Break My Heart (Dua Lipa song)


"Break My Heart" is a song by English singer Dua Lipa from her second studio album, Future Nostalgia. The song was written by Lipa, Ali Tamposi, Stefan Johnson, Jordan K. Johnson, and Andrew Watt, with the latter of the five handling production alongside the Monsters & Strangerz. Michael Hutchence and Andrew Farriss of INXS are also credited as writers, due to an unintentional similarity between the song's chorus and that of INXS's 1987 hit "Need You Tonight" that was discovered after "Break My Heart" was complete. Lipa and her collaborators did not see the similarity, but gave Hutchence and Farriss a credit to avoid legal issues.
The song was released for digital download and streaming on 25 March 2020 through Warner Records as the third single from Future Nostalgia, and impacted American contemporary hit radio on 31 March 2020 as the album's second single in the United States.
"Break My Heart" is a disco and dance-pop track with elements of funk and 1980s music that includes a Europop and dance beat. A vulnerable song, it sees Lipa questioning if a new love will leave her broken-hearted. The song received generally favourable reviews from music critics, with many praising the production. It entered at number 6 on the UK Singles Chart and has so far peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It became Lipa's highest debut on the latter chart, debuting at number 21. Internationally, the song has peaked within the top 10 of 17 other countries, including Israel, where it reached the summit. "Break My Heart" has received several certifications, including a gold award from the British Phonographic Industry.
The accompanying 1990s-inspired music video was directed by Henry Scholfield and premiered on 26 March 2020. It sees Lipa in many scenarios attempting to discover her emotions, going from vulnerable to empowered. The video received positive reviews, with critics praising Scholfield's use of colour. An animated music video, Spotify vertical video and lyric video were also released for "Break My Heart". Lipa has promoted the song with televised live performances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Big Brother Brasil 20, and . The song has also received several remixes.

Writing and production

"Break My Heart" was written by Lipa, Ali Tamposi, Andrew Watt, Stefan Johnson and Jordan K. Johnson and was produced by the Monsters & Strangerz alongside Watt. Lipa had previously worked with all the co-writers apart from Andrew Watt, which made her nervous going into the session because Lipa found it hard to be open and vulnerable with people she does not know. However, Lipa later realized it is easy to do so. She additionally found it helpful that the co-writers knew her boyfriend, which allowed Lipa to be more open. Lipa went into the session with the intention to create a song that was really cohesive and had a theme running through it.
Lipa and her collaborators were unsure where to begin, ultimately deciding to start with the melody. They started with the guitar before Lipa began putting her thoughts into song form. Lipa recalled needing the melody to make sense of writing the lyrics. She was inspired by the initial stages of falling in love but thinking in the back of ones mind, "this is too good to be true." Lipa recalled being out of her comfort zone while writing the song, but learning a lesson to write in that state as she writes the best songs then. While listening back to the song, Lipa and her collaborators noticed a similarity between the song and "Need You Tonight" by Australian rock band INXS. The collaborators did not want to get sued, so band members Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence were credited as writers and INXS were given a publishing credit.

Music and lyrics

"Break My Heart" is a disco and dance-pop song, with funk and 1980s elements. It has a length of 3:41 and interpolates the rhythm guitar melody from "Need You Tonight" by INXS. The song was composed using time in the key of E minor, with a tempo of 112–116 beats per minute. The verses and choruses have a chord progression of Em–G–Fdim–Em–C–Bm–D, while the pre-choruses follow a Cmaj7–D6–Bm7–Em7–D6 sequence and the bridge follows a C–D–G/B–Bm–Em–Bm/D–C–D–Em7–B7–B chord progression. "Break My Heart" has a retro-futuristic sound, with the production consisting of a bouncing-ball bass, handclaps, a funk guitar line, disco violins, and a Europop and dance beat.
The song opens with a baseline and synths, both of which were categorized as bouncy, and a hi-hat drum. In the pre-chorus, the song features a funky baseline and sweeping strings, while the music drops out in the middle and abruptly crashes back shortly after for the chorus. As the song eases into its chorus, the instruments are stripped back with a swaggering guitar riff underscoring each lyric, while a techno-adjacent baseline is also included, alongside a staccato bass rhythm. The second verse includes a drum kit and the second pre-chorus is driven by a string section. Lipa's vocals span a range of E3 to B4, and she makes use of spoken word deliveries. Described by Lipa as a "celebration of vulnerability," the song sees her question whether a new love will leave her broken hearted. The lyrics were compared to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic's social distancing measures and were inspired by Lipa's boyfriend Anwar Hadid.

