The artists first teased the duet a day before its release, with a black-and-white photo of the two, which was captioned with the release date. The song premiered on Beats 1, where Puth revealed to host Zane Lowe about collaborating with Kehlani: "You know when you meet somebody and you just know that you're going to be friends with them for a really really long time? That was her when I met her. She's just such a warm and outgoing person and just such a good distinct voice." He also added that they have been "looking forward to doing something together" ever since they covered "Hotline Bling" in 2015. "I made this record...I produced this after an unsuccessful party in L.A., which is what all these records are based off of on my album. But I just went home played these, I have my little Juno keyboard over there that I had. I had gotten it that night and I just hit one of these settings here and just played a B-minor cord and it just made me think of Wham!, it made me think of 1988, and I put that chord down and I immediately thought of Kehlani too," he said of the recording process.
Composition
"Done for Me" is a pop ballad that features a "liquid", "electronic" bass line, "a couple synth horns and some vaguely stoney reverb", as well as a "dejected, inward-looking vibe" and "warm synthesizers reminiscent of classic '80s pop". According to Puth, there are "no pop chords in the song but it's a pop song", and it draws inspiration from '80s English musical duo Wham!
Critical reception
In a positive review, Hugh McIntyre of Forbes deemed the song "a slightly soulful, but still primarily poppy affair", writing that "it fits in perfectly with what Puth has been doling out during this era". He noticed the song's funk influences, praising Puth for "relying primarily on his own talent to deliver some of the best pop created with actual instruments being released today", despite his ability to "partner with any top-tier producer in the business". Morgan Enos of Billboard described the song as "both classic-sounding in that big-board, Thriller vein of records and modern-seeming without adding too many 2010s signifiers". Mike Nied of Idolator praised the song, writing: "Boasting a danceable beat and enviable production, it is shaping up to be another surefire hit."
