breakup song
{{about|the type of song|other uses|Breakup song (disambiguation)}}
{{short description|Type of song}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
A breakup song is a song describing the breakup of an intimate relationship, with associated emotions of sadness, frustration, anger, and sometimes of acceptance, relief, or even liberation. As one source states (discussing the upbeat breakup song "Better Things" by The Kinks), "Pop music is littered with break-up masterpieces", but "[i]t's a rare break-up song that isn't bitter".{{cite web|title=The 30-Day Song Selection Spectacular: #4, Favorite Breakup Song|date=3 June 2011 |url=http://www.americansongwriter.com/2011/06/the-30-day-song-selection-spectacular-4-favorite-breakup-song/|publisher=American Songwriter|accessdate=14 June 2012}}
Listening to breakup songs during a breakup can help the listener to experience a sense of catharsis.{{Cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/top-breakup-songs-all-time/sza-kill-bill/|title=75 Best Breakup Songs of All Time|first=Hannah|last=Dailey|work=Billboard|date=8 February 2024}} For example, songwriter Phil Collins notes that "People hate a break-up, but they love a break-up song. "Against All Odds" pins down how it feels to be broken-hearted, and it's one of the songs most often mentioned when people write to me, describing how it helped them through the trauma of heartbreak".Phil Collins, Not Dead Yet: The Memoir (2016), p. 186.
Genres and styles
Breakup songs can be found in every genre of music. For example, "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette is categorized as alternative rock and post-grunge; "Tainted Love", originally composed by Ed Cobb and recorded as a soul music track by Gloria Jones in 1964,{{cite web|url= http://www.songlexikon.de/songs/taintedlove |title= Tainted Love — Songlexikon |publisher= Songlexikon.de |accessdate= 25 July 2013}} attained worldwide fame after being covered by Soft Cell in 1981 as a synthpop{{cite web|url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/non-stop-erotic-cabaret-mw0000651340 |title= Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret review at Allmusic |author= William Ruhlmann |work= AllMusic |publisher= Rovi Corporation |accessdate= 24 June 2013}} "the remake of Gloria Jones' "Tainted Love," which dominated dance clubs and eventually peaked in the pop Top Ten with its synth-pop sound and Almond's plaintive vocal in 1981–1982."/new wave{{cite web|author= Tim Sendra |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/pop-wave-vol-1-mw0001006022 |title= Pop & Wave, Vol. 1 review at Allmusic |work= AllMusic |publisher= Rovi Corporation |accessdate= 24 June 2013}} "the collection has some of the biggest hits of the new wave era. Songs like "Cars" by Gary Numan, "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell (...) are the type of tunes that define the era." song; "I Will Survive", popularized by Gloria Gaynor, has been described as a "disco anthem";{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/jan/31/i-will-survive-ridiculous-sublime | title='I Will Survive': the ridiculous and the sublime | work=The Guardian | date=31 January 2012 | accessdate=19 September 2013 | author=Garfield, Bob}} and "Achy Breaky Heart", popularized by Billy Ray Cyrus, is a country/rockabilly song.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HhIEAAAAMBAJ&q=Achy+Breaky+Heart+first+Platinum+Country+from+1983&pg=PA10 |title=Cyrus Goes Triple-Platinum; Brooks Breaks 8 million |date=15 August 1992 |publisher=Billboard |accessdate=5 August 2010}} Some musicians are particularly well known for having written or recorded a large number of breakup songs; for example, Taylor Swift, whose penchant for the genre has been the subject of examination.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/ex-factor-taylor-swifts-best-songs-about-former-boyfriends-20160616|title=Ex-Factor: Taylor Swift's Best Songs About Former Boyfriends|magazine=Rolling Stone|first=Brittany|last=Spanos|date=16 June 2016}}
The nature and style of breakup songs also changes over time. One source contends that "1960s charts were full of tragic break-up songs, whereas by the 1990s these were a rarity – which may indicate that, contrary to its in-your-face aerobics'n'attitude bluster, 1990s pop is more emotionally repressed".Rikky Rooksby, Inside Classic Rock Tracks: Songwriting and Recording Secrets of 100 Great Songs, from 1960 to the Present Day (2001), p. 31. In many instances, breakup songs "spring from biographical material", with songwriters using the medium to record their own feelings about a breakup.Sheila Davis, The Songwriter's Idea Book (Penguin Group, 1992), "Strategy Twenty-Seven: Breaking Up as Plot Device". Breakup songs can also reflect specific phases of a breakup, including feelings of estrangement between the partners before the actual breakup, describing the breakup itself, and describing feelings in the aftermath of the breakup.
