Heartbreaker (Mariah Carey song)
Encyclopedia
"Heartbreaker" is a song by American singer-songwriter
Mariah Carey
. It was released on September 21, 1999 by Columbia Records
as the lead single
from Carey's seventh studio album
, Rainbow
(1999). The song was written by Carey and Jay-Z
and produced by the former and DJ Clue. Additional writers are credited, since the song's hook is built around a sample from "Attack of the Name Game
" by Stacy Lattisaw
. "Heartbreaker" pushed Carey even further into the R&B
and hip-hop
market, becoming her first commercial single to feature a hip-hop artist. Lyrically, the song tells of a relationship from the female perspective, and how the protagonist incessantly returns to her lover, even though he continuously cheats on her and breaks her heart.
The song received mixed reviews from music critics, many of which felt it was not original or innovative in terms of a creative step forward. Additionally, it was compared heavily to Carey's previous song "Fantasy
" (1995), which also built its hook from a sampled beat. "Heartbreaker" experienced strong worldwide success, peaking atop the charts in Canada and the Billboard
Hot 100
, becoming Carey's fourteen chart topper there. Across Europe and Australasia, the song achieved high charting, peaking atop the charts in New Zealand and Spain, and becoming a top five single in France and the United Kingdom.
Carey performed "Heartbreaker" live on several television and award show appearances around the world. She performed "Heartbreaker" and the Desert Storm remix at the MTV European Music Awards, held on November 11, 1999 in Dublin, Ireland. Additionally, the song was performed on The Oprah Winfrey Show
, British music chart program Top of the Pops
and The Today Show. Additionally, the song was featured the set-lists of all of Carey's succeeding tours, making its debut during the album's accompanying set of concerts, the Rainbow World Tour
and was featured on Carey's compilation album, Greatest Hits
(2001).
The song's music video, directed by Brett Ratner
, became a "fan favorite" according to MTV News
. Additionally, it became one of the most expensive ever made, costing over $2.5 million. The video features Carey and her friends visiting a movie theater and catching her boyfriend (played by Jerry O'Connell
) on a date with another woman. The video features Carey playing two characters, the brunette villainous named Bianca, and herself, during a physical altercation in between the two women in the bathroom. Due to contractual agreements at the time of its filming, Jay-Z
was unable to make an appearance in the video, instead being portrayed as an animated cartoon. The video was inspired by several films including Grease
and Enter the Dragon
.
, R&B
and adult contemporary
genres. This was due to the fact that her husband at the time, Columbia Records
CEO Tommy Mottola
, was in control of her career and the music she recorded. Carey's fifth studio album, Daydream (1995), was the first time that Carey took the initiative and chose the direction the album would take. For the album's lead single "Fantasy
", she recorded a remix featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard
(O.D.B). Columbia executives felt nervously regarding the remix's release, fearing the transition and hip-hop influence would taint Carey's image and "break the formula." The remix however, became a critical success, and was regarded as one of the pioneering songs that began the fusion of R&B and hip-hop collaborations. After her divorce from Mottola however, Carey began taking even more control over her musical styles and creative ideas, pushing her future work into a more hip-hop
orientated background; the kind of music she felt more connected to personally. Butterfly was the farthest she had gone in merging into the hip-hop market, working with different and younger record producer
s and songwriter
s.
After the album's success, and the following release of her first compilation album #1
's (1998), Carey began to work on her seventh studio album, Rainbow
(1999). Her main focus on the album was to continue on the same path she began with on Butterfly, producing a subtle combination between inspirational ballads and hip-hop beats. Additionally, "Heartbreaker" marked the first time in Carey's career that a hip-hop star was included on a lead single
, following O.D.B who was featured on the official remix of "Fantasy" in 1995. Out of the three months in Capri
, Italy, that it took to record the album, Carey claimed to have spent most of the time developing what she felt to be a strong lead single. Originally, "Heartbreaker" was intended to be part of Carey's debut film soundtrack Glitter, however, after the film's delay, it was included on Rainbow. Prior to the song's radio release, Carey spoke of it in an interview: "It's pretty much [in] the classic style of my up-tempo classics like 'Fantasy
' or 'Dreamlover,' [...] But it's kind of fun and has a new edge to it, I think, and definitely having Jay-Z takes it to a whole 'nother level. And [DJ] Clue makes it really fun and stuff."
" by Stacy Lattisaw
. After agreeing to it, they incorporated Carey's lyrics and melody to the hook, and began recording the song. However, after completing "Heartbreaker", Carey felt it needed a strong male verse, hoping for a rising hip-hop artist. She chose to work with Jay-Z
and began re-arranging the song as he wrote out his verse. Jay-Z wrote his entire verse, and helped produce some of the song's core instrumentals. In an interview with Fred Bronson
, Carey spoke of her experience working with Jay-Z:
Aside from her work with Clue and Jay-Z, Carey's longtime friend and background singer Trey Lorenz
also took part in the song's production. He provided the back-up vocals in the song, and took part in several small areas of the development of Rainbow. When interviewed by Bronson, Carey spoke highly of Lorenz, "He's an amazing writer and singer, he's so influenced by the old school stuff, yet he's so current. He's known me since before my first album, and he's a great, loyal friend." Aside from the use of the sample and Jay-Z's verses, "Heartbreaker" contains strong female-empowering lyrics, which Carey wrote as a sort of anthem, especially because she felt that she personally has been in a similar predicament in the past. She spoke of the inspiration behind the lyrics when interviewed by Bronson:
dance
track, with hip-hop
and R&B
influences. According to the music sheet published at Musicnotes.com, the song is written in the key
of D♭ major, while the beat is set in common time
which moves at a moderate pace of 92 bpm
. It has a sequence of D–Bm–D as its chord progression
. Carey's vocals in the song span from the note of A3 to the high note of G5. The song has a "percolating beat" over which Carey sings with nasal
, silken and declarative vocals. The verses are melisma
tic, meaning, there are multiple notes sung per word or syllable with rapid yet seamless transitions. For example, Carey starts the second verse already in mid-belt "Its a shame to be" while then going off into a whispering coo for "so euphoric and weak."
