
The song received generally positive reviews from music critics and performed well on the record charts, becoming Morissette's fifth number-one single in Canada, reaching the top three in New Zealand and Norway, and peaking within the top ten in several other countries, including the United Kingdom, where it is her highest-charting single. Maverick and Reprise Records released the song as a single on October 12, 1998.

Morissette wrote the song after she came back from a trip to India. The song was written by Alanis Morissette and Glen Ballard, who produced her previous album, Jagged Little Pill (1995). " Thank U" is a song by Canadian-American recording artist and songwriter Alanis Morissette from her fourth studio album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998).
