After airing more than 100 MTV Unplugged specials, MTV wanted to bring back the series, in order to expose them to a younger generation. The channel recruited various mainstream and popular artists to perform as part of the series, including Perry, who particularly expressed interest in the idea as it would allow her to showcase herself as an artist and share the stories behind her songs. The extended play includes rearrangements of five songs from Perry's album One of the Boys (2008), a previously unreleased original song and a cover version of a song by Fountains of Wayne. Alongside the audio disc, the album includes a DVD with the video recording of her performance and an exclusive interview.