Aside from background vocal stylings from Lorenz and other females, Carey added her own lowered vocals into the song, giving the impression of a "doubled voice." "Heartbreaker" samples R&B and dance
singer Stacy Lattisaw
's "Attack of the Name Game". The song's hook and loop were taken and incorporated into the meoldy of "Heartbreaker", as well as being used as its main instrumental components. The lyrics are constructed in the verse-pre-chorus-chorus form. Carey starts with the hook
"Gimme your love, gimme your love," repeated eight times. Carey repeats the chorus four times, ending the song with a final "Gimme your love, gimme your love." Chuck Taylor from Billboard
described its instrumentation as a "persistent guitar lick" and wrote "There's an identifiable chorus here, and some semblance of verses, but more than anything, this song comes across as a blur of jumbled in the background, including Carey's own repetitive harmonies, which in this case sound more like a competition than a compliment."
and Missy Elliott
. It is the first of Carey's remixes that was produced by Desert Storm Records producer and rapper DJ Clue, who makes an introduction on the remix. The remix and Da Brat's first verse was sampled from "Ain't No Fun (If the Homies Can't Have None)" by Snoop Dogg
. In an interview with MTV News
, Carey spoke of the song's remix before its official release in August 1999: "And then the remix. I'm so excited about the remix. It's also gonna go on the album, and it features Missy Elliott and Da Brat, and it's kinda like a girl-power answer record, and it's to the loop of Snoop [Dogg]'s 'Ain't No Fun.' They're not ready for that one!". A separate music video was filmed for the remix, shot in black and white and featuring a cameo appearance by Dogg. The Desert Storm Remix received mixed reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
chose the song as one of the top three cuts on Rainbow, alongside the original. Danyel Smith from Entertainment Weekly called it "[an] overblown [...] miscalculation" and wrote "Missy Elliott's and Da Brat's bad sexual politics sink the tired 'Heartbreaker [Remix].' Larry Flick from Billboard
, called the remix "muscular" and "street-savvy" and wrote "Missy Elliott and Da Brat lace rhymes into the track, which is enhanced by the sample from Snoop Dogg's 'Ain't No Fun (If The Homies Can't Have None)'."
called the song "airy ditty" and wrote "[On the song] Mariah exudes as much sentiment as hollowed-out driftwood." Cook continued onto the song's production, writing "By texturing it into the song, producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis have finally found productive use (other than song closing spectacle) for Mariah's high octave shriek." Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine
named "Heartbreaker" as one of his top three choices from the album. Danyel Smith from Entertainment Weekly
called the song a "delectable confection" and wrote "she smartly uses Jay-Z's droll rap about a bratty girlfriend as tart counterpoint to her creamy tones," however calling it a recycled version of Carey's previous songs "Dreamlover" (1993) and "Fantasy
" (1995). Elysa Gardner from the Los Angeles Times
called the song "breezy" and noted how Carey "brings a similarly light, sensuous touch" to "Heartbreaker". Additionally, Gardner complimented Jay-Z's rap verses, calling them "sly." Editor from Rolling Stone
Arion Berger, called it "nasal, silken and declarative" while "riding the percolating beat." Additionally, Berger also compared it to Carey's "Fantasy", for its similar usage of a sampled hook. Tom Sinclair from Entertainment Weekly reviewed the song individually, giving it an F. He called it a "rehash" of "Fantasy" and wrote "What self-respecting artist would have the gall to recycle the Tom Tom Club's 'Genius of Love' (the source of 'Fantasy') for a second time in four years? It's a given that pop will eat itself, but this sort of self-cannibalization should be illegal." Chuck Taylor from Billboard
gave the song a mixed review, writing "Yes it's a hit, and her voice is in fine form, but 'Heartbreaker' is a disappointment in terms of what we know she's capable of writing."
Hot 100
. It extended Carey's lead as the female artist with the most number one singles in the country. The only acts still ahead of Carey were Elvis Presley
with seventeen and The Beatles
with twenty. The song was certified gold
by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA), denoting shipments of over 500,000 units. Additionally, "Heartbreaker" finished at number thirty-five on the Billboard Year-End
of 1999. In Canada, the song peaked at number one on the Canadian Singles Chart
, becoming Carey's tenth chart topper in the country. In Australia, it entered the Australian Singles Chart
at number eleven, on the issue dated October 10, 1999. The next week, the song ascended to its peak of number ten, where it stayed for one week, before fluctuating inside the chart for a total of seventeen weeks. "Heartbreaker" was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA), denoting shipments of over 70,000 units within the country. In New Zealand, "Heartbreaker" was met with strong success, debuting at number four on October 10, 1999, and topping the singles chart the following week. It spent a total of eleven weeks fluctuating in the singles chart, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
(RIANZ), denoting shipments of over 15,000 units.
