Vocalist Van McCann and guitarist Johnny Bond went on Annie Mac’s Future Sounds segment on BBC Radio 1 to premiere this song.

In that interview they said it was the first song from The Balance they started recording and showed the producer. Longshot is the first single released from Catfish and the Bottlemen’s third album, although “Fluctuate” was premiered live in May 2018 at This Is Tomorrow Festival in Newcastle, England, paralleling the band’s previous album cycle, The Ride, where opening track “7” was the first to be played live but “Soundcheck” was the lead single.

In an interview with Radio X Van explained that Longshot meant “taking a chance on something and it paying off big time” and that the chorus of the song felt the same way. He also stated that even before recording it they could see the crowd cheering to it.