| "Breakin' Dishes" | |
|---|---|
| Song byRihanna | |
| from the albumGood Girl Gone Bad | |
| Released | May 31, 2007 |
| Recorded | 2007 |
| Studio |
|
| Songwriters | |
| Producers |
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"Breakin' Dishes" is a song by the Barbadian singerRihanna, from her third albumGood Girl Gone Bad (2007). The song was co-written byChristopher Stewart andThe-Dream, with production completed by the former. The song received positive reviews from music critics, who agreed that the song was one of the highlights of the album. "Breakin' Dishes" also charted at number four on the USHot Dance Club Songs chart in both 2008 and 2009. The song's only live televised performance was at the Pepsi Smash Show Super Bowl game in 2009, and it was also included on three of Rihanna's arena tours; theGood Girl Gone Bad Tour (2007–08),Last Girl on Earth Tour (2009–10) and theLoud Tour (2011).
"Breakin' Dishes" was written byChristopher "Tricky" Stewart andThe-Dream, with the former producing the song.[1] The song appears as the fourth track onGood Girl Gone Bad.[1][2] Lyrically, "Breakin' Dishes" is about "a downtrodden wife who exacts revenge on her cheating husband", according to Nick Levine ofDigital Spy.[3] According to the digital music sheet published byEMI Publishing, the song is written in the key ofB minor and is set incommon time with amoderate techno rock beat, with a metronome of 124beats per minute.[4] Rihanna's vocal range in the song spans from the low note ofG3 to the high note ofC♯5.[4] Musically, "Breakin' Dishes" is piano and guitar driven, incorporating elements ofR&B anddance-pop.[4]
The song received positive reviews from critics. Levine of Digital Spy called the song "one of the album's standout tracks".[5] Upon the release ofGood Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded (2008), Levine criticized the choice of "Take a Bow" being released as the lead single to promote the re-release (one of three new songs on the re-release), opining that "Breakin Dishes" was a better choice to follow the up-tempo "Don't Stop the Music" and a "surefire smash".[6][7] Neil Drumming ofEntertainment Weekly described the song as an "appropriately frantic romp", with regard to the lyrics "Is he cheating?/Maybe, I don't know/I'm looking around for something else to throw",[8] whilst Sarah McIntyre ofRaidió Teilifís Éireann described the song as "ultra-sassy" and "aggressive", writing that the mood of the album changes once "Breakin' Dishes" plays, compared to the first three songs "Umbrella", "Push Up On Me" and "Don't Stop the Music".[9] Sal Cinquemani ofSlant magazine criticized the name of the song, as well as others fromGood Girl Gone Bad, writing "Good Girl might have the most consistently hilarious song titles of the year ('Breakin' Dishes,' 'Shut Up And Drive,' 'Sell Me Candy,' just to name a few), but the songs themselves just don't live up to their campy names."[10]
On February 9, 2008, "Breakin' Dishes" peaked at number four on the USHot Dance Club Songs chart,[11] where it remained for a further week.[12] The song spent a total of 16 weeks on the chart in 2008.[13] On May 30, 2009, the release ofGood Girl Gone Bad: The Remixes caused the song to peak at number four on the US Hot Dance Club Songs chart,[14] and it once again spent two weeks at the same position as it did the year before.[15] "Breakin' Dishes" spent a total of 14 weeks on the chart in 2009, two weeks less than the previous year.[16]
In 2025, following the song's viral resurgence and the twentieth anniversary of Rihanna's debut album,Music of the Sun (2005), "Breakin Dishes" debuted at number 40 on theUK Singles Chart dated 29 August, 2025, becoming Rihanna's 51st top forty single in the country, and sixth from the standard edition ofGood Girl Gone Bad.[17] Additionally, the song entered the top 50 on theARIA Singles Chart in Australia at number 45 for the week dated September 1, 2025, and has earned a platinum certification in the country.[18]
"Breakin' Dishes" only live televised performance was at the Pepsi Smash Show in January 2009. The set included previous singles fromGood Girl Gone Bad, "Shut Up and Drive", "Disturbia" and "Rehab";[19] the set featured Rihanna wearing "an all-black outfit that was a mixture of bondage gear and a space-age hockey uniform [and] thigh-high boots"[19] Rihanna started her performance with "Disturbia" and incorporated elements ofThe White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army", which led into "Breakin' Dishes".[19] After performing the song with backing dancers, who wore outfits that matched Rihanna's, the singer performed "Rehab" and "Shut Up And Drive".[19] The song was also featured on the set of three of Rihanna's arena tours; theGood Girl Gone Bad Tour (2007–09),Last Girl on Earth Tour (2010–11) and theLoud Tour (2011). "Breakin' Dishes" appeared as the fifth song on Canadian, North American and European legs of the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour, and the second song during the Asian and Oceanic legs.[20] Sean SennettThe Australian described the song as a "highlight" of the concert.[21] For the Last Girl on Earth Tour, the song appeared as the eighteenth song on the set list for the North American[22] and Australian legs,[23] but was performed as the twentieth song for the European and Asian legs.[citation needed] For the Loud Tour, "Breakin' Dishes" appeared as the eleventh song on the set list for all legs of the tour.[24]
Credits adapted from the liner notes ofGood Girl Gone Bad.[1]
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[28] | 53 |
| USHot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[11] | 4 |
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USHot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[14] | 4 |
| Chart (2024–2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[29] | 45 |
| Australia Hip Hop/R&B (ARIA)[30] | 5 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[31] | 24 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[32] | 49 |
| Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[33] | 33 |
| Germany (GfK)[34] | 40 |
| Global 200 (Billboard)[35] | 45 |
| Greece International (IFPI)[36] | 9 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[37] | 25 |
| Latvia Streaming (LaIPA)[38] | 17 |
| Lithuania (AGATA)[39] | 35 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[40] | 69 |
| New Zealand Catalogue Singles (RMNZ)[41] | 6 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[42] | 60 |
| Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[43] | 38 |
| Portugal (AFP)[44] | 110 |
| Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[45] | 38 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[46] | 55 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[47] | 46 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[48] | 19 |
| UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[49] | 2 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[50] | 82 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[51] | Platinum | 70,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[52] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[53] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[54] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[55] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
| Streaming | ||
| Greece (IFPI Greece)[56] | Platinum | 2,000,000† |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
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