Pearl Jam's eighth studio album Pearl Jam hit the stores on May 2, 2006. The album includes such songs as "Comatose", "Life Wasted", "Come Back", "Gone", "Army Reserve", and "World Wide Suicide". "Comatose" (originally titled "Crapshoot Rapture") was premiered live in concert in March 2005, and Gone was debuted in a solo performance by Eddie Vedder at a Pearl Jam concert in October 2005. European fans had a special treat on April 20, as Pearl Jam played a small show at the Astoria, debuting live performances of "Marker in the Sand" and "Army Reserve," along with a few others that had already made appearances. Vedder has made previous statements that he wants the fans to hear the songs on the album first. In many instances, the members of Pearl Jam have revealed that they regard this as their best work to date, as it resembles the raw energy of their first albums.

"World Wide Suicide" is the first single from the album. In late February, the band made a 15-second clip of the song available on the Internet, which was then played on numerous North American radio stations. The snippet revealed a hard-rocking sound with a noted return to the dominant vocal styles of Vedder's earlier work. Many claim the song is reminiscent of Vs., as also mentioned by Mike McCready in 2005. On March 3, 2006, the single was played on Seattle's 107.7 The End and soon leaked on the Internet. Pearl Jam then early-released the single online two days later.