In Europe, the song charted throughout several markets. In Austria, it debuted at number thirty-seven on the singles chart, eventually peaking at number seventeen. In total, "Heartbreaker" spent twelve weeks on the Austrian chart. In the two Belgium territories, Wallonia and Flanders, the song peaked at numbers nine and twenty-seven, and spent nineteen and sixteen weeks on the chart, respectively. In France, the song entered the singles chart at number seventy-seven on October 9, 1999. Eventually, it peaked at number four, becoming Carey's highest charting single there since "Without You" (1993), which peaked at number two. The song charted for twenty-five weeks, and was certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique
(SNEP), denoting shipments of over 400,000 units. In Germany, "Heartbreaker" peaked at number nine, spending twenty weeks inside the singles chart. On October 2, 1999, it entered the Dutch Single Top 100 at number sixteen, eventually peaking at number seven, and spending a total of eighteen weeks in the chart. In Norway, the song's success was limited, only peaking at number fourteen and spending only four weeks charting in the countries chart. "Heartbreaker" entered the Swedish Singles Chart
at number thirty, on the issue dated October 7, 1999. It charted for a total of fourteen weeks, and attained a peak of number eighteen. In Switzerland, it spent twenty-three consecutive weeks in the singles chart, attaining a peak position of number seven, where it stayed for two weeks. On the UK Singles Chart
, "Heartbreaker" debuted at its peak position of number five, during the week of November 6, 1999. It spent a total of thirteen weeks charting inside the chart, exiting on January 9, 2000. Sales in the United Kingdom are estimated at over 190,000 units.
The music video was directed by Brett Ratner
, during September 1999. According to Carey, the goal for the video was to mirror the lyrical content of the song, as well as showing it from a female perspective. Additionally, the video was filmed in a comedic fashion, intended to remain something "fun and exciting." The video became one of the most expensive ever made, costing over $2.5 million. Due to its strong female empowering message and nature, the video remains "a fan favorite," according to MTV News
. Carey claimed that two films were used as inspirations, Grease
and Enter the Dragon
. Prior to filming the video, it became clear that Jay-Z would be unable to appear in the video, due to a contractual agreement not allowing him from appearing in a video for two weeks after he shot for "Girl's Best Friend," his track off the soundtrack to the movie "Blue Streak." Carey then thought of creating the animated section in the video, which was quickly drawn and animated by Ratner's team.
The video begins with Carey driving up to a large movie theater with several of her female friends. As they pull up to the front doors, they tell Carey that her boyfriend is inside with another woman, leading her to try to convince them to abort the plan of confrontation. After convincing her, they enter the theater and begin a series of small dance routines alongside some of the theater employees. As the music begins, scenes of them dancing and Carey entering the movie projection room inter-cut. Carey sits behind her boyfriend (played by Jerry O'Connell
) and the woman he is cheating with, and spy on them in a comedic way with her female lackeys. Soon after, the still unidentified woman walks towards the bathroom, prompting Carey to follow her during a short interlude in the video. After running into each other by the washroom, the woman appears to be Carey sporting a short brown wig and red seductive clothing. Carey pokes her, starting a large brawl in between the two women. Afterwards, Carey appears to have defeated the woman named Bianca, and heads back towards the movie room. During this scene, Jay-Z's rap verse is played, while an animated clip of Jay-Z and Carey is projected onto the screen. During the verse, Carey's friends begin throwing popcorns and other candies at O'Connell, prompting a small food fight in between them. As they halt their attack on him, Carey walks towards O'Connell's seat and acts as though she is Bianca. After she sits next to him and he notices who it is, Carey spills a large soda on his lap and bids him fairwell, leaving the theater with her friends smiling.
special. Titled The Mariah Carey Homecoming Special, it was a mini-concert filmed at Carey's old high school in Huntington, New York. The special aired on Fox on December 21, 1999 and featured Jay-Z live on stage for his verses. Carey performed "Heartbreaker" and its accompanying remix at the MTV European Music Awards, held on November 11, 1999 in Dublin, Ireland. For the performance, Da Brat
and Missy Elliott
both joined Carey on-stage. Additionally, the song was performed on The Oprah Winfrey Show
, which again featured the female duo live on stage, British music chart program Top of the Pops
, French program Vivement Dimanche, and The Today Show.
For Rainbow, Carey embarked on her fourth and third worldwide tour, titled the Rainbow World Tour
(2000). Throughout it, Carey performed the song live during every show. The synopsis behind each performance was a wrestling match in between Carey and Bianca, where Carey would sing the remix and original versions of the song throughout each small interlude of the fight. Carey was brought out with boxing gloves to the stage, performing the remix version of the song. After she began wrestling and boxing with Bianca, she defeated her, prompting her to begin the original version of the song. "Heartbreaker" featured a very different set up for Carey's Charmbracelet World Tour: An Intimate Evening with Mariah Carey
(2002–03). During the tour, Carey wore a sparkling, Swarovski
bikini number, and performed both the remix and original versions back-to-back. Several male and female dancers were on stage during the performances, as well as different musicians and back-up vocalists. During Carey's following tour, The Adventures of Mimi Tour
, "Heartbreaker" was once again performed at each of the shows. For the song's recital, Carey's donned a black bikini and matching silk cape, as well as Christian Louboutin
platform pumps. Several male dancers were present on stage, wearing black overalls and jackets while performing heavy dance routines. For the show at Madison Square Garden
in New York City, Carey was joined by both Da Brat
and Jay-Z
for the remix and original versions, respectively. During the Angels Advocate Tour
, the song was paired with Love Hangover
by Diana Ross
, and performed in a mash-up.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
. It was released on September 21, 1999 by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
as the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
from Carey's seventh 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...
, Rainbow
Rainbow (Mariah Carey album)
Rainbow is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on November 2, 1999, by Columbia Records. The album followed the same pattern as Carey's previous album, Butterfly , in which she began her transition into the R&B market. Rainbow contains a mix of...
