"Break My Soul" is a single by American singer and songwriter
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
. It was released on June 20, 2022, through
Parkwood Entertainment and
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
as the
lead single from Beyoncé's seventh studio album, ''
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
'' (2022). The song was written by Beyoncé,
Tricky Stewart,
The-Dream, Jens Christian Isaken, and
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
, and produced by the former four. It samples
Big Freedia's 2014
bounce
Bounce or The Bounce may refer to:
* Deflection (physics), the event where an object Collision, collides with and bounces against a plane surface
Books
* Mr. Bounce, a character from the Mr. Men series of children's books
Broadcasting, film and ...
track "Explode", written by Freedia and Adam Pigott, and
Robin S.
Robin Stone (born April 27, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, who scored success in the 1990s with such house music singles as " Show Me Love" (which was her debut single) and " Luv 4 Luv". She has had three number ones on the ''Bi ...
's
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
song "
Show Me Love", written by Allen George and
Fred McFarlane
Frederick Craig McFarlane (November 14, 1959 – September 3, 2016) was an American R&B songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. McFarlane's career as a songwriter and producer spanned more than 30 years. He wrote or co-wrote a nu ...
.
"Break My Soul" has been described as a
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
and
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
track. The song was met with critical acclaim upon release, with praise towards its production and lyrics. "Break My Soul" topped the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and
Hot Dance/Electronic Songs
The Dance/Electronic Songs chart has been published weekly by ''Billboard'' since January 2013. It is the first chart to be published that ranks the most popular dance and electronic songs according to audience impressions, digital downloads, s ...
charts. Outside of the United States, "Break My Soul" topped the charts in Croatia, Ireland and Israel, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in several other countries, including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
"Break My Soul" received three nominations at the
65th Annual Grammy Awards:
Record of the Year,
Song of the Year Song of the Year may refer to:
* Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year
* Dove Award for Song of the Year
* Golden Melody Award for Song of the Year
* Grammis Song of the Year
* Grammy Award for Song of the Year
* Latin Grammy Awa ...
and
Best Dance/Electronic Recording. The former marked Beyoncé's eighth nomination in the category, breaking the record of nominations; the latter marked her first nomination in the dance/electronic field. Furthermore, the Terry Hunter remix is nominated for
Best Remixed Recording
The Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical is an honor presented to producers for quality remixed recordings at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in sever ...
.
Background and release
In an interview with the
British ''Vogue'' in June 2022, Beyoncé announced her upcoming seventh studio album ''Renaissance'', the first part of a trilogy series, for release on July 29, and called it "her most ambitious musical project to date". 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.
Several streaming services, including
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
and
Apple Music
Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...
, immediately confirmed the news.
"Break My Soul" was revealed to be the title of the album's first single. Originally intended to be released at midnight
Eastern Time
The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...
on June 21 to coincide with the 2022
June solstice
The June solstice is the solstice on Earth that occurs annually between 20 and 22 June according to the Gregorian calendar. In the Northern Hemisphere, the June solstice is the summer solstice (the day with the longest period of daylight), whil ...
, the song was released to music streaming service
Tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* Tidal (album), ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* ...
and YouTube two hours prior, on June 20.
"Break My Soul" marks Beyoncé's first single release from a solo studio album in six years.
Robin S.
Robin Stone (born April 27, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, who scored success in the 1990s with such house music singles as " Show Me Love" (which was her debut single) and " Luv 4 Luv". She has had three number ones on the ''Bi ...
told British TV morning show ''
Good Morning Britain'' that she only found out that "
Show Me Love" had been
sampled when her son called her to tell her that she was
trending on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. She told the hosts that she was grateful and open to collaborating with Beyoncé in the future. 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". American singer
Crystal Waters
Crystal Waters (born November 19, 1961) is an American house and dance music singer and songwriter, best known for her 1990s dance hits " Gypsy Woman", " 100% Pure Love", and 2007's " Destination Calabria" with Alex Gaudino. All three of her s ...
, who helped make
house music
House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
mainstream in the
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War ...
, said she was "ecstatic" when she heard "Break My Soul", and expressed gratitude for Beyoncé for helping shine a light on underappreciated house singers.
Composition
''
Pitchfork'' writer Matthew Strauss described the song as "a dance song that is intended to mark the start of a new era with new anthems".
Mikael Wood of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' called the track a "thumping 1990s-style house jam" with lyrics that connect the song "explicitly to its roots in
Black and queer communities".
Others wrote that the record is a "boisterous and euphoric slice of '90s
diva house" (Tara Joshi of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''), a "confidence-oozing comeback that embraces
nu-disco" (Kyann-Sian Williams of ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
''),
and "the mother of all
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
tunes" (Jack King of ''
GQ'').
