Breaking Point (song)
Encyclopedia
"Breaking Point" is song by American recording artist Keri Hilson
. It was released as the lead single from her second studio album, No Boys Allowed
on September 7, 2010 in the United States. The song was written by Timbaland
, Jerome "JRoc" Harmon, Keri Hilson
and Timothy Clayton
, with both Timbaland and JRoc producing the track.
The mid-tempo R&B
song sees Hilson singing about "moving on from relationships that are not working and expecting men to step up to the plate and show women more respect and love." It received mixed to positive reviews from critics, and managed to reach a peak of number forty-four on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart.
, Jerome "JRoc" Harmon, Keri Hilson
and Timothy Clayton
, with Timbaland and JRoc producing the track. Lyrically, the track is about "moving on from relationships that are not working and expecting men to step up to the plate and show women more respect and love." "Breaking Point" premiered online on August 18, 2010. Prior to this, it was made available for download
in the United States on September 7, 2010.
"Breaking Point" is a mid-tempo R&B
ballad
, featuring huge kick-drum
sounds, cooing backup vocals
and organ
chords. The song also features doo-wop
-tinged beats enhanced by a looping piano
, finger snaps and sporadic "oohs". It incorporates influences from pop
and soul music
. Sara Anderson of AOL Radio
wrote, "over a strutting, mid-tempo Timbaland-produced back beat, Keri soars vocally, incorporating an improvisational gospel
style". Chris Ryan of MTV Buzzworthy
wrote, "while the music has all the squiggly, burping and buzzing percussion sound effects of your typical Timb[aland] track, it also has a lovely Prince
-like melody. Keri goes all in on the vocals, recalling Mary J. Blige
, circa "I'm Going Down". This was echoed by Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe
, who said "halfway through "Breaking Point", Hilson does a Mary J. Blige-ish talk about the need for each woman to reclaim her life."
wrote, "the deceptively sugary, trilling "Breaking Point" does observe that some women "tolerate too damn much", but it's easily missed." Jayson Rodriguez of MTV News called it "perky-but-slow", and said "on the track, Hilson is feisty and voices the frustration of women who are neglected and taken advantage of by men." Rap-Up
called the song a "vintage-sounding", while Margaret Wappler of Los Angeles Times
described it as "sticky and finessed". Karen Tye of Adelaide Now called it a "Motown-inspired ballad", and said on the single, Hilson "invokes Beyoncé." Mariel Concepcion of Billboard
noted it as a "reminiscent of Melanie Fiona
's "Give It to Me Right
" and Beyoncé's "Why Don't You Love Me
", and said it "is an empowering wake-up call encouraging women to stop putting up with the abuse."
On September 25, 2010, "Breaking Point" entered the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart at number eighty-seven. The next week it rose fifteen places to number seventy-two and rose to its peak position of number forty-four on November 20, 2010.
for "Breaking Point" was directed by Bryan Barber
and was shot in Hilson's hometown of Atlanta. The video leaked online on September 23, 2010. In the video, Hilson is lounging in bed cursing the name of an unnamed man who’s wronged her. She then heads over to the salon to gossip with her girlfriends and gets a new hairdo, switching up her hair from black to blonde. Hilson then takes a page out of Kelis
' "Caught Out There" book, marching down the street, defiantly fist pumping with her girls behind her. The girls later head home for some payback, throwing their men’s clothes off of the balcony.
Keri Hilson
Keri Lynn Hilson is an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Hilson began her music career as a songwriter, penning tracks for several artists in the mid-2000s as part of the five-person production and songwriting team, The Clutch...
. It was released as the lead single from her second studio album, No Boys Allowed
No Boys Allowed
No Boys Allowed is the second studio album by American recording artist Keri Hilson, released on December 17, 2010 through Mosley Music and Zone 4 Records. On the album, Hilson is reunited with Timbaland and Polow da Don, who executively produced the album, as they did with her debut release...
on September 7, 2010 in the United States. The song was written by Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
, Jerome "JRoc" Harmon, Keri Hilson
Keri Hilson
Keri Lynn Hilson is an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Hilson began her music career as a songwriter, penning tracks for several artists in the mid-2000s as part of the five-person production and songwriting team, The Clutch...
and Timothy Clayton
Attitude (rapper)
Timothy Clayton, , better known by his stage name Attitude, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer.- Biography :...
, with both Timbaland and JRoc producing the track.
The mid-tempo R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
song sees Hilson singing about "moving on from relationships that are not working and expecting men to step up to the plate and show women more respect and love." It received mixed to positive reviews from critics, and managed to reach a peak of number forty-four on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart.
