"Breakaway" is a song recorded by American singer Kelly Clarkson. The folk-pop and pop-punk ballad, written by Matthew Gerrard, Bridget Benenate, and Avril Lavigne, was originally intended for Lavigne's debut studio album, Let Go (2002). After being deemed unsuitable for the album, it was passed to Clarkson to be recorded as a soundtrack for the film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004). Clarkson, who was finishing her second studio album at that time, recorded "Breakaway" to tide her fans over until the first single from her new album was released. However, the song's success prompted its inclusion on Clarkson's second album, while the record label decided to name the album after the song. "Breakaway" was first released as the first single from The Princess Diaries 2 soundtrack on July 19, 2004. In May 2006, "Breakaway" was reissued as the fifth and final single from the album of the same name.
"Breakaway" received positive reviews from music critics, who could relate to the song's message and simple lyrics. It incorporates acoustic guitars and airy drums which are interspersed with Clarkson's controlled voice. The lyrics narrate Clarkson's journey as a girl growing up in a small town who follows her dream for self-improvement. "Breakaway" was a commercial success outside of the United States, where it peaked within the top 20 of multiple European countries, and in the top 10 in Australia, Belgium, Hungary, and the Netherlands. In the United States, the song peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became her third top ten song in the chart. It also topped the US Adult Contemporary for twenty-one non-consecutive weeks, a record for female artists that is now shared between herself, Celine Dion's "A New Day Has Come" and Adele's "Hello".
Directed by Dave Meyers, the accompanying music video for "Breakaway" portrays Clarkson as a young girl from a small town who follows her dream and becomes an international star. It also contained scenes interspersed from The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. Clarkson acted out most of the lyrics in the music video because she felt that the song was autobiographical. Critics responded positively to the music video for being faithful to the central theme shared by the song, the film, and Clarkson's personal biography. Clarkson performed the song in a series of live appearances such as television shows Saturday Night Live, The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She has performed the song in her concert tours, including the Stronger Tour. "Breakaway" has also been covered by many contestants from reality television singing competitions, notably Katie Stevens, a contestant in the ninth season of American Idol, as well as an English pop quartet Belle Amie, who finished eleventh in the seventh season of The X Factor.
Background and release
"Breakaway" was originally written by Avril Lavigne, Bridget Benenate and Matthew Gerrard. According to Benenate, the song was written in 2001 when she was working with Gerrard for Lavigne's first album, Let Go. Benenate explained that Lavigne came to her to write the song, saying: Avril talked about her life and what things were important to her – she was the inspiration for the song. Matthew began creating the melody and track, and I started working on the lyrics. I remember staying in bed for three days, writing 25 versions of the lyric. I love being in bed and writing lyrics, and having my dog Jet and my kitty Dash on the bed. Anyway, we finally finished the lyric, then we completed the demo. After the production of the song was deemed unsuitable for Lavigne's album, the song was passed to several artists including Samantha Moore before finally being recorded by Kelly Clarkson. Benenate also added that it was Mitchell Leib, the President of Music and Soundtracks for Walt Disney Pictures and Television/Buena Vista Music Group, who secured "Breakaway" as one of the songs for the soundtrack of The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement; the song was officially released to radio stations as the soundtrack's lead single on July 19, 2004. Clarkson expressed that "Breakaway" was different from everything she has done, saying that it "is a simple song, and I think that its simplicity is what's beautiful about it. Whenever writers or producers come to work with me, they take advantage of the fact that I can really belt it out. What's cool about 'Breakaway' is that it doesn't take advantage of that. The song just uses the simplicity of my voice." In an interview with MTV, Clarkson said that she recorded "Breakaway" to tide fans over until September that year before she released the first single from her second album. Nevertheless, the song's huge success prompted its inclusion on the album, which Clarkson decided to name Breakaway. Lavigne's original demo of the song leaked onto the internet nearly a decade later in April 2014. A brand new recording was officially released as part of the 20th anniversary re-release of her debut album on June 3, 2022.
Composition
"Breakaway" is a folk-pop and pop-punk song with a length of three minutes and 57 seconds. It is composed in the key of C major, with a tempo of 160 beats per minute. T.U. Dawood of Dawn lauded the song for being the best track on the album, writing ""Breakaway" is an enchanting single that will have you humming along to its infectious, gentle chorus and the inspiring lyrics." It has a chord progression of C–G–Am7-F(9) and Clarkson's vocal range in the song spans two octaves from the low note of G3 to the note of D5. Sam Lansky of PopCrush.com thought that Clarkson's vocal floated over strummed guitars and airy drums, a combination which elevated the inspirational message of the song. Dave Donelly of Sputnikmusic noted that "Breakaway" successfully contrasted typical acoustic verse with a soaring pop chorus which was interspersed by Clarkson's controlled but powerful voice.
