Broken Halos

{{Infobox song

| name = Broken Halos

| cover = Chris Stapleton - Broken Halos.jpeg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Chris Stapleton

| album = From A Room: Volume 1

| released = {{Start date|2017|7|17}}

| recorded =

| studio = RCA Studio A (Nashville, Tennessee)

| venue =

| genre = * Country rock

| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=00}}

| label = Mercury Nashville

| writer = * Chris Stapleton

Mike Henderson

| producer = * Dave Cobb

Chris Stapleton

| prev_title = Either Way

| prev_year = 2017

| next_title = Say Something

| next_year = 2018

}}

"Broken Halos" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton. Written by Stapleton and Mike Henderson, it was released on April 14, 2017 as a promotional single from his second studio album From A Room: Volume 1.{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/hear-chris-stapletons-new-song-broken-halos-w476728 |title=Hear Chris Stapleton's Redemptive 'Broken Halos' Off Upcoming New Album |date=April 13, 2017 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=April 14, 2017}} The lead track on Volume 1, it was serviced to country radio on July 17 as the album's second single.{{Cite news |url=https://www.allaccess.com/country/future-releases |title=Country > Future Releases |work=All Access Music Group |access-date=July 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710060524/https://www.allaccess.com/country/future-releases |archive-date=July 10, 2017 |url-status=dead }} It won the awards for Best Country Song at the 60th Grammy Awards,{{Cite news |url=https://variety.com/2018/music/news/2018-grammys-winners-list-music-awards-1202676802/ |title=Grammy Awards Winners List: Updating Live |date=January 28, 2018 |work=Variety |access-date=January 28, 2018}} and Single of the Year and Song of the Year and the 52nd Country Music Association Awards.{{cite web|url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/cma-music-festival/2018/08/28/cma-awards-nominations-2018-announced-nashville/1117153002/|title=2018 CMA Awards nominations announced|work=Tennessean|date=August 28, 2018|accessdate=November 13, 2018}} Additionally, it received a nomination for Single Record of the Year at the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards,{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/8221822/acm-awards-2018-nominations |title=ACM Awards 2018 Nominations: See the Full List |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |date=March 1, 2018 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=March 1, 2018}}

Composition and lyrical interpretation

Musically, it was defined by critics as a multi-genre song. Stapleton said the song was inspired by "people who have passed away before their time." The singer recorded the song a day after a longtime friend died.{{Cite news |url=http://tasteofcountry.com/chris-stapleton-broken-halos/ |title=Chris Stapleton, 'Broken Halos' [Listen] |last=Whitaker |first=Sterling |date=July 5, 2017 |work=Taste of Country |access-date=July 20, 2017}} "Broken Halos" is a mid-tempo country rock number in which Stapleton "meditates on the wounds people suffer and the road toward healing that they travel," as noted by a Los Angeles Times{{'}} reviewer.{{Cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-chris-stapleton-broken-halos-premiere-20170413-story.html |title=Chris Stapleton premieres 'Broken Halos,' first track from 'From a Room: Volume 1' |last=Lewis |first=Randy |date=April 13, 2017 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=April 15, 2017}} An NPR editor described it as Southern gospel,{{Cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2017/04/14/523805933/hear-chris-stapletons-first-single-from-his-forthcoming-album |title=Hear Chris Stapleton's First Single From His Forthcoming Album |last=Powers |first=Ann |date=April 14, 2017 |work=NPR |access-date=April 25, 2017}} and a Rolling Stone reviewer, as folk rock.{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/chris-stapletons-from-a-room-track-by-track-guide-w480132 |title=Chris Stapleton's 'From A Room: Volume 1': Track-by-Track Guide |last=Crawford |first=Robert |date=May 4, 2017 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=May 5, 2017}} Another Rolling Stone writer, Chris Parton, named it country gospel after listening to a live performance of the song, and interpreted it as:

{{quote|...[The track] offers a tender, lump-in-your-throat reminder to keep the faith, even in the midst of tragedy. Angels appear to help us on our way, Stapleton sings, but when their job is done they leave. . . and we're not meant to understand why.{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/hear-chris-stapleton-perform-new-song-broken-halos-w455902 |title=Hear Chris Stapleton Perform Powerful New Song 'Broken Halos' |last=Parton |first=Chris |date=December 14, 2016 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=April 26, 2017}}}}