Lyrically, the track sees Beyoncé "using her growliest voice to describe a search for liberation from a crushing job... and a nerve-jangling
pandemic
A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...
" and is "filled with dancefloor-friendly lines... and a repeated exhortation of 'Everybody'." In the chorus, "
e title is flipped" as Beyoncé sings "You won't break my soul".
Fans and media outlets drew connections between lyrics like "Now I just fell in love / And I just quit my job" and the
Great Resignation, a surge in Americans leaving their jobs due to
wage stagnation
Real wages are wages adjusted for inflation, or, equivalently, wages in terms of the amount of goods and services that can be bought. This term is used in contrast to nominal wages or unadjusted wages.
Because it has been adjusted to account ...
and dissatisfaction with labor conditions.
''
Glamour
Glamour may refer to:
Arts
Film
* ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film
* ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film
* ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film
Writing
* ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women
* ''The Glamour ...
'' reported that some listeners had already quit their jobs due to these lyrics and expected others to follow suit.
"Break My Soul" prominently samples
Big Freedia's 2014
bounce
Bounce or The Bounce may refer to:
* Deflection (physics), the event where an object Collision, collides with and bounces against a plane surface
Books
* Mr. Bounce, a character from the Mr. Men series of children's books
Broadcasting, film and ...
song "Explode" and Robin S.'s 1993
house-pop
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describes a ...
single "Show Me Love". According to Musicnotes.com, the song is performed in the key of
G minor with a
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...
of 115 beats per minute in
common time. Beyoncé's vocals span from F
3 to D
5 in the song.
Critical reception
![Big Freedia 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Big_Freedia_2014.jpg)
"Break My Soul" was lauded by critics upon release. In a five-star review for ''
i'', 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". British music critic
Kitty Empire described the song as an "instant classic" and an "ecstatic house music anthem of our times".
''
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.
Julianne Escobedo Shepherd of ''Pitchfork'' called the track "dancefloor liberation" that features "Beyoncé as an
SSRI, her attempt to assuage widespread depression and crushing
stress." She goes on to highlight the song's position in a lineage of vocal house music and "Black queer tradition", calling it a "
palimpsest ith
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
evocations and sounds layered deep in the sense memories of club heads."
Writing for ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'', Kyann-Sian Williams reported that "It's amazing to see a rise in black visibility in dance music" referring to
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
's ''
Honestly, Nevermind
''Honestly, Nevermind'' is the seventh studio album by Canadian rapper and singer Drake, which was surprise-released on June 17, 2022, through OVO Sound and Republic Records. The album includes a sole guest feature from 21 Savage, and product ...
'' 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".
Writing for ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'', Larisha Paul highlighted the song's "nearly five-minute run time in an algorithmic
streaming
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
age where even venturing beyond three minutes feels like a risk." Further, she praised the production for "allow
ngthe record to breathe, trading in rushed, overcrowded urgency for high energy,
four-to-the-floor beats." Kyle Denis of the same publication praised Beyoncé for overcoming
ageism
Ageism, also spelled agism, is discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against seniors, and patterned on sexism and racism. Butler defi ...
in the music industry, writing that the elements of bounce and
rap
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
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 key
sociopolitical
Political sociology is an Interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro Level of analysis, levels of analysis. Interested in the ...
artists of the
past decade" that began with ''
Lemonade'' (2016).
''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' placed the song at number 108 on its list of the 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time. ''Billboard'' listed the song on its list of 50 Best Dance Song of 2022.
Awards and nominations
Commercial performance
North America
In the United States, "Break My Soul" debuted at number 15 on the
''Billboard'' 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.
The song also debuted atop the
Digital Songs
The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally sta ...
chart, becoming Beyoncé's tenth number one.
The following week, the song reached a new peak of number seven after a full tracking week, becoming Beyoncé's 20th top ten single as a solo act and her 30th career top ten single, which includes
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...
.
The song also became Beyoncé's first top-ten single in the United States since 2020's remix of "
Savage
Savage may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Savage Glacier, Ellsworth Land
* Savage Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Savage Ridge, Victoria Land
United States
* Savage, Maryland, an unincorporated community
* Savage, Minnesota, a city
* Savage, Mi ...
" with
Megan Thee Stallion
Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion (pronounced "Megan the Stallion"), is an American rapper and songwriter. Originally from Houston, Texas, she first garnered attention when videos of her ...
and her first solo top ten since 2016's "
Formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
". She joined
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
and
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
as the only artists in Hot 100 history to achieve at least twenty top tens as a solo artist and ten as a member of a group.
