"Break My Soul" has been described as adance-pop andhouse track. The song was met with critical acclaim upon release, with praise towards its production and lyrics. Its lyrical themes of personal empowerment in the face of unfulfilling jobs struck a chord with the masses during the epochal "Great Resignation". The song's impact on the public consciousness led to widespread recognition as the anthem of the movement, serving as a cultural symbol of the profound societal shift taking place.
In an interview with theBritishVogue in June 2022, Beyoncé announced her upcoming seventh studio albumRenaissance, the first part of a trilogy series, for release on July 29,[1] and called it "her most ambitious musical project to date".[2] The song title and its release date were revealed through the singer's social media bios on June 20, 2022; no further announcement was made.[3] Several streaming services, includingSpotify andApple Music, immediately confirmed the news.[4]
"Break My Soul" was revealed to be the title of the album's first single, via Beyoncé changing herInstagram bio to "6. BREAK MY SOUL midnight ET".[5][6] Originally intended to be released at midnightEastern Time on June 21 to coincide with the 2022June solstice, the song was released to music streaming serviceTidal andYouTube two hours prior, on June 20.[7][8][9] "Break My Soul" marks Beyoncé's first single release from a solo studio album in six years.[10]
Robin S. told British TV morning showGood Morning Britain that she only found out that "Show Me Love" had beensampled when her son called her to tell her that she wastrending onTwitter. She told the hosts that she was grateful and open to collaborating with Beyoncé in the future.[11] The sampling also led to the singer being inundated with requests from record labels, corporations and other artists to license the song's master recordings for various purposes. Robin S. further praised Beyoncé for acknowledging and appreciating her music, calling it "one of the highest compliments ever".[12] American singerCrystal Waters, who helped makehouse music mainstream in the1990s, stated she was "ecstatic" when she heard "Break My Soul", and expressed gratitude for Beyoncé for helping shine a light on underappreciated house singers.[13]
"Break My Soul" is adance,[3][14]dance-pop,[15]house,[16] anddiva house song[17] with influences ofnu-disco[18] and 1990s music rooted inBlack and queer communities.[16] Lyrically, the track sees Beyoncé "using her growliest voice to describe a search for liberation from a crushing job... and a nerve-janglingpandemic" and is "filled with dancefloor-friendly lines... and a repeated exhortation of 'Everybody'." In the chorus, "[t]he title is flipped" as Beyoncé sings "You won't break my soul".[14][16] Fans and media outlets drew connections between lyrics like "Now I just fell in love / And I just quit my job" and theGreat Resignation, a surge in Americans leaving their jobs due towage stagnation and dissatisfaction with labor conditions.[19]Glamour reported that some listeners had already quit their jobs due to these lyrics and expected others to follow suit.[20]
"Break My Soul" prominently samplesBig Freedia's 2014bounce song "Explode" and takes heavy inspiration from Robin S.'s 1993house-pop single "Show Me Love".[21] According to Musicnotes.com, the song is performed in the key ofG♯ minor with atempo of 115 beats per minute incommon time. Beyoncé's vocals span from F♯3 to D♯5 in the song.[22]
"Break My Soul" was met with widespread critical acclaim upon its release.[23] In a five-star review forThe i Paper, Lauren O'Neill described "Break My Soul" as a "floorfilling home run of a comeback" that makes you "give in to the impulses of your body and lose yourself in it". O'Neill praised Beyoncé for exploring new sounds on the track, while employing her impressive vocals and rapping skills "to offer something that feels completely new and still entirely her own".[24]Kitty Empire described the song as an "instant classic" and an "ecstatic house music anthem of our times".[25]
Variety's Jem Aswad described the song as highly anticipated by fans of Beyoncé, calling it "a driving dance track", before acknowledging the song's "plinking" and "insistent" hook.[14] Julianne Escobedo Shepherd ofPitchfork called the track "dancefloor liberation" that features "Beyoncé as anSSRI, her attempt to assuage widespread depression and crushingstress." She goes on to highlight the song's position in a lineage of vocal house music and "Black queer tradition", calling it a "palimpsest [with] evocations and sounds layered deep in the sense memories of club heads."[26] Writing forNME, Kyann-Sian Williams reported that "It's amazing to see a rise in black visibility in dance music" referring toDrake'sHonestly, Nevermind alongside "Break My Soul". Williams finds some problems in the track, but nevertheless affirms that "singing over dance tracks is not easy, and only the best R&B stars can do so" in a song "sassy, full of pride; [...] It's more than a few tempo and melody issues, thanks to its beautiful message of confidence".[18]
Writing forBillboard, Larisha Paul highlighted the song's "nearly five-minute run time in an algorithmicstreaming age where even venturing beyond three minutes feels like a risk." Further, she praised the production for "allow[ing] the record to breathe, trading in rushed, overcrowded urgency for high energy,four-to-the-floorbeats."[27] Kyle Denis of the same publication praised Beyoncé for overcomingageism in the music industry, writing that the elements of bounce andrap help the house track feel "fresh and uniquely Beyoncé." He further praised her for honoring dance music's Black and queer origins, building on her transformation into "one of the keysociopolitical artists of thepast decade" that began withLemonade (2016).[28]
Rolling Stone placed the song at number 108 on its list of the 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time and at number 428 on their list of the500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[29][30]Billboard listed the song on its list of 50 Best Dance Songs of 2022.[31]
