cholera" chorus and gave a mixed review about the lyrics and the title saying "fortunately their words seemed to have been a touch overzealous; though it's clear from the trailer for the group's third album that they've been spending a night or two on the tiles.

"[27] Lewis Corner of the same publication concluded: "'What You Want' proved... the band's melodious rock sensibilities remain firmly in tact [sic]".

[25] Tamar Anitai of MTV, Theon Weber of Spin, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic and Edna Gundersen of USA Today chose the song as an album highlight.

"[45] Marc Hirsh of The Boston Globe found a "metallic lurch playing off of Lee's goth-empress vocals" in the song.

[56] On September 3, the song debuted at number one on the UK Rock Chart, removing Evanescence's own single "My Immortal" (2003) from the top spot.

[59] The filming of the music video for "What You Want" started on July 30, 2011 in a warehouse in Brooklyn, New York, and it was directed by Meiert Avis and Stefan Smith.

She further praised the lighting, the photographs and the mood which according to her, were "perfection, especially the city scapes at night and the intense looks on the fans faces, as they are enraptured by Lee.

[70][71] While reviewing a concert by the band, Rick Florino of Artistdirect wrote that Lee sounded "pristine and powerful" during the chorus of the song.

He further praised Tim McCord's bass and Terry Balsamo's guitar, "volleying with Troy McLawhorn as Evanescene's methodical metallic theatrics hypnotized.