(1999). The song was written by Carey and Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
and produced by the former and DJ Clue. Additional writers are credited, since the song's hook is built around a sample from "Attack of the Name Game
The Name Game
"The Name Game", or "The Banana Song", is a children's singalong rhyming game that creates variations on a person's name. It was written by U.S...
" by Stacy Lattisaw
Stacy Lattisaw
Stacy Lattisaw is an American R&B, dance, and gospel singer. Since the 1990s, she has exclusively sung gospel music, as a callback to her Christian roots.-Career:...
. "Heartbreaker" pushed Carey even further into the 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...
and hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
market, becoming her first commercial single to feature a hip-hop artist. Lyrically, the song tells of a relationship from the female perspective, and how the protagonist incessantly returns to her lover, even though he continuously cheats on her and breaks her heart.
The song received mixed reviews from music critics, many of which felt it was not original or innovative in terms of a creative step forward. Additionally, it was compared heavily to Carey's previous song "Fantasy
Fantasy (Mariah Carey song)
"Fantasy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on September 12, 1995 by Columbia Records as the lead single for her fifth studio album, Daydream . The song was written by Carey and Dave Hall, both serving as primary producers alongside Sean Combs...
" (1995), which also built its hook from a sampled beat. "Heartbreaker" experienced strong worldwide success, peaking atop the charts in Canada and the 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...
Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, becoming Carey's fourteen chart topper there. Across Europe and Australasia, the song achieved high charting, peaking atop the charts in New Zealand and Spain, and becoming a top five single in France and the United Kingdom.
Carey performed "Heartbreaker" live on several television and award show appearances around the world. She performed "Heartbreaker" and the Desert Storm remix at the MTV European Music Awards, held on November 11, 1999 in Dublin, Ireland. Additionally, the song was performed on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, British music chart program Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
and The Today Show. Additionally, the song was featured the set-lists of all of Carey's succeeding tours, making its debut during the album's accompanying set of concerts, the Rainbow World Tour
Rainbow World Tour
The Rainbow World Tour was a worldwide arena concert tour in the year 2000 by American R&B artist Mariah Carey.-History:Carey had released her ninth album Rainbow in November 1999 and decided to go on tour to promote it. Unlike her previous outing, the Butterfly World Tour, marked Carey's first...
and was featured on Carey's compilation album, Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Mariah Carey album)
Greatest Hits is the eleventh album by American singer Mariah Carey, released in the United States on December 4, 2001 by Columbia Records. It is a greatest hits double album: CD 1 is primarily a collection of Carey's hits from 1990 to 1995, while CD 2 is primarily a collection of hits from 1996 to...
(2001).
The song's music video, directed by Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner is an American film director, film producer and music video director. He is best known for directing the Rush Hour film series, The Family Man, Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Tower Heist. He was also a producer on the Fox drama series, Prison Break.- Early life :Ratner was...
, became a "fan favorite" according to MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
. Additionally, it became one of the most expensive ever made, costing over $2.5 million. The video features Carey and her friends visiting a movie theater and catching her boyfriend (played by Jerry O'Connell
Jerry O'Connell
Jeremiah "Jerry" O'Connell is an American actor, best known for his roles in the TV series Sliders, Andrew Clements in My Secret Identity, Vern Tessio in the film Stand by Me, Charlie Carbone in Kangaroo Jack, and Detective Woody Hoyt on the drama Crossing Jordan...
) on a date with another woman. The video features Carey playing two characters, the brunette villainous named Bianca, and herself, during a physical altercation in between the two women in the bathroom. Due to contractual agreements at the time of its filming, Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
was unable to make an appearance in the video, instead being portrayed as an animated cartoon. The video was inspired by several films including Grease
Grease (film)
Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
and Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon is a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts co-production with Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. studios, directed by Robert Clouse; starring Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and John Saxon. This is Bruce Lee's final film appearance before his death on July 20, 1973...
.
Background
During the 1990s, Carey had recorded several albums influenced by popPop 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...
, R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music....
genres. This was due to the fact that her husband at the time, Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
CEO Tommy Mottola
Tommy Mottola
Thomas Daniel "Tommy" Mottola is an American music executive, co-owner of Casablanca Records in a joint venture with the Universal Music Group. He is the ex-husband of Mariah Carey and is married to Mexican singer Thalía...
, was in control of her career and the music she recorded. Carey's fifth studio album, Daydream (1995), was the first time that Carey took the initiative and chose the direction the album would take. For the album's lead single "Fantasy
Fantasy (Mariah Carey song)
"Fantasy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on September 12, 1995 by Columbia Records as the lead single for her fifth studio album, Daydream . The song was written by Carey and Dave Hall, both serving as primary producers alongside Sean Combs...
", she recorded a remix featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard
Ol' Dirty Bastard
Russell Tyrone Jones was an American rapper and occasional producer, who went by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard or simply ODB...
(O.D.B). Columbia executives felt nervously regarding the remix's release, fearing the transition and hip-hop influence would taint Carey's image and "break the formula." The remix however, became a critical success, and was regarded as one of the pioneering songs that began the fusion of R&B and hip-hop collaborations. After her divorce from Mottola however, Carey began taking even more control over her musical styles and creative ideas, pushing her future work into a more hip-hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
orientated background; the kind of music she felt more connected to personally. Butterfly was the farthest she had gone in merging into the hip-hop market, working with different and younger record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
s and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
s.
After the album's success, and the following release of her first compilation album #1
Number 1's (Mariah Carey album)
#1's is the first compilation album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released by Columbia Records on November 17, 1998. The album contained Carey's thirteen number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as four new songs. In Japan, #1's also included her popular single "All I Want...
's (1998), Carey began to work on her seventh studio album, Rainbow
Rainbow (Mariah Carey album)
Rainbow is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on November 2, 1999, by Columbia Records. The album followed the same pattern as Carey's previous album, Butterfly , in which she began her transition into the R&B market. Rainbow contains a mix of...
