"Wherever I Go" is a funk rock, synth-pop and new wave music, featuring piano lines and a funk-driven rhythm, with lyrics on obsessive love.

Upon release, the song received universal acclaim from music critics, being praised for its bold production, danceable beats, unconventional instrumentation and Tedder's vocals.

Following the aesthetic presented on the cover of the single, created by Brazilian street artist Speto, the video's theme is based on a quote from Henry David Thoreau's 1854 book Walden: "The mass of mankind lead lives of quiet desperation", and focuses on a day in the life of a Korean businessman (Kenneth Choi), stuck in his daily routine.

[5] "Wherever I Go" was written and produced by Tedder, Kutzle and Zancanell, and runs for 2 minutes and 49 seconds, the shortest single OneRepublic had released at that point.

Speaking on BBC Radio 1, Tedder discussed how hard OneRepublic worked to make the song sound fresh and current, but still organic.

"[6] Speaking to NME, Ryan Tedder explained the background to the song's different sound: "We were listening to a lot of late '90s French and Italian disco records - stuff like Daft Punk, Cassius, Justice," he said.

[9] Dana Getz of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Wherever I Go" is "a powerful funk-punctuated blast of a track with steam kettle squeals and a come-to-Jesus hook".

[11] Idolator writer Robbie Daw's first impressions were "The first word that comes into mind while listening is “dramatic.” And then, right when the song builds up to its booming climax, it ends".

The band's aim to sound more live is effective, and the build up almost mirrors the energy of an EDM banger, but without coming across as synthetic".

[13] Rob Copsey from Official Charts said the song is a "stadium pop-rock stomper", writing "the track has many of the hallmarks of a OneRepublic hit".

Within the video, actor Kenneth Choi plays a businessman who faces an uneventful, colorless world of black, white and gray on a daily basis.

However, upon meeting a woman, played by actress Yvonne Lu,[15] whom he presumably falls in love with, he subsequently puts down his briefcase, symbolising the idea of him leaving his regular, insipid characteristics behind him.

[18] The band performed the song live for the first time after its release on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on May 19, 2016, in Rockefeller Center, New York City.