"Break My Stride" is a song performed by American recording artist

Matthew Wilder Matthew Wilder ( Weiner; January 24, 1953) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. In early 1984, his single " Break My Stride" hit No. 2 on the ''Cash Box'' chart and No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He also wrote t ...

. It was released in October 1983 as the lead single from his debut album, '' I Don't Speak the Language'', and became a major worldwide hit single for him in late 1983 and spring 1984, reaching number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100. The song has been covered by many artists throughout the years, including

Unique II Unique II (previously Unique 2) is a Eurodance project from Austria. They are best known for their 1996 dance cover of Matthew Wilder's " Break My Stride", which reached No. 1 in Austria and New Zealand, and No. 2 in Australia. History Unique II ...

in 1996 and Blue Lagoon in 2004 (whose versions both charted highly in various places) and, in interpolations, Puff Daddy with his 1997 hit "

Can't Nobody Hold Me Down "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" is the debut single by rapper Puff Daddy. It appears on Puff Daddy's debut studio album '' No Way Out'' and it was released as his first single in 1997. The single was released through BMG Music, Arista Records and Puf ...

" and

Aaron Carter Aaron Charles Carter (December 7, 1987November 5, 2022) was an American singer and rapper. He came to fame as a teen pop singer in the late 1990s, establishing himself as a star among preteen and teenage audiences during the first years of th ...

on the song "Stride (Jump on the Fizzy)" from his 2001 album ''

Oh Aaron ''Oh Aaron'' is the third studio album by American teen pop singer Aaron Carter, released in the summer of 2001 through Jive Records. The album features three collaborations with No Secrets and his older brother, Nick Carter. Despite being not as ...

''. In 2009 it was interpolated by

Matisyahu Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), known by his stage name Matisyahu (; ), is an American reggae singer, rapper, beatboxer, and alternative rock musician. Known for blending spiritual themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing soun ...

in the song "Jerusalem".

Composition

Industry executive

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

signed Wilder to

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

in 1981 or 1982, but Wilder was not getting the results he or the producers wanted with finding the style of music that worked for him. Poor and near the end of a frustrating period with the record label, he recorded "Break My Stride" on his own dime in the early hours of the morning at the studio of producer

Spencer Proffer Spencer Proffer (born Salek Profesorski, December 25, 1948) is an American media and record producer. He is the CEO of Meteor 17, a convergence media production company based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Proffer produced the firs ...

. "My relationship with Clive Davis was precisely the impetus for my writing the song. There are lyrics in there that are indirectly referring to the circumstances that were governing my life at that point," said Wilder. They threw a party after the recording, and had the music production team sing the chorus, which can be heard at the end of the song. However, Davis did not see potential in the song or any of the others, and his label let Wilder go. Since Arista had not paid Wilder for any of the songs, he was free to shop them around. Wilder managed to connect with record promoter

Joe Isgro Joe Isgro (born c. 1948) is an American former record promoter and a reputed soldier in the Gambino crime family. In the 1980s, Isgro was at the center of investigations into the role of payola in the music industry. Early life Isgro was bor ...

, who had a history of doing legally questionable things to promote and chart certain songs. Isgro released "Break My Stride" off his new record label, Private-I, and created the illusion that it was a massive hit, prompting other radio stations to start playing the song, and propelling Wilder's single into the top 5 of the US ''Billboard'' charts.

Matthew Wilder version

Personnel

– lead and backing vocals, Prophet-5 * Bill Elliott – Prophet-5 *

Dennis Herring Dennis Herring is an American record producer, engineer, mixer, and musician. Herring has produced for The Hives, Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, Modest Mouse, Camper Van Beethoven, and Jars of Clay. The producer owns a 24-track recording st ...

– guitar *

Peter Bunetta Lester Abrams (born 1945) is a singer, songwriter, musician and producer who has played with such artists as B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, Peabo Bryson, Quincy Jones, Manfred Mann, Brian Auger, The Average White Band, The Doobie Brothers, Rufus and ...