"Break My Soul" also topped the
Hot Dance/Electronic Songs
The Dance/Electronic Songs chart has been published weekly by ''Billboard'' since January 2013. It is the first chart to be published that ranks the most popular dance and electronic songs according to audience impressions, digital downloads, s ...
chart, becoming Beyoncé's first number one on this chart.
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. Following the release of ''Renaissance'', "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.
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" featuring
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
began its eight weeks at the summit on July 12, 2003.
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 since
Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
's "
Believe
Believe may refer to:
*Belief, a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true, with or without proof for such proposition
*Faith, a belief in something which has not been proven
Arts, entertainment, and me ...
" ascended to the top of the chart in March 1999, 24 years and 12 months since "
Dark Lady" in March 1974. The song topped the chart for two consecutive weeks.
The song also topped the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
,
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.
The song debuted at number ten on the
R&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 ten hit on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, tying
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses.
During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwid ...
and
Usher
Usher may refer to:
Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place:
* Usher (occupation)
** Church usher
** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony
** Fiel ...
for the sixth-most among all acts. Further, the song became only the ninth song ever—and the first since
Toni Braxton's "
You're Makin' Me High" debuted at number nine in May 1996—to debut within the top ten since the chart began in 1992. The song topped the chart for the week ending July 31, becoming Beyoncé's 9th number-one on the chart, tying her with
Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...
for the third most number one songs on the chart.
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 ten single in the country as a solo act. Following the release of ''Renaissance'', the song reached a new peak of number four.
International
In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 21 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
on June 24, 2022, becoming Beyoncé's 36th top 40 song in Britain as a solo artist. The following week, the song climbed 17 positions to reach a new peak of number four, becoming Beyoncé's 20th top ten single in the country as a solo act and her 33rd including those with Destiny's Child. Upon the release of ''Renaissance'', "Break My Soul" rose four positions to reach a new peak of number two, held off the summit by
LF System
LF System are a Scottish production duo consisting of Conor Larkman and Sean Finnigan. They are from West Lothian and previously worked as a roofer and petrol station worker.
They topped the UK Singles Chart in July 2022 with "Afraid to Feel", ...
's "
Afraid to Feel
"Afraid to Feel" is a song by British duo LF System. The mix was created in 2019 and picked up for full release on 2 May 2022, by Warner Music UK. The single rose to popularity in June 2022 and spent eight consecutive weeks at number one in the U ...
", 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.
In the Republic of Ireland, the song debuted at number 18 on the
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...
, becoming her 24th top 20 single in the country. The following week, the song reached a new peak of number two, becoming Beyoncé's first top ten single in the country since 2017's "Walk on Water" with
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
. Upon the release of ''Renaissance'', "Break My Soul" rose two positions to number one, overtaking
Kate 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
A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...
" with
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
.
In Australia, "Break My Soul" debuted at number 32 on the
ARIA Singles Chart
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 songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
based on a partial week of sales for the week of June 24, 2022. Following the album's release, the song reached a new peak of number six,
becoming Beyoncé's 23rd top ten single in the country and the first since 2017.
Remixes
On August 3, Beyoncé released an EP of four remixed versions of the track, produced by
will.i.am
William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas.
...
,
Terry Hunter
Terry Hunter is a grammy-nominated American house music DJ from Chicago, Illinois. He has been active in the Chicago music scene since the early 1990s. He has produced many of his own albums, as well as remixes for other artists.
Career
In 1 ...
,
Honey Dijon, and
Nita Aviance
Nita Aviance (born 1980The New York Times, ''Defiant on the Dance Floor: L.G.B.T.Q. Night Life in New York, 2017'' by Jeremy Allen (20 June 2017(retrieved 3 August 2020)) is a dancer, percussionist, jazz singer, DJ, music producer, actor, and a ...
.
On August 5, Beyoncé released a remix exclusively through her online store, before releasing it to streaming services;
"The Queens Remix" is a collaboration with
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
, interpolating her 1990 song "
Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
". It features Beyoncé namedropping Madonna,
Rosetta Tharpe,
Santigold,
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and ...
,
Nina Simone,
Betty Davis,
Solange Knowles,
Erykah Badu,
Lizzo,
Kelly Rowland
Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl ...
,
Lauryn Hill,
Roberta Flack
Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...
,
Toni Braxton,
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...
,
Tierra Whack,
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...
,
Diana Ross
Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...
,
Grace Jones
Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...
,
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
,
Anita Baker,
Sade
Sade may refer to:
People
* Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, writer, and libertine
* Sade (singer) (born 1959, Helen Folasade Adu), British Nigerian musician and lead singer of the eponymous band
* Sade Baderinwa (born 1969), WAB ...
,
Jill Scott,
Michelle Williams,
Chlöe,
Halle Bailey,
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...
,
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...
,
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...
,
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...
and
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...
