The album saw Clarkson reuniting with frequent collaborators Greg Kurstin, Jesse Shatkin, Jason Halbert, Eric Olson, and Chris DeStefano.

She also gathered material from songwriters such as Sia, Matthew Koma, MoZella, Bonnie McKee, David Jost, Semi Precious Weapons lead singer Justin Tranter, and former Cobra Starship member Ryland Blackinton, among others.

[5][6] In an interview with Billboard magazine, she announced intentions to release a set of pop and country records, as well as a potential Broadway album, as a follow-up to Wrapped in Red.

[4] RCA Records chief executive Peter Edge also revealed in their 2014 mid-year assessment that they were in a process of finding new music and directions for some of their established acts – primarily with Clarkson.

[11] Jesse Shatkin, who had first worked as an engineer under Kurstin on Clarkson's last two studio albums, revealed that he had produced a couple tracks on the record.

[10] Citing the aspects of heartbreak and personal struggle as well as peace and empowerment in its lyrical content, she described the record as an album within an uplifting and reflective environment.

"[20] The album opens with "Heartbeat Song", produced by Greg Kurstin and written by Kara DioGuardi, Jason Evigan, Audra Mae, and Mitch Allan.

[22] "Take You High", the fourth track, was written with Mozella and produced by Shatkin, who described it as "an electronic banger" and "a little left-of-center", but also having a haunting melody that he thought Clarkson was attracted to.

[9] Produced by Jason Halbert, it was written by Tim James, Antonina Armato, Joacim Persson, Ry Cuming, and David Jost.

[9] Clarkson co-wrote the seventh track "I Had a Dream" with Kurstin (who also produced it) after lamenting with her friends about the dichotomy that exists between expectations and reality and her disappointment in their generation.

[9] Clarkson bemoaned: "I don't understand why we're still struggling with these basic, asinine issues [gay, straight, black, and white].

[26] Originally penned as a simple piano ballad, Clarkson wrote the song about feelings people are unable to prove by themselves in a relationship; Kurstin added an orchestral element with its production.

[26] Produced by Halbert, the tenth track, "War Paint", was written by Julia Michaels, Joleen Belle, and Sir Nolan.

[28] Written by Justin Tranter, Ryland Blackinton, Dan Keyes, and Vaughn Oliver, the twelfth track, "Nostalgic", was produced by Halbert.

[31] Originally pitched as a country demo, Clarkson remarked that Halbert produced the record to resonate like a Eurythmics-style song.

[32] Produced by Chris DeStefano, "Second Wind" closes the album as the final track, which he had co-written with McAnally and Maren Morris.

[35] Clarkson also performed "Heartbeat Song" in live televised performances, debuting it on the television program The Graham Norton Show on February 20, 2015,[36] and continuing with the programs Loose Women, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on March 2, 2015,[37][38] and on Good Morning America on March 3, 2015.

[54] AllMusic's senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the record a three star rating, writing that "instead of consolidating the assured mature pop of Stronger, the album piles on EDM affectations and finds her singing cuts co-written by successful contemporary pop hit-makers as she enters the second phase of her career.

"[55] Despite praising her vocal performance as "[powerful] as ever", Erlewine lamented that the record's emphasis on sound (instead of song) tended to submerge Clarkson at times, also noting her receding songwriting presence on the album.

[19] Idolator's Jonathan Riggs gave it a three-and-a-half star review, stating that overall "Piece by Piece is good, of course – like a familiar suburban chain restaurant, a Clarkson album always delivers comfortably and consistently – but here the more basic cuts pale in comparison to several remarkable tracks that hopefully point to a deepening in her songcraft.

"[56] Cox added, however, that "when Clarkson forges a real emotional connection – like on the raw, personal title track— the album transcends the hammier, more hackneyed moments in between.

"[56] The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan gave Piece by Piece a three star rating, praising Clarkson's voice as a reminder that "her amiable, Texas-girl exterior encases one of pop's most forceful voices, despite her Mariah-like ability to deliver songs with maximum melismatic drama shows itself less often this time around.

"[57] While reviewing The Guardian's sister paper The Observer, features editor Michael Cragg gave the album a four star rating, describing it as "loaded with laser-guided, heartfelt pop music.

"[18] He also commended the record's "chinks of experimentation; the Phoenix-esque "Nostalgic", the pulsating urgency of "Dance with Me" [...] "Invincible", co-written by Sia, bolts Clarkson's pin-sharp vocal on to a billowing, chest-clenching backdrop, while the title track picks over broken relationships with typical candour.

"[61] Instilling to remember that Clarkson was now a mother and a wife, McGuire remarked that "she applies a more perspective on life and a knowledge in a way that makes her appear fresh again.

"[61] Writing for Time, Katherine St. Asaph praised Clarkson's voice as having "some of the best pipes in pop", but lamented the album's gamut of midtempo arrangements.

"[63] Jon Pareles of The New York Times also gave a similar appraisal for Clarkson's voice, saying that "it can sail through just about any arrangement: rock, ballad, arena-country and, most often at the moment, anthems pumped with dance beats."

"[22] Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe expressed her agreement with the same sentiment, saying that "the cumulative effect of all that bigness can be wearing by the album's end.

"[64] She further added that "the swelling strings, shimmering synths, and soaring vocals make almost all of the record's songs sound as if they are on a feverish quest for that grandiose final scene of a romantic drama to score before the credits start rolling.

The resurgence resulted from the renewed streams and sales of the album's title track after Clarkson gave a well-received emotional performance of the song on the 15th season of American Idol.