Don't Go Breaking My Heart (Agnes song)
Encyclopedia
"Don't Go Breaking My Heart" is a song by Swedish recording artist Agnes
from her upcoming fourth studio album
. It was released as the album's lead single on September 21, 2011. The song was first heard and revealed as a single during the Stockholm Pride
festival on August 5, 2011 The song is written by Agnes, Vincent Pontare, Magnus Lidehäll, The Nervo Twins and produced by Vincent Pontare and Magnus Lidehäll. A music video for the single release was shoot on September 12, 2011 and directed by Mikeadelica.
Agnes herself decided to record the song, and the rest of the album, in Sweden although her huge success with Release Me
had open up many opportunities to record it in the U.S. "I thought about that, but found that the music I do - pop, disco, dance music - it's our speciality in Sweden. We have worked with that for so long. In the United States ... sometimes they find that "this sounds supercool", while you, so to speak ... think that we have already done that."
The lyrics is about fear to let anyone get close, to lower our guard when standing face to face with the great love. Agnes herself commented on her writing in a press release from Universal, "I write a lot about love and relationships. For better or worse. I love powerful music, as the music approaches the great feelings, and nothing is bigger than love. It's the greatest thing in the end."
The single's artwork was revealed in August and consists of Agnes in a black dress with the wind in her hair and the name of the single written all over it in white, written by Agnes herself. It differs from her earlier single covers, such as Release Me
, the hit single from her third album Dance Love Pop
. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" shows a slightly darker side and lacks the playfulness that marked her earlier covers.
, compares "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" with "Release Me" and says that it has the same sort of energy and "sounds like a hit already at the first listening, but haven't we heard this before?". He continues with praising her vocals and says that the chorus is "so clear that one can detect it from miles away and the song's disco strings efficiently pumps up the verses. It is stable. While it is difficult to avoid the feeling that Agnes's sound has evolved zero percent since last time."
, making it the first Agnes single ever so completely miss the Top 60 chart. The reason for this is that since October 29th, 2010 the singles chart includes data from online streaming services such as Spotify
, since the Spotify consumption in Sweden outlines the digital sales it is necessary for a single to break in to the Spotify Top 60 chart to even enter the official single chart.
(Released: September 21, 2011) (Roxy/Universal)
CD-single
(Released: September 21, 2011) (Roxy/Universal)
Streaming
(Released: October 20, 2011) (Roxy/Universal)
Agnes Carlsson
Agnes Emilia Carlsson, also known mononymously as Agnes , is a Swedish recording artist. She rose to fame as the winner of Idol 2005, the second season of the Swedish Idol series...
from her upcoming fourth studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
. It was released as the album's lead single on September 21, 2011. The song was first heard and revealed as a single during the Stockholm Pride
Stockholm Pride
Stockholm Pride is an annual gay pride festival held in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Since the start in 1998, Stockholm Pride has grown....
festival on August 5, 2011 The song is written by Agnes, Vincent Pontare, Magnus Lidehäll, The Nervo Twins and produced by Vincent Pontare and Magnus Lidehäll. A music video for the single release was shoot on September 12, 2011 and directed by Mikeadelica.
Background
Already in January 2011, Swedish tabloid Expressen declared the comeback of Agnes with a new single before the summer, this was later audited to "during the summer" and then to "the end of 2011". The numerous delays came to an end when the song "Don't go breaking my heart" first was heard when Agnes performed at the Stockholm Pride Festival, clips of the song then started to thrive on the internet and a release in "early fall" was announced. On August 24th the label announced that the song would be released on September 21, 2011 and the Scandinavian online retailer CDON.com soon after made it possible to pre-order the single. The release dates for the rest of the world will be "released soon" according to Universal Music.Production and artwork
The track is written by Agnes, her boyfriend Vincent Pontare, Magnus Lidehäll and The Nervo Twins. Lidehäll has also produced the song together with Vincent Pontare.Agnes herself decided to record the song, and the rest of the album, in Sweden although her huge success with Release Me
Release Me (Agnes song)
"Release Me" is a pop song recorded by Swedish singer Agnes taken from her third album Dance Love Pop. The track was written by Agnes Carlsson, Anders Hansson and Sharon Vaughn. It was released as the album's second single in Sweden, and as Agnes' debut single internationally.The song has been...
had open up many opportunities to record it in the U.S. "I thought about that, but found that the music I do - pop, disco, dance music - it's our speciality in Sweden. We have worked with that for so long. In the United States ... sometimes they find that "this sounds supercool", while you, so to speak ... think that we have already done that."
The lyrics is about fear to let anyone get close, to lower our guard when standing face to face with the great love. Agnes herself commented on her writing in a press release from Universal, "I write a lot about love and relationships. For better or worse. I love powerful music, as the music approaches the great feelings, and nothing is bigger than love. It's the greatest thing in the end."
