"Breathe" is a song by American singer

Blu Cantrell Blu Cantrell (born Tiffany Cobb; March 16, 1976) is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. Cantrell rose to fame in 2001, with the release of her debut single, " Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)", which peaked at number two on the US ''Billboa ...

from her second studio album, '' Bittersweet'' (2003). A

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed version featuring

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists. Paul's singles "Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...

was released as a single in February 2003, several months after the album version was released in November 2002. The album version of this song was produced and co-written by

Ivan Matias Ivan Matias is an Music of the United States, American singer, songwriter, Producer (music), producer, Arrangement, arranger, Hip hop music, hip hop ghostwriter, and Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur. He is primarily known for writing and producing ...

and Andrea Martin. The remix featuring Sean Paul was produced by

, Andrea Martin, and Mark Pitts. The song peaked at 70 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and became a hit in Europe, most notably in the United Kingdom, where it topped 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 ...

for four weeks in August 2003.

Background and recording

"Breathe" was originally recorded for the '' Bittersweet'' album without

, but his vocals were added for the single release. The song uses a slightly altered instrumental of

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

's 1999 song " What's the Difference" featuring

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 ...

and

Xzibit Alvin Nathaniel Joiner (born September 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Xzibit (pronounced "exhibit"), is an American rapper, actor, television presenter, and radio personality. Xzibit began his musical career after the release of his ...

, which in turn revolved around a

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

from

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

's 1966 song "

Parce Que Tu Crois "Parce que tu crois" (; English translation: "Because You Believe") is a song by Armenian- French singer Charles Aznavour. It was released on his 1966 albums ''La bohème'' and ''Chante Paris au mois d'août''. Use as sample The song has been sam ...

". In an interview with the ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'', when asked what it was like to work with Dre, Cantrell said, "It was a remix, so I never actually got to meet him. They were his beats, but it was actually produced by another girl, Andrea Martin, and Ivan Matias. If I had to choose, I much prefer the remix to the original."

Music video

The

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 ...

was directed by

Hype Williams Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adel ...

Chart performance

"Breathe" did not achieve the same level of success as Cantrell's "

Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!) "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" is the debut single of American R&B singer Blu Cantrell, written and produced by Dallas Austin and featured on Cantrell's debut album, '' So Blu'' (2001). The song was released in the United States on April 23, 2001, a ...

" in her native US, peaking at number 70 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in August 2003, but did stay on the chart for 20 weeks. The song achieved greater success outside of the United States. In the United Kingdom, "Breathe" debuted and peaked at the top of the

on August 3, 2003 – for the week ending date August 9, 2003, becoming both Cantrell's and Paul's first chart-topping song in Britain. It spent four weeks at the summit of the chart, replacing

Daniel Bedingfield Daniel John Bedingfield (born 3 December 1979) is a New Zealand-British singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the eldest brother of fellow singers Natasha Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle. He was a judge on '' The X Factor New Z ...

's " Never Gonna Leave Your Side". "Breathe" was eventually dethroned from the top of the chart by the 2003 remix of

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

's "

Are You Ready for Love "Are You Ready for Love" is a song recorded by English musician Elton John in 1977 and first released in the UK in 1979 as the first single from the EP '' The Thom Bell Sessions''. It was written by Leroy Bell, Thom Bell and Casey James, an ...

". It became Britain's eighth-biggest-selling single of 2003, with sales of 330,000, and has since sold over 410,000 copies there.

Track listings

US 7-inch single :A. "Breathe" (rap version featuring Sean Paul) – 3:48 :B. "Breathe" (original version) – 3:20 European CD single # "Breathe" (rap version featuring Sean Paul—radio mix) – 3:49 # "Breathe" (no rap version—radio mix) – 3:21 European maxi-CD single # "Breathe" (rap version featuring Sean Paul—radio mix) – 3:49 # "Breathe" (no rap version—radio mix) – 3:21 # "Breathe" (Andy & The Lamboy radio edit) – 3:43 # "Breathe" (instrumental) – 3:45 UK CD single # "Breathe" (rap version featuring Sean Paul) # "Breathe" (radio mix) # "Breathe" (Ed Funk & D Rok Remix) US 12-inch vinyl (2002) :A1. "Breathe" (rap version featuring Sean Paul) – 3:48 :A2. "Breathe" (instrumental) – 3:45 :A3. "Breathe" (rap version acappella featuring Sean Paul) – 3:48 :B1. "Breathe" (rap version featuring

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, a ...

) – 3:45 :B2. "Breathe" (instrumental) – 3:40 :B3. "Breathe" (rap version acappella featuring E-40) – 3:43

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the UK CD single liner notes. Studio * Recorded and mixed at Sound on Sound Recording Studios (New York City) Personnel *

Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...

– writing, background vocals, production *

– writing * Richard Bembery – writing * Melvin Bradford – writing * Stephon Harris – writing * Alvin Joiner – writing *

Marshall Mathers 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 music, hip hop in Middle America (United Sta ...

– writing *

– writing, production * Blu Cantrell – vocals, background vocals * Sean Paul – featured vocals *

Mark Pitts Mark Pitts is an American record producer, manager, and President of RCA Records and CEO of ByStorm Entertainment. He has managed a number of artists and produced musical tracks for performers including Notorious B.I.G, Faith Evans, Miguel, J. ...

– production of Sean Paul version, mixing * Brian "B" Stanley – recording * Victor Mancusi – recording, mixing * Rene Antelmann – mixing assistant * Bojan Dugich – mixing assistant * C. "Tricky" Stewart – executive production * Antonio "LA" Reid – executive production * TAB – A&R director * Dorsey James – management * Angie Aguirre – management * Joe Mama-Nitzberg – creative director * Courtney Walter – art direction and design * Adam S. Wahler – art direction and design * Randy Jones – production coordinator *

Sheryl Nields Sheryl Nields is an American portrait photographer. Life Nields grew up in Los Angeles, California. She attended Parsons School of Design, and then worked as an assistant to Patrick Demarchelier and Walter Chin. She started photographing mus ...

– photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2002 singles Arista Records singles Bertelsmann Music Group singles Blu Cantrell songs European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Music videos directed by Hype Williams Number-one singles in Romania Sean Paul songs Songs written by Andrea Martin (musician) Songs written by Charles Aznavour Songs written by Eminem Songs written by Xzibit UK Singles Chart number-one singles