Release and promotion

It was first revealed that "Break My Heart" had been recorded for Future Nostalgia in January 2020, after the song leaked along with fellow album track "Physical". Lipa confirmed that the song would serve as the third single from the album in March 2020, during an interview with Australian TV show Sunrise. She began teasing the release shortly thereafter. On 20 March 2020, Lipa announced that the song would be released a week later; however, Future Nostalgia leaked shortly later and the release of "Break My Heart" was pushed back to 25 March 2020. The song premiered on 25 March 2020 at 16:00 PT. It was sent to contemporary hit radio in Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States as well as adult contemporary radio in the latter two countries.
"Break My Heart" was accompanied by a lyric video and Spotify vertical video, released on 9 and 25 April 2020, respectively. Several remixes of the song have also been released. The first remix was by Jax Jones, known as the Midnight Snack Remix, and released on 22 May 2020. It reimagines the track as a euphoric house song with funk-driven melodies and stomping baselines. Wonderland magazine wrote that one should "host a Zoom party and have on repeat for the ultimate club quarantine." On 29 May 2020, a remix of "Break My Heart" by Joris Voorn was released. The remix was also categorized as a house song, with the addition of pulsating beats. It was accompanied by a music video, which was uploaded to Voorn's YouTube channel the same day. The video sees Voorn performing the remix on a rooftop. Ellie Mullins of We Rave You wrote that Voorn has "outdone" himself with the remix.
Remixes by Solardo and Moon Boots had respective releases on 12 June 2020. The Solardo remix had been scheduled to be released a week prior; however, it was delayed due to unknown reasons. The Moon Boots remix adds percussion, piano stabs and party sounds to the song. Katie Bain of Billboard called it "shimmery," "funky" and wrote that it adds "bounce." Lipa has proposed to release a remix of the song featuring fans playing the instruments.
"Break My Heart" was accompanied by an animated video, which is a fullscreen version of the vertical video. It was directed by Marco Pavone and premiered via YouTube on 8 May 2020. The video is set as taking place in the Andromeda Galaxy on the fictional planet of BMH1. The visual opens with an animated Lipa flying into BMH1, a colourless and desolate planet. She wears a pink space suit, reminiscent of animated TV series Totally Spies!. Lipa is in search of a jeweled heart, which she finds in a cave. However, when she begins to leave, a giant robot appears and begins to attack her her. Lipa eventually fights off the robot and flies away. Throughout the animated video, clips of Lipa falling from the sky into a city, wearing a pink outfit, are also shown.

Critical reception

"Break My Heart" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic praised the song's mix of inspirations, and Brittany Spanos from Rolling Stone labelled the INXS influence "bewitching." Idolator's Mike Nied wrote that the song adds "depth" to Lipa's discography, while calling it a "stone-cold bop." He continued, describing its beats as "deceptively bright," while viewing the song as "retro-inspired." Courteney Larocca and Callie Ahlgrim, writing for Business Insider Australia, praised the song's "polished" and "minimalistic" production. God Is in the TVs Jonathan Wright praised the song's baseline, calling it "spectacular," while Thomas Stichbury of Attitude stated that the baseline is "broody."
Crack Magazines Michael Cragg categorized Lipa's vocals on the song as "swollen." Rob Harvilla of The Ringer highlighted "Break My Heart" as Future Nostalgias lustiest track, and Bianca Gracie, for Billboard called it a "downright sexy jam." Chris Willman of Variety compared the song's funk guitar line to the music of Chic, while musicOMHs Nick Smith compared the line to "Lovefool" by The Cardigans. The PopMatters staff gave mixed reviews, averaging the song at 5.67/10. Ian Rushbury gave a 5/10, calling it a "forgettable piece of airbrushed pop," while Jordan Blum rated the song 4/10, comparing it to "Just Give Me a Reason" by Pink, as well as calling it "unoriginal," "disposable," and "blatant plagiarism." Steve Horowitz provided the most positive review at PopMatters, giving the song an 8/10, praising its meaning and production. Jim Farber of Vogue opined that "Break My Heart" is a contender for song of the summer, viewing it as "exciting, catchy and totally danceable." In Time, Raisa Bruner wrote that the song is "bouncy and sparkling with a get-up-and-dance spirit."