, before naming
ballroom
A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...
houses such as
House of Xtravaganza
Founded in 1982, the House of Xtravaganza is one of the most publicly recognized “houses” to emerge from the New York City underground ballroom scene and among the longest continuously active. House of Xtravaganza members and the collective gr ...
,
House of Aviance
The House of Aviance (acronym: HOA) is one of the ''"legendary"'' and major vogue- ball houses in the United States, with its base in New York City. It was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1989 by voguer/dancer, record label owner (CEO/ A&R), nig ...
and
House of LaBeija
The Royal House of LaBeija is a prominent drag family founded by Crystal LaBeija and Lottie LaBeija in 1972. Crystal and Lottie established the House of LaBeija in response to the racially oppressive drag pageant system of 1960s America. Their f ...
.
Jon Caramanica
Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music.
Biography
Born in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, Caramanica received his ba ...
from ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called this remix, "electric, both philosophically and musically".
Track listing and formats
1-track digital single
#"Break My Soul" – 4:38
3-track digital single
#"Break My Soul" – 4:38
#"Break My Soul" (a cappella version) – 4:04
#"Break My Soul" (instrumental version) – 4:35
Remixes EP
[
#"Break My Soul" (]will.i.am
William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas.
...
remix) – 3:58
#"Break My Soul" (Terry Hunter
Terry Hunter is a grammy-nominated American house music DJ from Chicago, Illinois. He has been active in the Chicago music scene since the early 1990s. He has produced many of his own albums, as well as remixes for other artists.
Career
In 1 ...
remix) – 5:30
#"Break My Soul" ( Honey Dijon remix) – 6:27
#"Break My Soul" (Nita Aviance
Nita Aviance (born 1980The New York Times, ''Defiant on the Dance Floor: L.G.B.T.Q. Night Life in New York, 2017'' by Jeremy Allen (20 June 2017(retrieved 3 August 2020)) is a dancer, percussionist, jazz singer, DJ, music producer, actor, and a ...
club mix) – 9:54
The Queens Remix
#"Break My Soul" (The Queens Remix; with Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
) – 5:56
Personnel and credits
Samples
*Contains elements of " Show Me Love", written by Allen George and Fred Craig McFarlane and performed by Robin S.
Robin Stone (born April 27, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter, who scored success in the 1990s with such house music singles as " Show Me Love" (which was her debut single) and " Luv 4 Luv". She has had three number ones on the ''Bi ...
*Contains a sample of "Explode", written by Adam James Piggott and Freddie Ross, performed by Big Freedia.
*"The Queens Remix" contains an interpolation of "Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
", written by Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
and Shep Pettibone
Robert "Shep" Pettibone (born 10 July 1959) is an American record producer, remixer, songwriter and club DJ, one of the most prolific of the 1980s.
Career
Shep Pettibone surfaced after his work with Arthur Baker on Afrika Bambaataa & the Jazz ...
, performed by Madonna.
Recording locations
*Avenue A Studio West (Los Angeles, California)
* Henson Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California)
*The Juicy Juicy (Los Angeles, California)
*Parkwood West (Los Angeles, California)
*SING Mastering (Atlanta, Georgia)
*The Trailer East Hampton (New York)
Personnel
Performers
* Vocals by Beyoncé
*Additional vocals by Big Freedia
*Background vocals by The Samples Choir:
:*Erik Brooks
:*Herman Bryant
:*Porcha Clay
:*Jonathan Coleman
:*Caleb Curry
:*Deanna Dixon
:*Alexandria Griffin
:*Naarai Jacobs
:*Kim Johnson
:*Kristen Lowe
:*Jorel Quinn
:*Chris McLaughlin
:*Anthony McEastland
:*Chelsea Miller
:*Jamal Moore
:*Jasmine Patton
:*Javonte Pollard
:*Fallynn Rian
:*Ashley Washington
:*Danie Withers
:*Ashly Williams
Technical credits
* Beyoncé – production, vocal production
* Matheus Braz – assistant engineering
* John Cranfield – engineering
* Brandon Harding – recording
* Christian Isaken – co-production
* Colin Leonard – mastering
* Chris McLaughlin – recording, backing vocals
* Andrea Roberts – engineering
* Tricky Stewart – production
* The-Dream – production
* Jason White – conductor
* Stuart White – mixing, recording
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Madonna songs
2022 singles
2022 songs
American dance-pop songs
American house music songs
Beyoncé songs
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Madonna songs
Song recordings produced by Beyoncé
Song recordings produced by The-Dream
Song recordings produced by Tricky Stewart
Songs written by Beyoncé
Songs written by Fred McFarlane
Songs written by Jay-Z
Songs written by The-Dream
Songs written by Tricky Stewart
Cultural depictions of Bessie Smith