The band's debut album, The Wanted, was released by Geffen Records in the United Kingdom in October 2010.

In March 2011, The Wanted released the official 2011 Comic Relief charity single, "Gold Forever", which peaked at number three in the UK and number 13 in Ireland.

In 2012, the band released "Chasing the Sun", the lead single from their then-untitled third studio album and the theme song of the animated film Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012).

Four further singles were released, including top 5 hits "I Found You" and "Walks Like Rihanna", before long-awaited third album Word of Mouth finally dropped in November 2013.

The band reunited in September 2021 and released their first greatest hits album in November 2021, which included two new songs.