[3][4] Townes stated that she wrote "When's It Gonna Happen" because "it’s a real and true window into my life right now and how I feel sometimes about being single".

[6] Gareth Williams of Belles & Gals gave a favourable review of the track, stating that it "builds through verses caught between contentment and yearning before bursting out in a guitar-led chorus of country-pop that express perfectly how so many in the same position feel", adding that Townes "stops short of selling coupledom as the ultimate goal of life.

[1] Top Country named "When's It Gonna Happen" their "Pick of the Week" for March 11, 2022, with the outlet saying it "tells the story of waiting on that particular moment of meeting that special someone and ultimately, believing in love," while labelling it a "song you do not want to miss out on".

[8] "When's It Gonna Happen" reached a peak of number seven on the Billboard Canada Country chart for the week of May 14, 2022, marking Townes' fifth career top ten hit.

[11][12] The official music video for "When's It Gonna Happen" premiered on YouTube on January 14, 2022, coinciding with the release of the song.