Background and composition
"Breaking Point" was written by TimbalandTimbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
, Jerome "JRoc" Harmon, Keri Hilson
Keri Hilson
Keri Lynn Hilson is an American R&B singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, Hilson began her music career as a songwriter, penning tracks for several artists in the mid-2000s as part of the five-person production and songwriting team, The Clutch...
and Timothy Clayton
Attitude (rapper)
Timothy Clayton, , better known by his stage name Attitude, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer.- Biography :...
, with Timbaland and JRoc producing the track. Lyrically, the track is about "moving on from relationships that are not working and expecting men to step up to the plate and show women more respect and love." "Breaking Point" premiered online on August 18, 2010. Prior to this, it was made available for download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
in the United States on September 7, 2010.
"Breaking Point" is a mid-tempo R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
, featuring huge kick-drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
sounds, cooing backup vocals
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
and organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
chords. The song also features doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
-tinged beats enhanced by a looping piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, finger snaps and sporadic "oohs". It incorporates influences from pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
. Sara Anderson of AOL Radio
AOL Radio
AOL Radio powered by Slacker, , is an online radio service available only in the United States.- Roots :...
wrote, "over a strutting, mid-tempo Timbaland-produced back beat, Keri soars vocally, incorporating an improvisational gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
style". Chris Ryan of MTV Buzzworthy
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
wrote, "while the music has all the squiggly, burping and buzzing percussion sound effects of your typical Timb[aland] track, it also has a lovely Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
-like melody. Keri goes all in on the vocals, recalling Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
, circa "I'm Going Down". This was echoed by Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
, who said "halfway through "Breaking Point", Hilson does a Mary J. Blige-ish talk about the need for each woman to reclaim her life."
Reception
"Breaking Point" received mostly positive reviews from critics. James Cole of UAB Kaleidoscope, said "the song is a good anthem for women and even some men, making it a strong lead single that showcases the direction of the album." Luke Gibson of Hip-Hop DX said it was "some of her best work to date" and "No Boys Allowed doesn’t have enough of those moments." Caroline Sullivan of The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
wrote, "the deceptively sugary, trilling "Breaking Point" does observe that some women "tolerate too damn much", but it's easily missed." Jayson Rodriguez of MTV News called it "perky-but-slow", and said "on the track, Hilson is feisty and voices the frustration of women who are neglected and taken advantage of by men." Rap-Up
Rap-Up
Rap-Up is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the hip hop and R&B aspect of the music industry, and...
called the song a "vintage-sounding", while Margaret Wappler of Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
described it as "sticky and finessed". Karen Tye of Adelaide Now called it a "Motown-inspired ballad", and said on the single, Hilson "invokes Beyoncé." Mariel Concepcion of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
noted it as a "reminiscent of Melanie Fiona
Melanie Fiona
Melanie Fiona Hallim is a Canadian R&B and Grammy-nominated recording artist from Toronto, Ontario. She was born to Guyanese immigrant parents of African, Indian, and Portuguese descent and grew up in the inner city of Toronto. Living in a music filled household, Fiona says she always knew music...
's "Give It to Me Right
Give It to Me Right
"Give It to Me Right" is a song by Canadian R&B singer Melanie Fiona from her debut album, The Bridge . Written and produced by Andrea Martin, the track was sent to radio outlets as the album's lead single on February 28, 2009...
" and Beyoncé's "Why Don't You Love Me
Why Don't You Love Me (Beyoncé Knowles song)
"Why Don't You Love Me" is a song by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles taken from her third studio album, I Am… Sasha Fierce. It later released as a bonus track on a digital EP titled I Am... Sasha Fierce - The Bonus Tracks. Composed by Knowles, Angela Beyince, Solange Knowles and The Bama Boyz,...
", and said it "is an empowering wake-up call encouraging women to stop putting up with the abuse."
On September 25, 2010, "Breaking Point" entered the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart at number eighty-seven. The next week it rose fifteen places to number seventy-two and rose to its peak position of number forty-four on November 20, 2010.
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Breaking Point" was directed by Bryan Barber
Bryan Barber
Bryan Barber is a music video and motion picture director. He has directed many music videos for popular artists.-Personal:Barber graduated from Sacramento, CA Hiram Johnson High School in 1988...
and was shot in Hilson's hometown of Atlanta. The video leaked online on September 23, 2010. In the video, Hilson is lounging in bed cursing the name of an unnamed man who’s wronged her. She then heads over to the salon to gossip with her girlfriends and gets a new hairdo, switching up her hair from black to blonde. Hilson then takes a page out of Kelis
Kelis
Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers (born August 21, 1971 is an American musical artist. She is a BRIT Award, Q Award and NME Award winner and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. She has had nine top 10 singles on the UK Singles Chart...
' "Caught Out There" book, marching down the street, defiantly fist pumping with her girls behind her. The girls later head home for some payback, throwing their men’s clothes off of the balcony.
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
44 |
Radio and release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | September 7, 2010 | Digital download | Interscope records Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:... |
| October 12, 2010 | Urban airplay | ||