The Alias was enlisted to serve as the executive producer for Tears on the Dancefloor and various songwriters submitted songs for the group to record, including Steve Mac, Ina Wroldsen, TMS and Fiona Bevan.

[6] Documenting their highly publicised and acrimonious split on Boxing Day in 2001, it revealed what each member had been doing for the previous ten years, as well as reflecting on their time in the group and the truth, causes and effects of their disbandment.

"[9] Songwriters for the album include Steve Mac, Ina Wroldsen, TMS, Carl Ryden, Fiona Bevan, Kevin Verchel and Metrophonic.

[19] The group took some inspiration from their back catalogue for the album, with Tozer saying that its sound is reminiscent of their single "Deeper Shade of Blue" (2000) but has more elements of dance music.

Scott-Lee stated that they have often been compared to ABBA and that Anderson and Ulvaeus had given it to them to record and that it serves as a "perfect" bridge to fill the gap between where they were as a group and where they are taking their music forward.

[13] "Scared of the Dark" premiered on The Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2 on 9 March 2017,[20] and was released on iTunes, Spotify and Apple Music the following day.

On 18 September 2017, Steps announced that the album would be reissued on 27 October with five new songs, including a Christmas track, as well as previously unreleased remixes of "Happy", "Glitter & Gold" and "I Will Love Again", and titled Tears on the Dancefloor: Crying at the Disco.