The song is composed in the key of A-flat major with a moderate tempo. It primarily follows the chord pattern A{{flat}}-D{{flat}}-A{{flat}}-Fm-A{{flat}}-D{{flat}}-A{{flat}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0174037|title='Broken Halos' sheet music|work=Musicnotes.com|date=2 May 2017 |accessdate=March 15, 2018}}

Critical reception

Writing for Billboard, Spotify editors opined the song "helps build a strong argument that [Stapleton] is one of the most refreshing and consistent country artists to emerge in recent memory."{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/playlists/7760384/spotify-new-music-friday-april-14-kendrick-lamar-damn-chris-stapleton-pwr-bttm-songs |title=Kendrick Lamar, Chris Stapleton, PWR BTTM & More Are Spotify Editors' Picks for April 14 |date=April 14, 2017 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=April 25, 2017}} Laura McClellan of Taste of Country wrote "the stripped-down tune is a commentary on, essentially, stumbling along this life together as human beings, and its lyrics are poignant enough to affect even the most cynical of us." She commented its mid-tempo, "laid-back" feel with only guitar and vocals featuring prominently "makes it easy listening, but its core is significant."{{Cite news |url=http://tasteofcountry.com/chris-stapleton-broken-halos-new-music/ |title=Chris Stapleton Releases Powerful New Song, 'Broken Halos' |date=April 14, 2017 |work=Taste of Country |access-date=April 25, 2017}} In Paste, Ben Salmon described it a "a perfectly paced song that lyrically spans the spiritual and the earthbound."{{Cite news |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/05/chris-stapleton-from-a-room-vol-1-review.html |title=Chris Stapleton: From A Room, Vol. 1 Review |last=Salmon |first=Ben |date=May 4, 2017 |work=Paste |access-date=May 5, 2017}}

In Rolling Stone, Robert Crawford commented, "Equal parts folk-rock anthem and Sunday-morning spiritual, [the song] begins with five seconds of Stapleton in solo mode, howling over an acoustic guitar. When the band joins him halfway through the first verse, it's an understated entrance, stripped free of radio-friendly gloss... [The song] is a straightforward, uncluttered opener, designed to welcome – not overwhelm – the listener."

Chart performance

"Broken Halos" entered the top 10 on the US Country Airplay on the chart dated February 10, 2018, becoming his second single to do so following "Nobody to Blame".{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8098550/chris-stapleton-crossover-success-country-pop-rock-adult-r-and-b-say-something-justin-timberlake |title=Chris Stapleton: Format 'Traveller,' From Country to Pop, Rock & Adult R&B |last=Trust |first=Gary |date=February 7, 2018 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=March 1, 2018}} It topped the chart in its March 24, 2018 issue, becoming his first career number one on Country Airplay.{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8254686/chris-stapleton-first-country-airplay-no-1-broken-halos |title=Chris Stapleton Claims First Country Airplay Leader With 'Broken Halos' |last=Asker |first=Jim |date=March 20, 2018 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=March 20, 2018}} It also entered the top 10 on the Hot Country Songs chart in its 42nd chart week, being Stapleton's second top 10 following his two-week leading song "Tennessee Whiskey".{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8098401/chris-stapleton-top-three-spots-country-albums-chart |title=Chris Stapleton Is First Artist to Hold Top Three Spots on Top Country Albums Chart Since Garth Brooks in 1992 |last=Asker |first=Jim |date=February 6, 2018 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=March 1, 2018}} "Broken Halos" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on April 26, 2018, double platinum in 2019 and triple platinum in 2021. It has sold 664,000 downloads in the United States as of April 2019.{{cite news|url=http://roughstock.com/news/2019/04/43752-top-30-digital-country-tracks|title=Top 30 Digital Country Tracks: April 8, 2019|work=RoughStock|first=Matt |last=Bjorke |date= April 8, 2019 |accessdate=April 10, 2019 }}

