"Too Little Too Late" was written by songwriters Billy Steinberg and Josh Alexander, and singer-songwriter Ruth-Anne Cunningham. Alexander began writing "Too Little Too Late" on his own before Steinberg joined him to complete it, particularly contributing lyrics and a bridge to the music Alexander had already composed for the song's verses and chorus. Steinberg identified "Too Little Too Late" as one of the few songs in his career to which he contributed only after a portion of it had been written, with Alexander introducing the song to him after he had already conceived its title, as well as some of the ballad's lyrics and melody, admitting that Steinberg essentially "helped him finish writing that song and that lyric." Born in Ireland, "Too Little Too Late" was one of the first songs Cunningham was hired to write professionally after moving to Los Angeles, California from Dublin at the age of 17. Cunningham's manager at the time, Eamonn Maguire, had introduced her to Steinberg a few weeks after she relocated from Ireland. After hearing Cunningham perform one of her original songs, Steinberg invited her to co-write "Too Little Too Late", which they successfully completed by the following day during a writing session with Alexander. Upon finishing the song, Cunningham felt that it was most suitable for JoJo but the songwriters lacked the necessary contacts and resources to forward it to her at the time.