In the United States, "Break My Soul" debuted at number 15 on theBillboard Hot 100 with only three days of sales, becoming Beyoncé's 41st top 40 single as a solo artist and her highest debut since "Walk on Water" in 2017.[52] The song also debuted atop theDigital Songs chart, becoming Beyoncé's tenth number-one.[52] The following week, the song reached a new peak of number seven after a full tracking week, becoming Beyoncé's 20th top 10 single as a solo act and her 30th career top 10 single, which includes her groupDestiny's Child.[53] The song also became Beyoncé's first top 10 single in the United States since 2020's remix of "Savage" withMegan Thee Stallion and her first solo top 10 since 2016's "Formation". She joinedPaul McCartney andMichael Jackson as the only artists in Hot 100 history to achieve at least 20 top-10s as a solo artist and 10 as a member of a group.[53] "Break My Soul" also topped theHot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, becoming Beyoncé's first number-one on this chart.[53] For the week of July 31, the song reached a new peak of number six on the Hot 100 and spent its fifth week atop the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.[54] Following the release ofRenaissance, "Break My Soul" ascended to the top of the Hot 100, becoming Beyoncé's eighth number-one single as a solo artist and her twelfth including Destiny's Child.[55] The song was driven by 18.9 million streams, 13,000 downloads, and 61.7 million audience impressions for the week ending August 4, 2022. In doing so, Beyoncé holds the eighth-longest span between first and most recent number-one songs on the chart as a solo artist, with 19 years and one month since "Crazy in Love" featuringJay-Z began its eight weeks at the summit on July 12, 2003.[55] Additionally, it marked her first Hot 100 number-one as a solo artist since "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" in 2008, nearly 14 years prior. This marked the charts' longest gap between solo number-one singles sinceCher's "Believe" ascended to the top of the chart in March 1999, 25 years after "Dark Lady" in March 1974. The song topped the chart for two consecutive weeks.[55] The song also topped theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs,Hot R&B Songs, and logged a sixth week atop the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, becoming the first song ever to top all four charts simultaneously.[55]
The song debuted at number 10 on theR&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart with 10.1 million audience impressions from six days of radio airplay. Upon doing so, "Break My Soul" became Beyoncé's 32nd top 10 hit on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, tyingR. Kelly andUsher for the sixth-most among all acts. Further, the song became only the ninth song ever and the first sinceToni Braxton's "You're Makin' Me High" debuted at number nine in May 1996 to debut within the top 10 since the chart began in 1992.[56] The song topped the chart for the week ending July 31, becoming Beyoncé's 9th number-one on the chart, tying her withChris Brown for the third most number-one songs on the chart.[citation needed]
In Canada, "Break My Soul" debuted at number 29 for the week of July 2, 2022. The next week, it rose 21 positions to reach a new peak of number eight, becoming Beyoncé's ninth top 10 single in the country as a solo act. Following the release ofRenaissance, the song reached a new peak of number four.[57]
In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 21 on theUK Singles Chart on June 24, 2022, becoming Beyoncé's 36th top 40 song in Britain as a solo artist.[58][59] The following week, the song climbed 17 positions to reach a new peak of number four, becoming Beyoncé's 20th top 10 single in the country as a solo act and her 33rd including those with Destiny's Child.[60] Upon the release ofRenaissance, "Break My Soul" rose four positions to reach a new peak of number two, held off the summit byLF System's "Afraid to Feel", and became Beyoncé's highest-peaking single in Britain as a solo artist since "If I Were a Boy" peaked at the top of the UK Singles Chart in November 2008.[61]
In Ireland, the song debuted at number 18 on theIrish Singles Chart, becoming her 24th top 20 single in the country.[citation needed] The following week, the song reached a new peak of number two, becoming Beyoncé's first top 10 single in the country since 2017's "Walk on Water" withEminem.[62] Upon the release ofRenaissance, "Break My Soul" rose two positions to number one, overtakingKate Bush's "Running Up That Hill". The song became Beyoncé's fifth number-one single in the country as a solo act, and her first since 2010's "Telephone" withLady Gaga.[63]
In Australia, "Break My Soul" debuted at number 32 on theARIA Singles Chart based on a partial week of sales for the week of June 24, 2022.[citation needed] Following the album's release, the song reached a new peak of number six,[64] becoming Beyoncé's 23rd top 10 single in the country and the first since 2017.[citation needed]
Beyoncé first performed "Break My Soul" at theRenaissance World Tour during the opening night inStockholm, Sweden.[65] The performance was preceded by "Energy", where it transitioned right into "Break My Soul", like on the album.
This performance takes place mainly on the secondary stage, with choreography such asvoguing, and an inflatable disco ball-textured horse, like on the parent album's cover art, emerging out on the main stage.[66] After the song's bridge, Beyoncé performs The Queens Remix version of the song.[65] The remix is accompanied by a brief interpolation ofThe Jacksons' "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" as the singer and dancers strut across the stage before returning to the remix.[67] During most performances, Beyoncé and her dancers are wearing iridescent outfits designed byDavid Koma.[68][69]
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 35. týden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 31. týden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 35. týden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 31. týden 2022 in the date selector. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
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