The song is an a cappella folktronica ballad which makes heavy use of the harmonizer, written about painfully losing someone. It first gained popularity after being used in the season two finale of the Fox television series "The O.C.", and in a subsequent "Saturday Night Live" parody of the scene, "The Shooting". It was notably sampled in the 2009 single "Whatcha Say" by American singer Jason Derulo, which reached number one on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart. "Hide and Seek" went on to sell over 647,000 copies in the United States, earning it a gold certification from the RIAA. It was also a critical success, and has been cited by several critics as Heap's best song.