Lyrically, the song is about growing up and moving on in life. Natalie Nichols of The Baltimore Sun considered "Breakaway" as Clarkson's anthem which is about a small-town girl going for her dreams. Clarkson admitted that she could relate to the song, saying: It describes how I got into the business, verbatim. I did grow up in a small town, I wanted to get out, I felt like there was something... not better for me, but something different for me. I didn't feel like I fit in at school. Whether you are a DJ, or if you work with computers, or if you're a teacher, everyone has that point where they feel, 'I'm bored and this isn't what I wanted to do with my life.'
Reception
Critical response While reviewing the album, Shirley Shipin of Rolling Stone opined that "Breakaway" was the highlight of the album where Clarkson sounded "more Avril than Ashlee". Rhonda Lynn of Florida Entertainment Scene praised the acoustic guitar in the song which is instrumental in holding the whole structure together. Tammy La Gorce of Amazon.com thought that the song would not wear out due to its "rock-friendly thumps, dips, and rolls." In a different perspective, Joan Anderman of Boston.com remarked that "Breakaway" is not new or exciting-sounding but he admitted that the "hit single accomplishes the rare feat of being thoroughly middle-of-the-road without sacrificing grace or intelligence". Chuck Taylor of Billboard felt that the song was a weak choice as a single compared to Clarkson's previous hits, writing Breakaway' sounds more like an Irish folk song propped up with pop production than the anthemic material with which Clarkson has won over legions of fans." Kathi Kamen Goldmark of Disney Family.com felt that the song was tedious, simultaneously dull and so emotionally overwrought that it almost sounds like a parody of itself. Michael Wood of The Village Voice described the song as "a swoony acoustic folk-pop that Goo Goo Doll Johnny Rzeznik would trade his hair gel for". Jill Salama of Oprah.com listed "Breakaway" as one of her nine favorite Idol singles of all time, writing "There is nothing that gets us more than a song about a girl going out on her own. Making a wish, making a change and, of course, breaking away. But seriously, this song is more than just a high school graduation anthem."
Bill Lamb of About.com ranked "Breakaway" at number four in his list of Top 10 Kelly Clarkson songs. The song received a nomination in the category of Song of the Year: Adult Hit Radio at the 2005 Radio Music Awards but lost to Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". It was one of the recipients of BDSCertified Spin Awards in November 2004 with 100,000 spins accumulated throughout the year. On March 5, 2013, Billboard ranked the song at number five in its list of Top 100 American Idol Hits of All Time. Additionally, it also appeared at number four of Clarkson's Top 15 Biggest Billboard Hot 100 hits through the week ending April 29, 2017.
Chart performance On the week ending August 28, 2004, "Breakaway" debuted at number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100. On its tenth week, the song jumped from number 12 to number 10 to become Clarkson's third Top 10 song in the chart, following "A Moment Like This" and "Miss Independent". It peaked at number six on the week ending November 20, 2004. The song spent 46 weeks in Billboard Hot 100, a feat that was later achieved by its immediate successor, "Since U Been Gone". It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on February 5, 2005. "Breakaway" also debuted at number 37 on the US Pop Songs on the week dated August 21, 2004. Three months later, it peaked at number two on the week ending November 13, 2004, and was held off the top spot by Nelly featuring Tim McGraw's "Over and Over". The song entered Billboard Adult Pop Songs at number 36 on the week dated August 21, 2004, before peaking at number two on the week ending February 12, 2005.
"Breakaway" also made an appearance on the US Adult Contemporary at number 30 on the week ending September 18, 2004. The song fell out of the chart after its debut, before re-entering the chart at the same position of number 30 in its second week. Six months later, "Breakaway" topped Billboard Adult Contemporary, dethroning Los Lonely Boys' "Heaven" on the week ending March 12, 2005. The song spent 20 consecutive weeks at number one on the chart before being dethroned by Michael Bublé's "Home". However, the song returned to top the Billboard Adult Contemporary for the 21st week on the week ending August 6, 2005. With this achievement, "Breakaway" tied the record with Celine Dion's "A New Day Has Come" as the longest-running Adult Contemporary chart-topper by a female artist. "Breakaway" is also the longest-running chart-topper to come from a film in Billboard Adult Contemporary history, surpassing the nineteen-week record held jointly by Phil Collins's "You'll Be in My Heart" from Tarzan and Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me" from Up Close & Personal. It remains as Clarkson's longest-running number one in her career. As of September 2017, "Breakaway" has sold 2,128,000 paid digital downloads.
Internationally, "Breakaway" was a commercial success. In Australia, "Breakaway" debuted at number 14 on the week ending September 26, 2004, before peaking at number 10, three weeks later. It was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of over 35,000 units. In New Zealand, "Breakaway" entered the New Zealand Singles Chart at number 19 on the week ending October 18, 2004. Six weeks later, the song ascended to a new peak of number 12. On July 8, 2006, the song debuted and peaked at number 22 in the United Kingdom. In Ireland, it debuted and peaked at number 12 on the week ending June 29, 2006. Elsewhere in Europe, "Breakaway" peaked at number six in Belgium, number eight in Austria, as well as number nine in the Netherlands.
Music video