The song received critical acclaim upon its release.Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic noted that Grande allowed The Weeknd to 'suck up' the spotlight on the track. In the beginning, Grande wants a man to 'utterly satisfy her in moments of breath taking, space invading, pleasure, pain, lip biting and bliss,' singing: 'Baby, in that moment, you'll know this is/Something bigger than us and beyond bliss.' In the chorus, she lets her potential mate know that if he is really serious about keeping her, he has to up his game, warning: 'Cause if you want to keep me, you gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, got to love me harder/And if you really need me, you gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, got to love me harder.' Later, The Weeknd plays a role of a shady love interest with skeletons in his closet, with lines about 'how it feels for a woman to have intercourse,' followed by carnal promises, singing: 'Can you feel the pressure between your hips/ I’ll make you feel like the first time.' In the bridge, 'Grande and Weeknd trade provocative 'oohs'.' Critical reception Lyrically, the song has Grande demanding for romantic satisfaction, filled with double entendres about rough sex. Rob Copsey wrote for The Official Charts Company that 'Love Me Harder' is reminiscent of Drake's 'most emotional' songs like 'Find Your Love' (2010) and 'Hold On, We're Going Home' (2013), while Nick Levine of Time Out called the song a 'cross between Robyn and Mariah Carey'. He from Billboard described the song as 'A sparkling synthwave-R&B track that teeters on the edge of explicit-and is all the more seductive for it'. It is a midtempo synth-pop and R&B ballad, which starts small and mellow, before having 'a 'throbbing', electro-heavy chorus', with a guitar riff, while 'big vacuum-esque synths zip' are heard throughout the track. Grande's vocals range from the note of E 3 to F# 5.
According to the sheet music published at by Kobalt Music Group, the song is composed in the key of C# minor with a moderately tempo of 100 beats per minute. The song is a duet Grande and The Weeknd. It was produced by Payami and Peter Carlsson, while Svensson provided vocal production. 'Love Me Harder' was written by Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Peter Svensson, Ali Payami, Abel Tesfaye and Ahmad Balshe.
Can’t wait for the fall!.' Later, it was revealed that the collaborator was Ariana Grande. I just heard a duet with a female friend of ours that’s a global smash. When I see an opening I penetrate it.' In June 2014, Walk posted a photo on his Instagram with the caption, 'When you talk about artist development and pure talent, The Weeknd comes to mind. I think that's where the stars aligned for me. The Weeknd later recalled that 'It was kind of like the label giving me an alley-oop. So I changed it and made it dark.' Martin liked The Weeknd's revised lyrics. According to The Weeknd, 'It was a great song, but it was a little generic. He is that guy.' Producer Max Martin sent The Weeknd an unfinished version of the track. In an interview with Billboard, Republic Records executive vice president Charlie Walk stated, 'The Weeknd is positioned to be best new artist of 2014. Grande and The Weeknd were up-and-coming artists in 2013, with both releasing their debut albums that year. The collaboration between Grande and The Weeknd was pushed by their mutual label, Republic Records.