(1999). Her main focus on the album was to continue on the same path she began with on Butterfly, producing a subtle combination between inspirational ballads and hip-hop beats. Additionally, "Heartbreaker" marked the first time in Carey's career that a hip-hop star was included on a lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
, following O.D.B who was featured on the official remix of "Fantasy" in 1995. Out of the three months in Capri
Capri
Capri is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Southern Italy...
, Italy, that it took to record the album, Carey claimed to have spent most of the time developing what she felt to be a strong lead single. Originally, "Heartbreaker" was intended to be part of Carey's debut film soundtrack Glitter, however, after the film's delay, it was included on Rainbow. Prior to the song's radio release, Carey spoke of it in an interview: "It's pretty much [in] the classic style of my up-tempo classics like 'Fantasy
Fantasy (Mariah Carey song)
"Fantasy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on September 12, 1995 by Columbia Records as the lead single for her fifth studio album, Daydream . The song was written by Carey and Dave Hall, both serving as primary producers alongside Sean Combs...
' or 'Dreamlover,' [...] But it's kind of fun and has a new edge to it, I think, and definitely having Jay-Z takes it to a whole 'nother level. And [DJ] Clue makes it really fun and stuff."
Recording and lyrics
In the midst of Carey's development of Rainbow during the summer of 1999, she began producing several ideas, lyrics and melodies for the yet untitled lead single. After writing the song's core lyrics and producing the main idea and melody, DJ Clue, one of the earlier producers in the project, suggested to Carey the use and incorporation of the hook from "Attack of the Name GameThe Name Game
"The Name Game", or "The Banana Song", is a children's singalong rhyming game that creates variations on a person's name. It was written by U.S...
" by Stacy Lattisaw
Stacy Lattisaw
Stacy Lattisaw is an American R&B, dance, and gospel singer. Since the 1990s, she has exclusively sung gospel music, as a callback to her Christian roots.-Career:...
. After agreeing to it, they incorporated Carey's lyrics and melody to the hook, and began recording the song. However, after completing "Heartbreaker", Carey felt it needed a strong male verse, hoping for a rising hip-hop artist. She chose to work with Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
and began re-arranging the song as he wrote out his verse. Jay-Z wrote his entire verse, and helped produce some of the song's core instrumentals. In an interview with Fred Bronson
Fred Bronson
Fredric M. Bronson is an American journalist, author and writer. He is best known for his appearances on American Idol, the weekly "Chart Beat" column in Billboard magazine, and as the author of books related to Billboard charts.Born to Irving and Mildred Bronson and raised in Culver City,...
, Carey spoke of her experience working with Jay-Z:
"It's fun when you can find someone that you can relate to and that you respect. Jay-Z is someone I admire as a writer and as an artist. We could be sitting in the studio, and he can freestyle a rhyme that would be incredible just off the top of his head. He doesn't need a pen and paper. I equate that to a singer who can pick up the mike and riff and ad-lib over a song and take you to a totally new place."
Aside from her work with Clue and Jay-Z, Carey's longtime friend and background singer Trey Lorenz
Trey Lorenz
Trey Lorenz is an African American singer and songwriter. He was born in Florence, South Carolina and is a graduate of Wilson High School.-Biography:...
also took part in the song's production. He provided the back-up vocals in the song, and took part in several small areas of the development of Rainbow. When interviewed by Bronson, Carey spoke highly of Lorenz, "He's an amazing writer and singer, he's so influenced by the old school stuff, yet he's so current. He's known me since before my first album, and he's a great, loyal friend." Aside from the use of the sample and Jay-Z's verses, "Heartbreaker" contains strong female-empowering lyrics, which Carey wrote as a sort of anthem, especially because she felt that she personally has been in a similar predicament in the past. She spoke of the inspiration behind the lyrics when interviewed by Bronson:
"It was from the standpoint of girls that keep going back to that same guy and they can't help themselves. They know they are going to continually get hurt, and the situation won't change or improve for them as long as they continue with the guy. I've been one of those girls, so I know theres a lot of them out there, and they need to gather strength and move on and past it."
Composition
"Heartbreaker" is a moderately slow, mid-tempoTempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
track, with hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
and 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...
influences. According to the music sheet published at Musicnotes.com, the song is written in the key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
of D♭ major, while the beat is set in common time
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
which moves at a moderate pace of 92 bpm
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
. It has a sequence of D–Bm–D as its chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
. Carey's vocals in the song span from the note of A3 to the high note of G5. The song has a "percolating beat" over which Carey sings with nasal
Nasal voice
A nasal voice is a type of speaking voice characterized by speech with a "nasal" quality to it. It can also occur naturally because of genetic variation...
, silken and declarative vocals. The verses are melisma
Melisma
Melisma, in music, is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic, as opposed to syllabic, where each syllable of text is matched to a single note.-History:Music of ancient cultures used...
tic, meaning, there are multiple notes sung per word or syllable with rapid yet seamless transitions. For example, Carey starts the second verse already in mid-belt "Its a shame to be" while then going off into a whispering coo for "so euphoric and weak."
Aside from background vocal stylings from Lorenz and other females, Carey added her own lowered vocals into the song, giving the impression of a "doubled voice." "Heartbreaker" samples R&B and dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
singer Stacy Lattisaw
Stacy Lattisaw
Stacy Lattisaw is an American R&B, dance, and gospel singer. Since the 1990s, she has exclusively sung gospel music, as a callback to her Christian roots.-Career:...