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, "Break My Heart" debuted at number 76 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart dated 27 March 2020. It entered the UK Singles Chart the following week, reaching number six, becoming Lipa's ninth top 10 single on the chart. Lipa's previous singles "Don't Start Now" and "Physical" also charted in the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart that week, making her the first English female in almost 60 years to have a trio of songs appear simultaneously in the top 10. In May 2020, "Break My Heart" was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry for selling over 200,000 units. On the Irish Singles Chart, the song reached number three in its first week, behind "Physical", and "Roses" by Saint Jhn. It debuted at number 83 on the Scottish Singles Chart dated 27 March 2020, after only one day of tracking. It later peaked at number 14 on the chart four weeks later. "Break My Heart" additionally peaked at number 10 on the Euro Digital Song Sales and entered the top 40 in 21 other European territories.
"Break My Heart" reached number one on the Israel Media Forest chart. On the ARIA Singles Chart in Australia, the song debuted at number 14 and has currently reached a peak of number 7. In New Zealand, the song has so far reached number 12 on the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, doing so in its first week, dated 6 April 2020. On the Canadian Hot 100, "Break My Heart" debuted at number 47 in April 2020 and later peaked at number 13 in July of the year. On the issue dated 4 April 2020, in the US, the song debuted at number 37 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart and entered the Billboard Hot 100 the following week at number 21, becoming Lipa's highest debut on the chart. In July, the single reached number 20 on the chart, rising to number 17 the week after. The single became American pop radio's most added song for the week dated 30 March 2020, picked up by 143 Mediabase-monitored pop stations. In July 2020, "Break My Heart" reached the summit of American pop radio, with approximately 17,927 spins, becoming Lipa's third number one following "New Rules" and "Don't Start Now".

Music video

Background and production

The accompanying music video for "Break My Heart" premiered on YouTube at 06:30 PT on 26 March 2020. It was directed by Henry Scholfield, who also directed Lipa's videos for "Lost in Your Light", "New Rules", and "IDGAF". The visual was shot in Bulgaria in January 2020 over the course of three days. It features slide clips that were inspired by the 1990s as well as a colour palette from the early works of Pedro Almodóvar and iridescent landscapes from Japanese hotels. During filming for the video, Lipa had a case of the flu. For creation of it, VFX, wire work, and a tilting set were used. The sets for the music video were built across three stages and designed by Mark Connell.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted LBBOnline and Promonews.

Personnel

The music video begins with Lipa jumping on cars and walking through a traffic-jammed city block, while wearing a red jacket and black pants. As she walks, one of the cars turns into a toy car being played with by a child outside of a man's apartment. Lipa is then seen wearing a purple cardigan, black tights, white shoes and a skirt of the same colour. She walks into the man's apartment, struggling to maintain her balance in the apartment. This is a metaphor for Lipa being uncertain about whether her feelings are being reciprocated. After the scene, the apartment turns into a model boat on display in a restaurant. In the restaurant, Lipa observes various couples going through issues. She starts to dance on a disco floor in the middle of the restaurant before a wall explodes and she is sucked out.
Lipa lands on an airplane seat, followed by her getting up on the plane and walking to the back before it breaks in two. Lipa wears a pink wool jacket, and skirt with black lining, over a black shirt. She then begins to dance on the end of the plane before a life raft explodes on her, leading to Lipa waking up in a bed with a confused partner. She is seen wearing a pink Bambi wool sweater with white pants. Lipa runs scared into the bathroom, picking up her shoes, and beds with other men begin cycling through in the background. She then falls into the bathtub, which turns into a frothy pink martini that one of Lipa's backup dancers is holding while she dances on a bar couch. Lipa wears a Mirror Palais cropped red shirt and red and white checked tweed mini skirt. The music video concludes by looking at all the previous scenes and undoing some of the transitions, before Lipa blows a bubble sitting on a car from the first scene.

Reception

Shannon Miller of The A.V. Club called the visual a "colorful music video punctuated with mind-bending effects and LED-lit sets." Rushbury labelled it a "multi-million-dollar remake" of the video for "Common People" by Pulp, writing that the clip has "snazzy visuals and couture outfits." In Soundigest, Kenly Campos wrote that the video is "extremely well-made" with its "colorful outfits and bubbly choreography". Callie Ahlgrim of Insider described the video as "Lipa serving a variety of retro looks, dancing her cares away, and cycling through suitors in a surreal dreamscape." NMEs Tom Skinner branded the visual "eye-popping" and "location-hopping." Writing for Idolator, Mike Wass called the sets "candy-colored," the choreography "laissez-faire," and wrote "Dua treats us to look after look, sullen glances."

Live performances

Lipa has promoted "Break My Heart" with multiple live performances. She first performed the song with a virtual performance for Amazon Music UK on 30 March 2020. Lipa also gave a virtual performance of the song for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on 8 April of that year. The performance featured Lipa sitting in front of a blank wall before the background started changing to city time-lapses and eventually to the Tonight Show set. Nied praised the performance, writing that Lipa "slayed," as well as calling her vocals "smokey" and praising her personality. On 22 April 2020, she virtually performed the song on Big Brother Brasil 20. Lipa performed the song for on 16 May.

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Certifications

Release history