In July 2014, Avicii told Rolling Stone that he had worked on 70 songs for his next album, which will include collaborations with Jon Bon Jovi, Billie Joe Armstrong, Chris Martin, Wyclef Jean, Serj Tankian and Matisyahu. Describing the album, Avicii said: "It's going to be a lot more song-oriented." On 2 March 2015, Avicii performed live at Australia's Future Music Festival. A lot of songs were leaked into the internet via Avicii's UMF set 2015. These songs include "Waiting For Love", "For a Better Day", "City Lights" and "Sunset Jesus", leaked under the name "Attack". A complete tracklist of his set can be found on Avicii's SoundCloud page.

On 22 May 2015, Avicii premiered his first single from Stories, "Waiting for Love". The track was co-produced by DJ and producer Martin Garrix. Almost a month later, Avicii communicated through Twitter that he finished the album "Stories" after two years of work. On 4 August 2015, it was announced on iHeartMedia Summit that Avicii's next single from Stories was "For a Better Day", featuring singer Alex Ebert. On 28 August, he released his next two singles.

Avicii released the first single from the album, "Waiting for Love", on 22 May 2015. The next two singles, "Pure Grinding" and "For a Better Day" were released onto an EP entitled Pure Grinding / For a Better Day on 28 August 2015.

"Sunset Jesus" is a song featuring an unknown vocalist, previously leaked into the internet under the name "Attack". It contains samples from Avicii's "Dear Boy (Avicii by Avicii)".

"City Lights" is a song by Avicii featuring vocals from Noonie Bao and The High. It was first previewed during Avicii's gig at Hollywood Bowl, and was leaked into the internet as "Hollywood Bowl ID" and "Midnight Dust". It also had a different arrangement and pitch.