"Break Up (Bye Bye)" is a song recorded by British drag

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

the Frock Destroyers for the Girl Group Battle Royale challenge during their stint on the first series of the reality television competition, ''

RuPaul's Drag Race UK ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' is a British reality competition television series based on the American television series of the same name. The television series, a collaboration between the BBC and World of Wonder, premiered on 3 October 2019. T ...

''. During the episode the contestants had to create girl groups to participate in the challenge; there were two versions of the song released, the first being by Divina de Campo,

Baga Chipz Leo Loren, better known by the stage name Baga Chipz, is an English drag queen known for competing on the first series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' (2019) and later the first season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World'' (2022). Baga Chipz ...

and Blu Hydrangea. The alternate version was released by Filth Harmony, consisting of ''Drag Race UK'' winner

The Vivienne James Lee Williams (born 12 April 1992), better known by the stage name The Vivienne, is a Welsh drag queen, known for being appointed the first UK ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ambassador in 2015, winning the first series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race U ...

Cheryl Hole Cheryl Hole (born 18 October 1993) is the stage name of Luke Underwood-Bleach, an English drag queen from Chelmsford in Essex who is known for being one of the first contestants on ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' (2019) and later the first season of ' ...

and

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, however the latter did not chart. The song was released on 31 October 2019. The song was also included in the band's debut album, '' Frock4Life'', which was released 11 December 2020. The song was primarily written by Leland, with De Campo, Chipzs and Hydrangea writing the lyrics for their individual verses. Upon the release, the song proved an instant hit with the British viewers, charting at number 35 on the Official UK Charts, becoming the highest charting song by a drag queen, since

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

's "

Supermodel (You Better Work) "Supermodel (You Better Work)" is a song by American dance music singer and drag queen RuPaul. It was released in November 1993 as the third single (but first major label single) from his debut album, '' Supermodel of the World'' (1993). The song ...

", until the following year when United Kingdolls released "

UK Hun? "UK Hun?" is a song recorded by British drag girl group United Kingdolls for The RuRuvision Song Contest challenge during their stint on the second series of reality television competition, ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK.'' The episode has contestants p ...

" which charted at number 27.

Background, composition and reception

"Break Up Bye Bye" was originally performed by the Frock Destroyers during a

challenge on ''Drag Race'', in which contestants were required to write and perform an original song. Lyrically, Baga Chipz alludes to

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in the song, which was written by Leland and Freddy Scott.

MNEK Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike (born 9 November 1994), professionally known by his stage name MNEK (, ), is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He has been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit Awards, Brit Award, and has received the ...

served as a guest vocal coach during the girl group episode, with him also being credited as a producer. The pop anthem sees Divina de Campo sing "repeated whistle tone notes layered into the chorus".

Live performances

Following ''Drag Race'', the Frock Destroyers embarked on a three-stop UK tour. Shows featuring individual and group performances were held at Powerhouse in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, Cruz 101 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and the Nightingale Club in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, during 17–19 November 2019. For Digital DragCon, an online event replacing

RuPaul's DragCon LA RuPaul's DragCon LA is an annual expo of drag culture held in Los Angeles billed as a "convention that celebrates 'the art of drag, queer culture and self-expression for all'", which debuted in 2015. Its sister event is RuPaul's DragCon NYC sta ...

in May 2020 because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Blu Hydrangea recreated the trio's performance of "Break Up Bye Bye" in isolation by impersonating Baga Chipz and Divina de Campo. Daniel Megarry of ''

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''Gay Times Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ media brand established in 1975. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company now includes content for the LGBTQ+ commu ...

'' complimented her work.

Track listing

Digital download and streaming * "Break Up (Bye Bye)" – 2:31 * "Break Up (Bye Bye)" (Much Betta remix) – 3:36 * "Break Up (Bye Bye)" (Rock remix) – 2:52 Vinyl # "Break Up (Bye Bye)" # "Break Up (Bye Bye)" (Much Betta remix) # "Break Up (Bye Bye)" (Markaholic remix) # "Break Up (Bye Bye)" (Freddy Scott remix)

Chart performance

After the girl group episode of ''Drag Race'' aired, "Break Up Bye Bye" peaked at number 35 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 ...

and number 10 on

The Official Big Top 40 ''The Sky VIP Official Big Top 40 from Global'' is a radio chart show broadcast every Sunday from 4 to 7pm on Global's Capital and Heart networks, presented by Will Manning. It was started in May 2009 but the show is the descendant of ''The Net ...

, becoming the highest chart position for a drag group. The song also prompted a petition for the Frock Destroyers to represent the United Kingdom in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

to garner at least 10,000 signatures, while it peaked at number 44 on the ''Billboard''

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 in the United States.

References

{{RuPaul's Drag Race UK 2019 songs RuPaul's Drag Race UK Songs written by Leland (musician)