"How to Be a Heartbreaker" is a song by Welsh singer

Marina Diamandis Marina Lambrini Diamandis (; el, Μαρίνα-Λαμπρινή Διαμάντη; born 10 October 1985), known mononymously as Marina (often stylised in all caps), and previously by the stage name Marina and the Diamonds, is a Welsh singer and ...

, released under the stage name Marina and the Diamonds, from her second studio album, ''

Electra Heart ''Electra Heart'' is the second studio album by Welsh singer Marina Diamandis, released under the stage name Marina and the Diamonds. It was released on 27 April 2012 by 679 Artists and Atlantic Records. Diamandis collaborated with producers ...

'' (2012). It was released on 7 December 2012 by

679 Artists 679 Artists (formally known as Sixsevenine and 679 Recordings) was a Warner Music Group-owned record label based in London, England. It was started by Nick Worthington who after leaving XL Recordings in 2001, started the company with War ...

and

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

as the album's third and final single. Diamandis worked with

Ammar Malik Ammar Malik (born June 22, 1987) is an American songwriter. He has co-written several modern pop songs, most notably Maroon 5's "Moves like Jagger" and Gym Class Heroes' "Stereo Hearts" which have both been certified multi-platinum by the RIAA. ...

Benny Blanco Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also ...

Cirkut Henry Russell Walter (born April 23, 1986), known professionally as Cirkut, is a Canadian record producer and songwriter. He has co-produced and co-written for Dr. Luke, Katy Perry, Becky G, Ava Max, Nicki Minaj, R. City, The Weeknd, Kesha, Ciar ...

, Daniel Omelio, and

Dr. Luke Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American record producer and songwriter. His professional music career began in the late-night television sketch comedy ...

during the songwriting process, and enlisted Blanco, Cirkut, and Dr. Luke to oversee its production.

Background and release

Diamandis explained that "How to Be a Heartbreaker" was the only new track on the US edition of her album ''Electra Heart'', and she wrote it "as the UK album was being printed." Lyrically, she stated the song "basically involves four rules on how to be a heartbreaker. It's a guide for everyone!" Despite initially confirming to ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

'' that "How to Be a Heartbreaker" would be released in the United Kingdom on 15 October 2012, Diamandis ultimately stated via her

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 ...

page on 22 November 2012 that the UK release of the song would be postponed until spring 2013 because of her US tour in December.

Music video

On 19 September 2012, Diamandis announced on her

page that the music video for "How to Be a Heartbreaker" would premiere online on 24 September. However, problems occurred on the day of the supposed release, and Diamandis took to her Twitter to explain the situation: "So, someone at my record label won't let me release the video because I look ugly in it apparently and we need more money and time to paint out ugly parts. The video will be out end of the week. If not, I am happy to leak the 'minger' version for my fans." The video premiered on 28 September 2012 on YouTube. Marina also worked on the song for about 6 months prior to being released. The video was directed by duo Marc & Ish and filmed in late August 2012. It opens with Diamandis in a shower surrounded by

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-clad male models. It includes various close-up shots of Diamandis and the models throughout the video. She also appears with four different men in various settings, each showing her with a different colored hair ribbon. It includes shots of her walking alone on the beach in some parts of the video, and includes a shot of her holding a platter with a severed and bloodied mannequin head. She dons black hair and various black dresses throughout the video, and her signature heart makeup on her cheek.

Commercial performance

"How to Be a Heartbreaker" was released as the third single off ''

''. The song was a commercial success worldwide. In the United Kingdom the song peaked at number 88 and spent one week on the chart. The song ranks as Marina's fifth best-selling track to date in the United Kingdom, with 95,000 combined sales as of February 2019. "How to Be a Heartbreaker" was certified Silver in the United Kingdom in November 2021, denoting sales in excess of 200,000 units. In Denmark the song peaked at number 18 and was certified Platinum. The single was certified Platinum 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) in June 2021.

Live performances

Diamandis first performed "How to Be a Heartbreaker" live on 29 June 2012 on

The Lonely Hearts Club Tour The Lonely Hearts Club Tour is the second concert tour by Welsh singer-songwriter Marina Diamandis, formerly known as Marina and the Diamonds. Background and development The UK dates were announced on Valentine's Day with the North American da ...

at the HMV Institute 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 ...

. She has since performed the song during most of her Lonely Hearts Club Tour performances and opening performances on

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...

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, occasionally adding another breakdown after the second chorus. On 9 July 2012, she performed the song on ''

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'' along with "

Primadonna In opera or commedia dell'arte, a prima donna (; Italian for "first lady"; plural: ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage pers ...

". She has performed the song acoustically on various radio stations and television appearances in Europe and Canada. She also performed the song as part of her "YouTube Presents" streaming performance along with four other songs from ''Electra Heart'' on 15 August 2012. Diamandis performed "How to Be a Heartbreaker" live on the season finale of Denmark's ''

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'' on 22 March 2013, along with "Primadonna".

Other versions

The song was covered by

Dean Geyer Dean Stanley Geyer (born 20 March 1986) is a South African Australian singer-songwriter, actor and martial artist who finished third in the 2006 season of the talent show television series ''Australian Idol'', and has had a notable role in the ...

and

Lea Michele Lea Michele Sarfati (; born August 29, 1986) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and author. She began her career as a child actress on Broadway (theatre), Broadway, appearing in productions of ''Les Misérables (musical), Les Misérab ...

on the ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' episode "

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Track listings

*UK and Irish digital download (EP) #"How to Be a Heartbreaker" – 3:41 #"How to Be a Heartbreaker" (Kat Krazy remix) – 3:34 #"How to Be a Heartbreaker" ( Almighty remix) – 5:37 #"How to Be a Heartbreaker" (

Kitty Pryde Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. The character First appearance, first appeared in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #129 (January 1980) and was ...

remix) – 3:00 #"How to Be a Heartbreaker" (Baunz remix) – 7:27 *Canadian and US digital download (remixes) #"How to Be a Heartbreaker" (

Dada Life Dada Life are a Swedish DJ duo formed in 2006, which consists of Olle Cornéer and Stefan Engblom. They have released three albums, a number of singles and remixes and one compilation. The duo had early chart success in Belgium and the Netherlan ...

remix) – 6:28 #"How to Be a Heartbreaker" (Dada Life remix radio edit) – 3:16

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2012 singles 2012 songs 679 Artists singles Atlantic Records singles Marina Diamandis songs Song recordings produced by Benny Blanco Song recordings produced by Cirkut (record producer) Song recordings produced by Dr. Luke Songs written by Ammar Malik Songs written by Dr. Luke Songs written by Robopop Songs written by Marina Diamandis