's "Attack of the Name Game". The song's hook and loop were taken and incorporated into the meoldy of "Heartbreaker", as well as being used as its main instrumental components. The lyrics are constructed in the verse-pre-chorus-chorus form. Carey starts with the hook
Hook (music)
A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...
"Gimme your love, gimme your love," repeated eight times. Carey repeats the chorus four times, ending the song with a final "Gimme your love, gimme your love." Chuck Taylor from 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...
described its instrumentation as a "persistent guitar lick" and wrote "There's an identifiable chorus here, and some semblance of verses, but more than anything, this song comes across as a blur of jumbled in the background, including Carey's own repetitive harmonies, which in this case sound more like a competition than a compliment."
Remix
The song's main remix, titled Desert Storm Remix, features female rappers Da BratDa Brat
Shawntae Harris , better known as Da Brat, is an American rapper and actress. Her debut album, Funkdafied, sold one million copies, making her the first female rapper to have a platinum-selling album.-Early life:...
and Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...
. It is the first of Carey's remixes that was produced by Desert Storm Records producer and rapper DJ Clue, who makes an introduction on the remix. The remix and Da Brat's first verse was sampled from "Ain't No Fun (If the Homies Can't Have None)" by Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
. In an interview with MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
, Carey spoke of the song's remix before its official release in August 1999: "And then the remix. I'm so excited about the remix. It's also gonna go on the album, and it features Missy Elliott and Da Brat, and it's kinda like a girl-power answer record, and it's to the loop of Snoop [Dogg]'s 'Ain't No Fun.' They're not ready for that one!". A separate music video was filmed for the remix, shot in black and white and featuring a cameo appearance by Dogg. The Desert Storm Remix received mixed reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
chose the song as one of the top three cuts on Rainbow, alongside the original. Danyel Smith from Entertainment Weekly called it "[an] overblown [...] miscalculation" and wrote "Missy Elliott's and Da Brat's bad sexual politics sink the tired 'Heartbreaker [Remix].' Larry Flick from 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...
, called the remix "muscular" and "street-savvy" and wrote "Missy Elliott and Da Brat lace rhymes into the track, which is enhanced by the sample from Snoop Dogg's 'Ain't No Fun (If The Homies Can't Have None)'."
Critical reception
"Heartbreaker" received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics, some of whom compared it heavily to Carey's previous lead singles. Dara Cook from MTVMTV
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....
called the song "airy ditty" and wrote "[On the song] Mariah exudes as much sentiment as hollowed-out driftwood." Cook continued onto the song's production, writing "By texturing it into the song, producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis have finally found productive use (other than song closing spectacle) for Mariah's high octave shriek." Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
named "Heartbreaker" as one of his top three choices from the album. Danyel Smith from Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
called the song a "delectable confection" and wrote "she smartly uses Jay-Z's droll rap about a bratty girlfriend as tart counterpoint to her creamy tones," however calling it a recycled version of Carey's previous songs "Dreamlover" (1993) and "Fantasy
Fantasy (Mariah Carey song)
"Fantasy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on September 12, 1995 by Columbia Records as the lead single for her fifth studio album, Daydream . The song was written by Carey and Dave Hall, both serving as primary producers alongside Sean Combs...
" (1995). Elysa Gardner from the 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....
called the song "breezy" and noted how Carey "brings a similarly light, sensuous touch" to "Heartbreaker". Additionally, Gardner complimented Jay-Z's rap verses, calling them "sly." Editor from Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
Arion Berger, called it "nasal, silken and declarative" while "riding the percolating beat." Additionally, Berger also compared it to Carey's "Fantasy", for its similar usage of a sampled hook. Tom Sinclair from Entertainment Weekly reviewed the song individually, giving it an F. He called it a "rehash" of "Fantasy" and wrote "What self-respecting artist would have the gall to recycle the Tom Tom Club's 'Genius of Love' (the source of 'Fantasy') for a second time in four years? It's a given that pop will eat itself, but this sort of self-cannibalization should be illegal." Chuck Taylor from 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...
gave the song a mixed review, writing "Yes it's a hit, and her voice is in fine form, but 'Heartbreaker' is a disappointment in terms of what we know she's capable of writing."
Chart performance
In the United States, "Heartbreaker" was released on September 21, 1999. The song became Carey's fourteenth chart topper in the US, spending two weeks atop the BillboardBillboard (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...
Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. It extended Carey's lead as the female artist with the most number one singles in the country. The only acts still ahead of Carey were Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
with seventeen and The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
with twenty. The song was certified gold
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA), denoting shipments of over 500,000 units. Additionally, "Heartbreaker" finished at number thirty-five on the Billboard Year-End
Billboard Year-End
Billboard Year-End charts are a cumulative measure of a single or album's performance in the United States, based upon the Billboard magazine charts during any given chart year. Billboard's "chart year" runs from the first week of December to the final week in November...
of 1999. In Canada, the song peaked at number one on the Canadian Singles Chart
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....
, becoming Carey's tenth chart topper in the country. In Australia, it entered the Australian Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
at number eleven, on the issue dated October 10, 1999. The next week, the song ascended to its peak of number ten, where it stayed for one week, before fluctuating inside the chart for a total of seventeen weeks. "Heartbreaker" was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA), denoting shipments of over 70,000 units within the country. In New Zealand, "Heartbreaker" was met with strong success, debuting at number four on October 10, 1999, and topping the singles chart the following week. It spent a total of eleven weeks fluctuating in the singles chart, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...
(RIANZ), denoting shipments of over 15,000 units.