Live performances

Stapleton premiered the song during Dolly Parton's Tennessee wildfires telethon in December 2016.{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/chris-stapletons-broken-halos-new-song-shipped-to-radio-w491320 |title=Chris Stapleton Ships 'Broken Halos' to Radio, Opens for Tom Petty |date=July 7, 2017 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=July 19, 2017}} On July 18, 2017 the singer performed it on The Today Show, along with "Tennessee Whiskey" and "Second One to Know".{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/chris-stapletons-broken-halos-see-today-performance-w492871 |title=See Chris Stapleton's Mesmerizing 'Today Show' Performances |last=Crawford |first=Robert |date=July 18, 2017 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=July 19, 2017}} Stapleton also performed the song at the 2017 CMT Artists of the Year awards{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/see-chris-stapleton-luke-bryan-perform-on-cmt-artists-w509733 |title=Chris Stapleton, Luke Bryan Preach Unity at 'CMT Artists of the Year' Show |last=Partpn |first=Chris |date=October 19, 2017 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=November 4, 2017}} and at the Country Music Association Awards.{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/8030318/chris-stapleton-broken-halos-cma-awards-2017 |title=Chris Stapleton Delivers Heavenly 'Broken Halos' Performance at 2017 CMAs |last=Payne |first=Chris |date=November 8, 2017 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=November 8, 2017}} The song is featured on the setlist of his All-American Road Show Tour. During his live performances in late 2017, the singer dedicated the song to the victims of deadly tragedies that happened in the country.{{Cite news |url=http://tasteofcountry.com/chris-stapleton-las-vegas-victims-tribute-nashville-concert-review/ |title=Chris Stapleton Tributes Las Vegas Victims, Drops New Album News at Nashville Gig |last=Whitaker |first=Sterling |date=October 14, 2017 |work=Taste of Country |access-date=November 4, 2017}}

Charts

=Weekly charts=

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

! Chart (2017–2018)

! Peak
position

{{singlechart|Canada|67|artist=Chris Stapleton|rowheader=true|accessdate=April 3, 2018}}

{{singlechart|Billboardcanadacountry|3|artist=Chris Stapleton|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 13, 2018}}

{{singlechart|Billboardhot100|45|artist=Chris Stapleton|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 20, 2018}}

{{singlechart|Billboardcountryairplay|1|artist=Chris Stapleton|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 20, 2018}}

{{singlechart|Billboardcountrysongs|5|artist=Chris Stapleton|rowheader=true|accessdate=February 27, 2018}}

=Year-end charts=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
scope="col"\| Chart (2017) ! scope="col"\| Position
scope="row"\| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard){{cite magazine\|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2017/hot-country-songs\|title=Hot Country Songs – Year-End 2017\|magazine=Billboard\|accessdate=April 24, 2020}} \| 58

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

scope="col"| Chart (2017)

! scope="col"| Position

scope="row"| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2017/hot-country-songs|title=Hot Country Songs – Year-End 2017|magazine=Billboard|accessdate=April 24, 2020}}

| 58

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
scope="col"\| Chart (2018) ! scope="col"\| Position
scope="row"\| US Country Airplay (Billboard){{cite magazine\|title=Country Airplay – Year-End 2018\|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2018/country-airplay-songs\|magazine=Billboard\|accessdate=December 7, 2018}} \| 33
scope="row"\| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard){{cite magazine\|title=Hot Country Songs – Year-End 2018\|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2018/hot-country-songs\|magazine=Billboard\|accessdate=December 7, 2018}} \| 15

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

scope="col"| Chart (2018)

! scope="col"| Position

scope="row"| US Country Airplay (Billboard){{cite magazine|title=Country Airplay – Year-End 2018|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2018/country-airplay-songs|magazine=Billboard|accessdate=December 7, 2018}}

| 33

scope="row"| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard){{cite magazine|title=Hot Country Songs – Year-End 2018|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2018/hot-country-songs|magazine=Billboard|accessdate=December 7, 2018}}

| 15

Certifications

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|title=Broken Halos|artist=Chris Stapleton|award=Platinum|certyear=2023|access-date=October 20, 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=Canada|artist=Chris Stapleton|title=Broken Halos|award=Platinum|number=4|relyear=2017|certyear=2023|access-date=March 3, 2025}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=New Zealand|artist=Chris Stapleton|title=Broken Halos|award=Platinum|relyear=2017|certyear=2023|source=radioscope|access-date=January 17, 2025}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United Kingdom|artist=Chris Stapleton|title=Broken Halos|award=Silver|relyear=2017|certyear=2024|id=20465-4830-1|access-date=October 26, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|award=Platinum|type=single|number=6|artist=Chris Stapleton|relyear=2017|title=Broken Halos|refname=riaa|certyear=2025|access-date=March 19, 2025}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}