Breakaway

"Breakaway"
Single by Kelly Clarkson
from the album Breakaway
Released	July 2004 (2004-07) (See release history)
Format	Digital download, CD single
Genre	Pop rock, adult contemporary
Length	3:57
Label	Walt Disney/RCA
Writer(s)	Avril Lavigne[1] Bridget Benenate[2] Matthew Gerrard[2]
Producer	John Shanks
Certification	Gold (RIAA digital downloads) Gold (RIAA CD singles) Gold (CRIA) Gold (ARIA)
Kelly Clarkson singles chronology
"The Trouble with Love Is" (2003) "Breakaway" (2004) "Since U Been Gone" (2004)
Australian cover Australian single cover

"Breakaway" is a 2004 song co-written by Avril Lavigne,^[1] Bridget Benenate and Matthew Gerrard and produced by John Shanks.^[2] It was recorded by pop rock singer Kelly Clarkson for the soundtrack to the film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement^[3] by Disney Records, where it quickly became a charting single and video from the soundtrack. Later, it was included on Clarkson's second album, Breakaway, being released again by RCA Records as the album's first single. It was the first single in North America, Latin America and Australia, and the fifth single in Europe and Indonesia, from Clarkson's second album.^{[citation needed]}

In February 2005, the single was certified gold by RIAA and has sold over 500,000 copies in all formats in the US.^{[citation needed]}

History

The song was co-written by Avril Lavigne for her 2002 debut album, Let Go, but she did not release it because at the time she did not feel the song suited her album.^[4] It was later recorded by Clarkson for the soundtrack of the 2004 film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.^[5]

The song was released as a single in the U.S. in July 2004. After two underperforming singles, "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is", a few critics had written off Clarkson as an American Idol has-been, and neither they nor Clarkson's management team expected the song to be very successful.^{[citation needed]} Clarkson stated that she recorded the song "Breakaway" to tide fans over until September of that year, when her team had been planning the release of the first single from her second album.^[6]

The situation changed in August 2004, when "Breakaway" entered the Billboard Hot 100 and slowly began to climb it. It gradually became one of the biggest hits of late 2004, peaking at number six on the Hot 100 in November, becoming Clarkson's first top ten single since "Miss Independent" in 2003. Because of the slow-burning success of "Breakaway", RCA Records pushed back the release of Clarkson's next single, moved the release of the album to November and titled it Breakaway to attract fans of the song.^{[citation needed]} "Breakaway" is one of the songs with the most longevity on the Hot 100, not leaving until July 2005; this can be partly attributed to its steady digital download sales, which have gained the single a RIAA gold certification.

"Breakaway" spent a record twenty consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The song also shares the record for the longest run at number one for a female artist — twenty-one weeks — with Céline Dion's "A New Day Has Come". "Breakaway" is the longest running number-one on the chart from a film soundtrack.^{[citation needed]}

In Australia, "Breakaway" debuted at number fourteen, peaked at number ten on its third week and was later certified gold.^[7] The song was extremely popular in Canada and reached number three. It was the fifth single from the album in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, with a UK release date of June 26, 2006.^[8] The song became Clarkson's eighth top forty hit in the UK, peaking at number twenty-two.^{[citation needed]}

Music video

Because "Breakaway" was recorded for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, the music video is tied in with the film. Clarkson wanted the video to be balanced between the theme of the song and the theme of the film.^{[citation needed]} The video includes both themes, starting with a young actress, Lindsey Krueger, representing Clarkson as a child, who can be seen looking forlorn. Years pass, and an adult Clarkson, now a star, is seen attending the fictional premiere of The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. Scenes from the film can be seen when Clarkson remembers her past, and how she "broke away". Originally the video was supposed to include more scenes of Clarkson growing up at a more gradual pace, but they had to be eliminated because of time constraints.^{[citation needed]}

The music video released in the UK was filmed at the London Hammersmith Apollo when Clarkson toured Europe.^{[citation needed]}

Another video was released for the European release of the single; it is essentially the same as the U.S. video, but with the references to The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement removed. This version of the video also aired in the U.S. shortly after, as popularity of the movie faded.^{[citation needed]}

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single-releases of "Breakaway".

Australian CD single

1. "Breakaway" - 3:58
2. "Because of You" (Performed by Jesse McCartney) - 3:36

European CD single

1. "Breakaway" - 3:58
2. "Breakaway" (NapsterLive) - 4:19

UK CD single

1. "Breakaway" - 3:58
2. "Breakaway" (NapsterLive) - 4:19
3. "Breakaway" (music video)

USA Promo Single

1. "Breakaway" - 3:58
2. "Breakaway" (Call Out Hook) - 0:10

Release history

Charts

References