In Europe, the song charted throughout several markets. In Austria, it debuted at number thirty-seven on the singles chart, eventually peaking at number seventeen. In total, "Heartbreaker" spent twelve weeks on the Austrian chart. In the two Belgium territories, Wallonia and Flanders, the song peaked at numbers nine and twenty-seven, and spent nineteen and sixteen weeks on the chart, respectively. In France, the song entered the singles chart at number seventy-seven on October 9, 1999. Eventually, it peaked at number four, becoming Carey's highest charting single there since "Without You" (1993), which peaked at number two. The song charted for twenty-five weeks, and was certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique
Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique
The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...
(SNEP), denoting shipments of over 400,000 units. In Germany, "Heartbreaker" peaked at number nine, spending twenty weeks inside the singles chart. On October 2, 1999, it entered the Dutch Single Top 100 at number sixteen, eventually peaking at number seven, and spending a total of eighteen weeks in the chart. In Norway, the song's success was limited, only peaking at number fourteen and spending only four weeks charting in the countries chart. "Heartbreaker" entered the 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 ....
at number thirty, on the issue dated October 7, 1999. It charted for a total of fourteen weeks, and attained a peak of number eighteen. In Switzerland, it spent twenty-three consecutive weeks in the singles chart, attaining a peak position of number seven, where it stayed for two weeks. On the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, "Heartbreaker" debuted at its peak position of number five, during the week of November 6, 1999. It spent a total of thirteen weeks charting inside the chart, exiting on January 9, 2000. Sales in the United Kingdom are estimated at over 190,000 units.
Music video
Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner is an American film director, film producer and music video director. He is best known for directing the Rush Hour film series, The Family Man, Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Tower Heist. He was also a producer on the Fox drama series, Prison Break.- Early life :Ratner was...
, during September 1999. According to Carey, the goal for the video was to mirror the lyrical content of the song, as well as showing it from a female perspective. Additionally, the video was filmed in a comedic fashion, intended to remain something "fun and exciting." The video became one of the most expensive ever made, costing over $2.5 million. Due to its strong female empowering message and nature, the video remains "a fan favorite," according to MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
. Carey claimed that two films were used as inspirations, Grease
Grease (film)
Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
and Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon is a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts co-production with Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. studios, directed by Robert Clouse; starring Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and John Saxon. This is Bruce Lee's final film appearance before his death on July 20, 1973...
. Prior to filming the video, it became clear that Jay-Z would be unable to appear in the video, due to a contractual agreement not allowing him from appearing in a video for two weeks after he shot for "Girl's Best Friend," his track off the soundtrack to the movie "Blue Streak." Carey then thought of creating the animated section in the video, which was quickly drawn and animated by Ratner's team.
The video begins with Carey driving up to a large movie theater with several of her female friends. As they pull up to the front doors, they tell Carey that her boyfriend is inside with another woman, leading her to try to convince them to abort the plan of confrontation. After convincing her, they enter the theater and begin a series of small dance routines alongside some of the theater employees. As the music begins, scenes of them dancing and Carey entering the movie projection room inter-cut. Carey sits behind her boyfriend (played by Jerry O'Connell
Jerry O'Connell
Jeremiah "Jerry" O'Connell is an American actor, best known for his roles in the TV series Sliders, Andrew Clements in My Secret Identity, Vern Tessio in the film Stand by Me, Charlie Carbone in Kangaroo Jack, and Detective Woody Hoyt on the drama Crossing Jordan...
) and the woman he is cheating with, and spy on them in a comedic way with her female lackeys. Soon after, the still unidentified woman walks towards the bathroom, prompting Carey to follow her during a short interlude in the video. After running into each other by the washroom, the woman appears to be Carey sporting a short brown wig and red seductive clothing. Carey pokes her, starting a large brawl in between the two women. Afterwards, Carey appears to have defeated the woman named Bianca, and heads back towards the movie room. During this scene, Jay-Z's rap verse is played, while an animated clip of Jay-Z and Carey is projected onto the screen. During the verse, Carey's friends begin throwing popcorns and other candies at O'Connell, prompting a small food fight in between them. As they halt their attack on him, Carey walks towards O'Connell's seat and acts as though she is Bianca. After she sits next to him and he notices who it is, Carey spills a large soda on his lap and bids him fairwell, leaving the theater with her friends smiling.
Live performances
In order to promote "Heartbreaker", Carey performed the song live on several television and award show appearances, as well as recorded her own Fox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
special. Titled The Mariah Carey Homecoming Special, it was a mini-concert filmed at Carey's old high school in Huntington, New York. The special aired on Fox on December 21, 1999 and featured Jay-Z live on stage for his verses. Carey performed "Heartbreaker" and its accompanying remix at the MTV European Music Awards, held on November 11, 1999 in Dublin, Ireland. For the performance, Da Brat
Da Brat
Shawntae Harris , better known as Da Brat, is an American rapper and actress. Her debut album, Funkdafied, sold one million copies, making her the first female rapper to have a platinum-selling album.-Early life:...
and Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...
both joined Carey on-stage. Additionally, the song was performed on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, which again featured the female duo live on stage, British music chart program Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, French program Vivement Dimanche, and The Today Show.
For Rainbow, Carey embarked on her fourth and third worldwide tour, titled the Rainbow World Tour
Rainbow World Tour
The Rainbow World Tour was a worldwide arena concert tour in the year 2000 by American R&B artist Mariah Carey.-History:Carey had released her ninth album Rainbow in November 1999 and decided to go on tour to promote it. Unlike her previous outing, the Butterfly World Tour, marked Carey's first...
