"Break Up with Him" is a song written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

group

Old Dominion Old Dominion most commonly refers to: *The Old Dominion, a nickname for the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia ** Colony of Virginia *Old Dominion University, a public university in Norfolk, Virginia **Old Dominion Monarchs, the athletic teams represe ...

. Originally released as the second single off their self-titled EP on ReeSmack in January 2015, the band later signed with

RCA Nashville RCA Nashville is an American country music record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is distributed by Sony Music Nashville which is part of Sony Music. Current artists *Kane Brown *Andrew Jannakos *Miranda Lambert *Niko Moon (RCA/River Hou ...

in February 2015 and re-released the song on May 11 as the lead single from their debut album '' Meat and Candy''. The song garnered positive reviews from critics praising the production and lyrical content. "Break Up with Him" peaked at number one on the ''Billboard''

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since January 20, 1990. This chart lists the 60 most-listened-to records played on 150 mainstream country radio stations across the country as monitored ...

chart, giving the band their first number-one country hit. It also charted at numbers 3 and 44 on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

and

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

charts respectively. The song was

certified Platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA), and has sold 719,000 copies in the United States as of May 2016. It achieved similar chart success in Canada, peaking at number 3 on the

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

chart and number 53 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

. It was certified Platinum by

Music Canada Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

, denoting sales of over 80,000 units in that country. The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song, directed by Steve Condon, pays homage to the 1985 sci-fi film ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

''.

Release history

Before the song was released as the second single from the band's debut EP, it gained popularity after receiving airplay on the satellite

Sirius XM Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

's "

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" channel in late 2014. The band released the song on the independent label ReeSmack to radio on January 20, 2015. The band became signed to

in late February 2015, and the song was re-released on May 11, 2015, as an RCA single release. All five members of the band wrote the song, and

Shane McAnally Shane McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Originally a solo artist for Curb Records in 1999, McAnally charted three singles on Hot Country Songs, including the No. 31 " Are Y ...

produced it.

Critical reception

Giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars, Markos Papadatos of ''Digital Journal'' wrote that the song "is mellow and distinct" and that, " eir sound is crisp and unique, which stands out by a mile on the country radio airwaves." Jason Scott of AXS found the song's "hip-hop phrasing and definitive rock overtones" has comparable charm to

Luke Bryan Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country music, country singer, songwriter, and television personality. He began his music career writing songs for Travis Tritt and Billy Currington before signing with Capitol Reco ...

and

Florida Georgia Line Florida Georgia Line is an American country music duo founded in 2010 by Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. Their 2012 debut single " Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was ...

. He also thought that the song, "on its own merits of structure and quality, stands alone in the face of country music's other superstar groups", the band "have a different kind of spark that blazes through on this track." On its story told on the song of a man trying to seduce a girl over the phone, Billy Dukes of ''Taste of Country'' called it "wonderful selfishness" and praised its "refreshing boldness". In a more critical review, Kevin John Coyne of ''Country Universe'' gave the song a "D" grade, saying that there are "Two ways to hear

his song His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, ...

One, if the guy is right, then it’s a mediocre love song about that moment when two people decide to get into a relationship. The other, if the guy is wrong, it’s a creepy stalker monologue headed toward an order of protection."

Commercial performance

The song became available for download with the release of the ''Old Dominion EP'' on October 7, 2014. It initially gained airplay on the

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

radio stations and reached No. 1 on its chart, "

" Hot 45 Countdown, at the end of 2014, 11 weeks after the song became available. It entered the Hot Country Songs chart at No. 58 for chart dated January 16, 2015, and entered the Hot Country Song chart at No. 50 two weeks later. The early sales were mainly due to SiriusXM airplay. The song began to gain traction on other radio stations, and rose steadily on the chart. It debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at No. 99 for chart dated July 25, 2015. It reached No. 1 on Country Airplay for chart dated November 14, 2015, and peaked at Hot 100 at No. 44 the same week. The EP was certified Gold by the RIAA on September 23, 2015, and ended up being certified double-platinum in 2020. The song has sold 719,000 copies in the US as of May 2016.

Music video

The song's

was released on July 9, 2015. Directed by Steve Condon, the video pays homage to the 1985 movie ''

'', with lead singer Matthew Ramsey as

Marty McFly Martin Seamus "Marty" McFly is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ''Back to the Future'' franchise. He is portrayed by Canadian actor Michael J. Fox in all three films. McFly also appears in the animated series, where he was voice ...

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2015 singles 2015 songs RCA Records Nashville singles Old Dominion (band) songs Songs written by Trevor Rosen Song recordings produced by Shane McAnally Songs written by Matthew Ramsey Songs written by Brad Tursi