"If You Love Me" peaked at number eight on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart as well as number two on the BillboardHot R&B Singles chart. It topped the New Zealand Singles Chart for five weeks and reached the top 20 in Australia, France, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The music video for the Remix features rapper Craig Mack. In 2015, Canadian rapper Tory Lanez sampled the song for his hit single "Say It". Billboard named the song number 84 on their list of "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time".[3]
Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian complimented the song's "memorable chorus".[4] Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel noted its "mellow seduction".[5] Geoffrey Himes from The Washington Post declared the song as "a firm demand for commitment from a lover." He explained, "It begins with Gilbert and her two partners, Charmayne "Maxee" Maxwell and Monica "Mimi" Doby, singing slow, swooning harmonies over producer Dave Hall's piano. Having established the romantic mood, Gilbert lays down her conditions to a catchy melodic chant and the beat of an insistent drum machine: "If you want my heart/ Then it's time that you start/ To act like you're mine/ In the light and the dark." It's a great single, and it sets the pattern for an album that celebrates the intoxication of romance but demands respect as well."[6]
^If You Love Me (US 12-inch single vinyl disc). Brownstone. MJJ Music, Epic Records. 1994. 49 77733.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^If You Love Me (US cassette single sleeve). Brownstone. MJJ Music, Epic Records. 1994. 34T 77732.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^If You Love Me (UK cassette single sleeve). Brownstone. MJJ Music, Epic Records. 1994. 661413 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^If You Love Me (European CD single liner notes). Brownstone. MJJ Music, Epic Records. 1994. EPC 661165 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^If You Love Me (US maxi-cassette single sleeve). Brownstone. MJJ Music, Epic Records. 1994. 49T 77733.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^If You Love Me (UK CD1 liner notes). Brownstone. MJJ Music, Epic Records. 1994. 661413 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^If You Love Me (UK CD2 liner notes). Brownstone. MJJ Music, Epic Records. 1994. 661413 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^If You Love Me (Australian maxi-CD single liner notes). Brownstone. MJJ Music, Epic Records. 1994. 661279 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)