The single's artwork was revealed in August and consists of Agnes in a black dress with the wind in her hair and the name of the single written all over it in white, written by Agnes herself. It differs from her earlier single covers, such as Release Me
Release Me (Agnes song)
"Release Me" is a pop song recorded by Swedish singer Agnes taken from her third album Dance Love Pop. The track was written by Agnes Carlsson, Anders Hansson and Sharon Vaughn. It was released as the album's second single in Sweden, and as Agnes' debut single internationally.The song has been...
, the hit single from her third album Dance Love Pop
Dance Love Pop
Dance Love Pop is the third studio album by Swedish recording artist Agnes, released originally on October 29, 2008 in Sweden. This was Agnes' first studio album since 2006 and her comeback to the music stage. The album is written and produced by Swedish song-writer Anders Hansson and geared...
. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" shows a slightly darker side and lacks the playfulness that marked her earlier covers.
Music video
The music video for "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" was shoot on September 12, 2011 and was released just nine days later, on September 23 on Agnes official YouTube channel and on Aftonbladets website. It was directed by Micke Gustavsson, also known as "Mikeadelica". The idea behind the video is to describe how it feels to have your heart broken, the shifts between being very fragile and very strong.Synopsis
The music video starts with a blurred close up of Agnes, showing only parts of her face in front of some trees. This continues until the song starts, and Agnes' mouth is suddenly more sharp and shapes the first words of the song. The camera then zoom out and Agnes torso is visibly up front, wearing her hair out and in a black tight top. She is then duplicated as shown in the picture to the right and starts to dance. Another background emerges with arrows pointing out and forming a circle around her, Agnes look in to the camera and sings "Don't go breaking my heart, don't go breaking my heart.." showing the fragile part of someone when being heartbroken. In the next scene, there is strings with keys tied to them and flashing light bulbs hanging over a mirror with Agnes reflection in it, while she sings "The walls caving in, I'm giving in /../ I can't stop this now, 'cause my world revolves 'round you, and there's nothing I can do". Agnes is then shown in an upfront angle with a pony-tail and the wind blowing in her hair, this scene shifts with earlier scenes during the chorus. In the end, Agnes appears in a wedding dress with an arrow pointing out of her heart when she is slowly fading away.Critical reception
Anders Nunstedt, from the Swedish tabloid ExpressenExpressen
Expressen is one of two nationwide evening tabloid newspapers in Sweden, the other being Aftonbladet. Expressen was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and slogans "it stings" or "Expressen to your rescue", always on the reader's side....
, compares "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" with "Release Me" and says that it has the same sort of energy and "sounds like a hit already at the first listening, but haven't we heard this before?". He continues with praising her vocals and says that the chorus is "so clear that one can detect it from miles away and the song's disco strings efficiently pumps up the verses. It is stable. While it is difficult to avoid the feeling that Agnes's sound has evolved zero percent since last time."
Chart performance
After its release in Sweden, the single spend almost two weeks on the iTunes top ten download chart. So on October 2, 2011 "Don't go breaking my heart" entered the official Swedish download chart at three. Despite this it failed to enter the official Swedish single chart, SverigetopplistanSverigetopplistan
Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....
, making it the first Agnes single ever so completely miss the Top 60 chart. The reason for this is that since October 29th, 2010 the singles chart includes data from online streaming services such as Spotify
Spotify
Spotify is a Swedish-founded, UK-headquartered DRM-based music streaming service offering streaming of selected music from a range of major and independent record labels, including Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group, and Universal. Launched in October 2008 by Swedish startup Spotify AB, the service had...
, since the Spotify consumption in Sweden outlines the digital sales it is necessary for a single to break in to the Spotify Top 60 chart to even enter the official single chart.
Track listings
Digital Download/Streaming(Released: September 21, 2011) (Roxy/Universal)
- "Don't Go Breaking My Heart " [Radio Edit] — 3:46
CD-single
(Released: September 21, 2011) (Roxy/Universal)
- "Don't Go Breaking My Heart " [Radio Edit] — 3:46
Streaming
(Released: October 20, 2011) (Roxy/Universal)
- "Don't Go Breaking My Heart " [Niclas Kings Radio Remix] — 3:38
- "Don't Go Breaking My Heart " [Niclas Kings Radio Remix Extended] — 5:58
Weekly charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... (Downloads) |
3 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | September 21, 2011 | CD single/Digital 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... |
Roxy Recordings Roxy Recordings King Island Roxystars Recordings AB, more known as Roxy Recordings, or Roxy was an independent record label based in Stockholm, Sweden. It was bought by Universal Music Group in August 2011. The label was formed in 2007 and is owned by Egmont through Nordisk Film and MBO... |
| Denmark | September 26, 2011 | Copenhagen Records Copenhagen Records Copenhagen Records is a mainstream Danish independent record label formed on 5 January 2004 by former EMI Recorded Music Denmark staff members to give artists more artistic autonomy. It houses artists spread over a wide range of genres, from goth rock to rap, and from pop artists to comedians.-... |
|
| Norway | October 12, 2011 | Digital 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... |
Universal Music |
| United States | TBA | CD single/Digital 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... |
Interscope 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:... |