(2000). Throughout it, Carey performed the song live during every show. The synopsis behind each performance was a wrestling match in between Carey and Bianca, where Carey would sing the remix and original versions of the song throughout each small interlude of the fight. Carey was brought out with boxing gloves to the stage, performing the remix version of the song. After she began wrestling and boxing with Bianca, she defeated her, prompting her to begin the original version of the song. "Heartbreaker" featured a very different set up for Carey's Charmbracelet World Tour: An Intimate Evening with Mariah Carey
Charmbracelet World Tour: An Intimate Evening with Mariah Carey
Charmbracelet World Tour: An Intimate Evening with Mariah Carey is the name of Mariah Carey's 2003–04 worldwide concert tour. It takes its name from Carey's 2002 album Charmbracelet, which had been released six months earlier.-History:...
(2002–03). During the tour, Carey wore a sparkling, Swarovski
Swarovski
Swarovski is the brand name for a range of precisely-cut crystal and related luxury products produced by Swarovski AG of Wattens, Austria...
bikini number, and performed both the remix and original versions back-to-back. Several male and female dancers were on stage during the performances, as well as different musicians and back-up vocalists. During Carey's following tour, The Adventures of Mimi Tour
The Adventures of Mimi Tour
The Adventures of Mimi: The Voice, The Hits, The Tour was a 2006 concert tour of arenas by American R&B singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was one of a few tours in her then-sixteen year career and was named after a fan's "Carey-centric" diary of the same name...
, "Heartbreaker" was once again performed at each of the shows. For the song's recital, Carey's donned a black bikini and matching silk cape, as well as Christian Louboutin
Christian Louboutin
Christian Louboutin is a French footwear designer whose father is cabinetmaker Roger Louboutin and homemaker mother Irene. His siblings include three sisters, no brothers. Landscape architect Louis Benech has been his partner since 1997. Louboutin launched his line of high-end women's shoes in...
platform pumps. Several male dancers were present on stage, wearing black overalls and jackets while performing heavy dance routines. For the show at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York City, Carey was joined by both Da Brat
Da Brat
Shawntae Harris , better known as Da Brat, is an American rapper and actress. Her debut album, Funkdafied, sold one million copies, making her the first female rapper to have a platinum-selling album.-Early life:...
and Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
for the remix and original versions, respectively. During the Angels Advocate Tour
Angels Advocate Tour
The Angels Advocate Tour is the seventh concert tour by American R&B singer Mariah Carey, in support of her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel. The tour visited North America, also Egypt, Brazil and Singapore...
, the song was paired with Love Hangover
Love Hangover
"Love Hangover" was the fourth number one single for Motown singer Diana Ross. It was released in March 1976, and rose to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Soul Singles and Hot Dance Club Play charts simultaneously....
by Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
, and performed in a mash-up.
Track listings
- US vinyl
- "Heartbreaker" (album version) – 4:48
- "Heartbreaker/If You Should Ever Be Lonely" – 4:37
- "Heartbreaker/If You Should Ever Be Lonely" (JuniorJunior VasquezJunior Vasquez, , is an American club DJ and remixer/producer.-Career:...
's Club Mix) – 10:18 - "Heartbreaker/If You Should Ever Be Lonely" – 10:12
- "Heartbreaker/If You Should Ever Be Lonely" (Junior's Hard Mix) – 10:19
- US maxi
- "Heartbreaker" (album version) – 4:18
- "Heartbreaker" (remix) – 4:36
- "Heartbreaker/If You Should Ever Be Lonely" (Junior's Club Mix) – 10:18
- "Heartbreaker/If You Should Ever Be Lonely" (Junior's Club Dub) – 10:11
- "Heartbreaker/If You Should Ever Be Lonely" (Junior's Hard Mix) – 10:20
- US CD single
- "Heartbreaker" (album version) – 4:48
- "Heartbreaker" (remix) – 4:37
- European 12" vinyl
- Side A
- "Heartbreaker" (album version) – 4:18
- "Heartbreaker" (remix) – 4:36
- Side B
- "Heartbreaker/If You Should Ever Be Lonely" (Junior's Club Mix) – 10:18
- "Heartbreaker/If You Should Ever Be Lonely" (Junior's Club Dub) – 10:11
- Australian/UK CD maxi
- "Heartbreaker" (album version) – 4:18
- "Heartbreaker" (remix) – 4:36
- "Heartbreaker" (no rap version) – 3:20
- "Heartbreaker/If You Should Ever Be Lonely" (Junior Heartbreaker Club Mix) – 10:14
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the Rainbow liner notes.- Mariah CareyMariah CareyMariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
– co-productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, songwritingSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Jay-ZJay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
– songwriting, vocalsRappingRapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”... - DJ Clue – co-production
- Narada Michael WaldenNarada Michael WaldenNarada Michael Walden is an American producer, drummer, singer, and songwriter. He was given the name Narada by guru Sri Chinmoy in the early 1970s and his musical career spans three decades, in which he was awarded several gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards...
– songwriting - Jeff Cohen – songwriting
- Shirley Elliston – songwriting
- Lincoln Chase – songwriting
Peak positions
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
10 |
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
17 |
| Belgian Flanders Singles Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
27 |
| Belgian Flanders Singles Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
9 |
| Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
1 |
| Danish Singles Chart | 10 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 7 |
| European Singles Chart | 4 |
| French Singles Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
4 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
9 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
19 |
| Italian Singles Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
10 |
| Japanese Singles Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
12 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
1 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
14 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 1 |
| 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 .... |
18 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
7 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
5 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
1 |
| US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 2 |
| US Billboard 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,... |
1 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 50 |
| Belgian Singles Chart | 71 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 39 |
| French Singles Chart | 41 |
| German Singles Chart | 70 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 63 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 35 |
Sales and certifications
| Provider | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... ) |
Platinum |
| France (SNEP Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... ) |
Gold |
| New Zealand (RIANZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... ) |
Platinum |
| United States (RIAA Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... ) |
Gold |