Monrose reteamed with frequent collaborators Pete Kirtley, Tim Hawes, and Obi Mhondera to work on the album, while upcoming producers such as Tuneverse and Alexander Geringas were also consulted.

Elaborating a sophisticated theme for the album, the band requested promotional material to depict a darker, more mature image.

Ladylike was released to generally mixed reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the slower songs on the album but found the rest of the material too generic.

In promotion of the album, Starwatch released three singles from Ladylike, including the band's seventh top ten hit "Like a Lady" and follow-up "This Is Me".

Following the release of the final single from their third album I Am (2008), "Why Not Us," in November 2008, the Monrose members decided to take a break from music business, during which the trio pursued different branches of the entertainment industry.

In summer 2009, they eventually reunited to start work on their fourth studio album Ladylike, which was partially recorded in Germany and in New York City.

Pooltrax found that the album "increasingly leans towards electro, but the lyrics and voices of the three Monrose singers still clearly recall pop [...] However, the girls still excel at the calm ballads.

"[5] Similarly, Albert Ranner von CDstarts.de felt that "contrary to the unpleasantly sterile look of the cover and the video [for "Like a Lady"], the fourth Monrose is only half as bad as it was feared.

Nevertheless, Ladylike still lacks any own identity on the musical side that Monrose will probably be denied until old age [...] Compared to its predecessors, this time, however, this fact is less disturbing and the Popstars winners surprisingly fall into midfield.