"Breathe" is a song written by Stephanie Bentley and Holly Lamar and recorded by American country music artist Faith Hill. It was released in October 1999 as the first single from her fourth album of the same name. "Breathe" became Hill's seventh number one on the Hot Country Songs chart in the US. The song spent six weeks at number one on the BillboardHot Country Songs chart in December 1999 and January 2000. It also peaked at number 2 on the BillboardHot 100 chart in April 2000. Despite not peaking at number one, it was the number-one single of 2000, becoming only the second single at the time to top the year end charts despite never spending a week at the top of the weekly charts and marking the first time this had happened in 35 years.
Critical reception
Bill Lamb from About.com said that country singer Faith Hill "leaned heavily in a pop direction" on "Breathe". He described it as "a classic power ballad". In 2005, Blender ranked the song at number 167 in their list of "Greatest Songs Since You Were Born". They described it as a "swooning ballad turns country gal into Mississippi queen."
Chart performance
In October 1999, "Breathe" was released to country and pop radio. It spent six weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, seventeen weeks at number one on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, and one week at number one on the Adult Top 40 chart. The song also reached a peak of number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five non-consecutive weeks starting with the week ending April 22, 2000. It was kept off the top position by Santana's "Maria Maria" featuring The Product G&B and "Try Again" by Aaliyah. Even though "Breathe" never made it to number one on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 chart, it was on the chart for 53 weeks and named the number one single of 2000 on Billboard's year-end countdown. It was one of only three songs in the history of the Hot 100 to be named the number one single of the year without making it to the top of the chart on any of the weekly surveys. In 2009, the single was named the twenty-seventh most-successful song of the 2000s, on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade. The song was released in the United Kingdom in May 2000 and reached number 33.
Music video
"Breathe'"s music video was ranked number 4 on CMT's 100 Greatest Videos in 2008. Directed by Lili Fini Zanuck, Faith revealed a more sultry side to herself in what would become one of the most controversial videos of her career. The video was shot in the desert and featured scenes of Faith writhing in a bed on the sand, covered only by a sheet.
