Heart Beats is the follow-up to Im's self-titled second album, which featured re-recorded covers of the selected songs she performed as a finalist on The X Factor Australia.[1] In May 2014, during an interview with InStyle magazine, Im revealed that she had already begun work on the album and that she was hoping to release it in September or October.[2] The following month, Im told Renowned for Sound that she was co-writing a majority of the album's songs as she wanted to put her "own flavour" into the songs.[3] Then in August 2014, Im revealed to Pop Sugar that the album was "95 percent finished" and that she was still thinking of a name for it and ideas for the album cover.[4] On 25 September 2014, Im announced that the album would be called Heart Beats.[1][5] She worked on Heart Beats with several record producers and songwriters, including Jon Hume, DNA Songs, Trinity, Hayley Warner and Louis Schoorl, among others.[6][7]