[2] The Wanted began working on recording new material in November 2011, shortly after the release of their second studio album, Battleground.
The band confirmed that they had worked with a number of different producers and collaborators whilst writing the material, in order to make something that would appeal to both American and British audiences.
In October 2012, shortly after the premiere of their new single, "I Found You", rumours circulated the internet that the album would be titled Third Strike, and a track list and artwork were also "revealed".
The track list contained a number of tracks which failed to make the cut of Battleground, several new recordings, plus collaborations with the likes of Chris Brown on "Loverboy", Rita Ora on "Mastermind" and LMFAO on "The Club's on Fire",[4] as well as appearances from Dappy and Pitbull on the deluxe edition.
[7] The series featured clips of the band recording the album, including snippets of "We Own the Night" and "Show Me Love", two tracks which had not previously been premiered.
[11] On 7 May 2012, the Wanted performed "Chasing the Sun" on the second live results show of the sixth series of Britain's Got Talent.
[13] In the United States, the band performed a full live set on Good Morning America on 23 August 2013.
"[19] In his review for AllMusic, Matt Collar gave the album 3.5/5 and wrote: "The Wanted have always seemed somewhat older and more mature than many of their contemporaries.
Ultimately, if the Wanted's plan is to build upon the higher profile they've gained since their reality series, then Word of Mouth is certainly something to shout about."
Brian Mansfield of USA Today was more negative and said, "English-Irish band the Wanted has a more continental sensibility than One Direction.
[20] Similarly, Ian Gittins of Virgin Media gave the album two stars and called it "pop for pre-teens, for the easily impressed, and for those who are too credulous to know any better.
"[22] In another two-stars-out-of-five review, Digital Spy's Lewis Corner wrote, "aside from the singles, Word of Mouth has little else to offer.
But elsewhere, 'Summer Alive' is throwaway boyband EDM, while the sway of 'Love Sewn' is more limp than the soggy bottom of a fruit tart.
They went into the studio yesterday and Max even cryptically tweeted that it was a tune...I thought a few people might want it at first, including Enrique Iglesias and Kylie because both have asked me to write songs for them.
It was also released as the third single from the band's self-titled EP in the United States on 17 April, and was included as one of the two theme songs for the 2012 animated film Ice Age: Continental Drift.
In August 2012, the band filmed a music video in Los Angeles, reportedly for their brand new single, "I Found You".
In April 2013, the band announced the release of the third single, named after close friend and Barbadian singer Rihanna.