– Oberheim DMX *John Gilston – Simmons drum programming *Greg Prestopino – backing vocals *Joe Turano – backing vocals

Track listings

; 7" single # "Break My Stride" — 3:05 # "Break My Stride" (instrumental) — 3:05 ; 12" single # "Break My Stride" (Remix / Club Version) — 5:10 # "Break My Stride" (Dub Version) — 4:02

Chart performance

Included on his 1983 album, ''I Don't Speak the Language'', the single went to number five on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number four in the UK in January/February 1984. On the US ''

'' chart, Wilder's single reached the number two position, where it remained for two weeks in early February. A remix version reached the top 20 on the dance chart, and the song additionally hit the ''Billboard'' Hot Black Singles chart, staying there for four weeks. Though "Break My Stride" was Wilder's only UK hit, he also reached the US pop chart with his next two singles, "The Kid's American" (#33) and "Bouncing Off the Walls" (#52), before turning to behind-the-scenes work on other artists' recordings.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Unique II version

In 1996, Austrian duo

had its most successful hit by covering "Break My Stride". This dance version of the song was the first international success for the band, peaking at number-one in Austria and New Zealand, and at number 2 in Australia. The single also charted in Ireland, Italy, Canada and Scandinavia.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from '' Billboard'' wrote, "Yep, this is a dance-leaning cover of the

'80s pop chestnut. It has already saturated radio airwaves throughout Europe, with a number of programmers here already giving it positive feedback. Highly videogenic Viennese songbird Jade Davies chirps her way through the track's Ace of Base-like reggae-inflected groove with engaging energy. She'll have little to no trouble successfully carrying this one into the hearts of folks who prefer familiarity over adventure." Australian music channel Max placed the song at number 903 in their list of ''1000 Greatest Songs of All Time'' in 2013.

Chart performance

"Break My Stride" was very successful on the charts on several continents, peaking at number-one in Austria and New Zealand. It managed to climb into the Top 10 also in Australia, where it hit number 2, Czech Republic, Denmark, and Ireland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it went to number 33 in September 1996. "Break My Stride" was also a big hit in Israel, where it peaked at number 6 and in Canada, it reached number 18 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Singles Chart and number 19 on the ''RPM'' Dance Chart. The single was awarded with a platinum record in Australia and Austria, with a sale of 70,000 and 30,000 units. In 2002, a new remix of the song peaked at number 55 in Austria.

Track listings

;CD maxi # "Break My Stride" (FM Track) — 3:16 # "Break My Stride" (Prolongation) — 4:57 # "Break My Stride" (Native Track) — 5:14 ;CD maxi — The Remixes # "Break My Stride" (Marc McCan Edit) — 5:38 # "Break My Stride" (Next Level Edit) — 4:37 # "Break My Stride" (Radio Edit) — 3:16 ;CD maxi — Re-Work 2002 # "Break My Stride" (Panamericana Radio Edit) — 2:50 # "Break My Stride" (Extended Version) — 4:57 # "Break My Stride" (Big Club Mix) — 4:20 # "Break My Stride" (Original) — 3:16

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

¹ 2002 remix

Year-end charts

Certifications

Blue Lagoon version

In 2004, "Break My Stride" was covered by German band Blue Lagoon and became a hit in several European countries, including

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, where it reached the top ten.

Track listings

; CD single # "Break My Stride" (radio edit) — 3:04 # "Break My Stride" (extended version) — 5:10 # "Love Is the Key" — 3:27 ; CD maxi # "Break My Stride" (radio edit) — 3:01 # "Break My Stride" (extended version) — 5:08 # "Love Is the Key" — 3:26 # "Break My Stride" (a capella reprise) — 1:05 # "Break My Stride" (video)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

In popular culture

The song serves as the

closing credits Closing credits or end credits are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to, or at the very end of a ...

music for the 2011 film '' Cedar Rapids''. It was featured in a 2012 television commercial for

State Insurance State Insurance is an insurance company based in New Zealand. , it is a business division of IAG New Zealand, a subsidiary of Insurance Australia Group. History State Insurance was formerly called the State Insurance Office. Previously, it had ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. In 2019, it was featured in a U.S. television commercial for Santander Bank. The song gained more notoriety in 2020 on

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

, as it was frequently used in TikTok videos – where users would text their friends the lyrics of the song. Matthew Wilder was thrilled at these memes, saying that the results are often bizarre but hilarious. Afterwards, Wilder posted an official lyric video that featured

text messages Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile devices, desktops/ laptops, or another type of compatible comput ...

of the song's lyrics.

References

{{authority control 1983 songs 1983 singles 1984 singles 1996 singles 1997 singles 2004 singles 2005 singles Blue Lagoon (band) songs Matthew Wilder songs Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Norway Unique II songs Songs written by Matthew Wilder Columbia Records singles Dance Pool singles Sony Music singles Universal Music Group singles Internet memes introduced in 2020