Best and best-selling breakup songs
A number of different media sources have sought to list the "best" breakup songs, with efforts to accomplish this reaching very different results. For example The Ringer found the best breakup song to be "Purple Rain" by Prince, followed by "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette and "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt,{{Cite web|url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2020/2/14/21137264/50-greatest-breakup-songs-ever-ranking|title=The 50 Greatest Breakup Songs of All Time|first=The Ringer|last=Staff|date=14 February 2020|website=The Ringer}} while a list on the same topic by Time Out yielded a completely different top three, "I'd Rather Go Blind" by Etta James, "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Elliott Smith (a different song from the 2011 Gotye song of the same name), and the 1992 Whitney Houston version of "I Will Always Love You".{{Cite web|url=https://www.timeout.com/music/50-best-breakup-songs|title=The 50 best breakup songs ever|website=Time Out Worldwide|date=12 August 2022 }} Similarly, Billboard produced yet another list, topped by "All Too Well" by Taylor Swift, "Dancing on My Own" by Robyn, and "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5.
The all-time best-selling single of a breakup song is the 1992 Whitney Houston version of "I Will Always Love You", which sold over 20 million copies.{{cite news |first= Wendy |last= Geller |title= It Was 40 Years Ago: Dolly Parton Bids Adieu to Porter Wagoner, Writes 'I Will Always Love You' |url= http://ramcountry.yahoo.com/post/102051679676/it-was-40-years-ago-dolly-parton-bids-adieu-to |publisher= Yahoo! Music |date= 21 February 2014 |access-date= 31 July 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150723012642/http://ramcountry.yahoo.com/post/102051679676/it-was-40-years-ago-dolly-parton-bids-adieu-to |archive-date= 23 July 2015 |url-status= dead }} The song had originally been written and recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton,{{Cite web|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4941|title=I Will Always Love You by Dolly Parton Songfacts|website=www.songfacts.com|access-date=12 November 2016}} and topped the country charts in 1974. It was written as a farewell to her one-time partner and mentor of seven years, Porter Wagoner, following Parton's decision to pursue a solo career.{{Cite news|url=http://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2015/12/26/dolly-parton-remembers-writing-always-love-you/77762172/|title=Dolly Parton remembers writing 'I Will Always Love You'|newspaper=The Tennessean|access-date=12 November 2016}} Other high-selling breakup songs include "Un-Break My Heart" by Toni Braxton in 1996 (10 million copies),{{cite book|title= Economic Analysis of Music Copyright: Income, Media and Performances |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=GYbndQUWxoIC&q=%2210+million+copies%22&pg=PA125 |first= Ivan L. |last= Pitt |publisher= Springer |isbn= 978-1-4419-6317-8 |year= 2010 |page= 125}} "Believe" by Cher in 1998 (10 million copies){{cite journal|url=http://www.complex.com/music/2010/08/complex-presents-the-25-greatest-auto-tune-songs/|title=Complex Presents: The 25 Greatest Auto-Tune Songs|first=Insanul|last=Ahmed|journal=Complex|date=5 August 2010|access-date=17 January 2016}} and "Careless Whisper" by George Michael in 1984 (6 million copies).{{cite news|title= George Michael's highs and lows |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7444297.stm |work= BBC News Online |date= 21 September 2008 |access-date= 20 November 2010}} Best-selling digital singles include "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye featuring Kimbra in 2011 (13 million copies),{{cite press release|title= Ke$ha, The Black Eyed Peas and Adele Top the Charts for Most Revenue Made via Digital Downloads in Over a Decade |url= http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/keha-the-black-eyed-peas-and-adele-top-the-charts-for-most-revenue-made-via-digital-downloads-in-over-a-decade-254134721.html |agency= PR Newswire |date= 7 April 2014 |access-date= 31 July 2015}}{{cite magazine|first= Lars |last= Brandle |url= http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/473925/gotye-kimbra-win-big-at-aria-awards |title= Gotye, Kimbra Win Big at ARIA Awards |magazine= Billboard |date= 30 November 2012 |access-date= 29 December 2012}} "Hello" by Adele in 2015 (12.3 million copies),{{cite web |title= Global Music Report 2016: State of the Industry |publisher= International Federation of the Phonographic Industry |access-date= 16 April 2016 |url= http://www.ifpi.org/downloads/GMR2016.pdf |archive-date= 30 July 2016 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20160730180434/http://www.ifpi.org/downloads/GMR2016.pdf |url-status= dead }} and "Love Yourself" by Justin Bieber in 2016 (11.7 million copies).{{cite web |title= Global Music Report 2017: Annual State of the Industry |publisher= International Federation of the Phonographic Industry |access-date= 25 April 2017 |url= http://www.ifpi.org/downloads/GMR2017.pdf |archive-date= 26 April 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170426063757/http://www.ifpi.org/downloads/GMR2017.pdf |url-status= dead }}
See also
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- [http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/506152/top-30-breakup-songs-heartbreak-hits Heartbreak Hits: Top 30 Breakup Songs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430104022/http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/506152/top-30-breakup-songs-heartbreak-hits |date=30 April 2016 }}, Billboard (14 February 2014)
- [http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/g3505/best-breakup-songs-of-all-time/ The 50 Best Breakup Songs], Esquire (25 July 2017)
- [http://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/music/g720/best-breakup-songs/ 10 Songs To Get You Through Every Breakup], Seventeen (23 October 2013)
- [http://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-best-breakup-songs-to-help-you-move-on-2017-5?r=UK&IR=T The 10 best breakup songs to help you move on], Business Insider (12 May 2017)