Maroon 5 began writing the songs that appear on "Hands All Over" after winding down from a world tour in support of their 2007 studio release "It Won't Be Soon Before Long". Several months later, the band received a phone call from Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who had heard that the band were beginning to write a new album, and expressed an interest in producing it. In a press release on their official website, the album is described as "a killer hybrid of rock, pop, funk and R&B".