I Can Do It With A Broken Heart

"I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eleventh studio album, ''The Tortured Poets Department'' (2024). Written and produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" is about Swift's perseverance and professionalism while going through personal hardships during the early days of the Eras Tour. Contrary to the melancholic sentiments of the lyrics, the music is upbeat electropop, dance-pop, new wave, and synth-disco, incorporating house and bubblegum beats, and salient synth arpeggios.

Upon release of the album, critics considered the song a standout due to its sanguine sound, unlike the generally moody atmosphere of the rest of the album. Swift included the song as a regular on the revamped setlist of the Eras Tour in 2024. "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" was released as the second single from ''The Tortured Poets Department'' on July 2, 2024. The song's accompanying music video is a compilation of footage from the Eras Tour and its rehearsals.

Commercially, "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" peaked at number five on the ''Billboard'' Global 200 chart and placed within the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and became the album's longest-charting song. It received platinum certifications in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Background and release

Swift started working on ''The Tortured Poets Department'' immediately after she submitted her tenth studio album, ''Midnights'', to Republic Records for release in 2022. She continued working on it in secrecy throughout the US leg of the Eras Tour in 2023. The album's conception took place amidst media reports on Swift's broken relationship with the English actor Joe Alwyn and her short romantic linking with the English musician Matty Healy while she was on the early run of the Eras Tour. She described ''The Tortured Poets Department'' as a "lifeline" for her and an album which she "really needed" to make.

Republic Records released ''The Tortured Poets Department'' on April 19, 2024; "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" is 13th on the track list. From May 2024, the track was included in the revamped setlist of the Eras Tour. The performance started with a sketch that resembled silent films: backup dancers galvanized a tired Swift into getting dressed to continue performing, as a jazzy tune played in the background. Props that were used in the number evoked Golden Age of Hollywood, such as tailcoats, feathers, and canes; Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the ''Financial Times'' thought that the choreography was inspired by the film director Busby Berkeley.

To celebrate the European leg of the tour, Universal Music Group released the song to Italian radio as the second single from the album on July 2, 2024. In the United States, Republic Records sent the song to pop radio stations on July 12, 2024. The track was released digitally on music streaming services on July 16, 2024; the cover artwork is a capture of Swift's performance of the song at the Eras Tour concert in Lyon, France, on June 2, 2024. A remix of "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" by Dombresky was released on September 13.

The music video for the song was released on August 20, and premiered during the final show of the European leg of the Eras Tour. The video features a compilation of footage and behind-the-scenes clips of Swift preparing for the tour. It also includes rehearsals for the live performance of "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart", costume changes and Swift entering a cleaning cart prop used to transport her onto the raised stage. The video also features the tour's choreographers, dancers, backing vocalists, and musicians.

Music and lyrics

Swift wrote and produced "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" with Jack Antonoff, who programmed the track and played the drums, piano, and synthesizer. The track was recorded by Laura Sisk and Oli Jacobs, who provided background vocals, percussion, and a spoken word. "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" is an upbeat electropop, dance-pop, synth-disco, and new wave song. The song is written in common time with tempo of 130 beats per minute and in the key of C major. Its incorporation of house elements and a bubblegum- and dance-friendly beat is a contrast to the album's predominantly moody atmosphere. It is instrumented by percolating synth arpeggios. Critics compared the song's production to Swift's 2022 track "Mastermind" and the music of other artists such as Robyn or the Pet Shop Boys.

The song is lyrically a "pep talk" to oneself about persevering in the face of being a famous performer despite personal heartbreak. Joel Calfee of ''Harper's Bazaar'' considered it to be a "deceptively upbeat" song, wherein "Swift gets candid about what it was like to perform through the heartbreak". Music journalists suggested "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" discusses Swift's need to hide her negative emotions regarding the breakup while performing on her tour ("All the pieces of me shattered as the crowd was chanting 'more'."). Will Harris of '' Q'' wrote that the lyrics showcased "romantic confusion and heartbreak", citing the lyrics, "I'm so depressed, I act like it's my birthday every day/ I'm so obsessed with him, but he avoids me like the plague."

Critical reception

''Variety'' gave the song a positive review in its review of the parent album, considering it to be the album's climax and suggested it was "sure to be one of the most talked-about and replayed tracks". In a ranking of all 31 tracks of ''The Anthology'' edition of ''The Tortured Poets Department'', ''Billboard'' ranked the song in eighth place, considering the song "rollicking, snarky and strikingly funny". ''Clash'''s Lauren Webb described the track as "triumphantly-erupting". Josh Kurp of ''Uproxx'' selected "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" as one of the album's "strong songs", while Alex Hudson from ''Exclaim!'' opined that its production makes it the only track that stands out on the album. Jonathan Keefe of ''Slant Magazine'' opined that the song was a "viable radio it.

Writing for ''The Guardian'', Laura Snapes considered the lyric "lights, camera, bitch smile" to be "meme-worthy" and "makes clear why she wanted er musicback on TikTok." In ''NME'', Laura Molloy deemed "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" "poised for internet virality than anything more substantial". Olivia Horn from ''Pitchfork'' similarly suggested that the lyrics were "versed in memespeak" and the music was too familiar to Swift and Antonoff's past collaborations. By contrast, Tom Breihan of ''Stereogum'' wrote that the song showcased "a musical energy and inventiveness" that suggested a new path for Swift's artistry, praising the vocals and keyboard instrumentation. Writing for ''Beats Per Minute'', John Wohlmacher said the song is "so unabashedly unhinged and manic that it's pure joy". ''USA Today'' ranked "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" the best song of 2024.

Commercial performance

Following the album's release, its tracks occupied the top nine of the ''Billboard'' Global 200; "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" debuted at its peak of number five on the chart, where it extended Swift's top-10 entries to 33. In the United States, the song opened and peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It along with 13 tracks from the album made Swift the first artist to monopolize the top 14 of the Hot 100. Following its release as a single, the song also peaked at number four on Adult Pop Airplay and number six on the Pop Airplay charts, marking Swift's record-extending 32nd top ten hit on the former and her 25th top ten hit on the latter. The song became the longest-running song from ''The Tortured Poets Department'' on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, spending 31 weeks on the chart.

Elsewhere, "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" reached the top 10 in Canada (4), Ireland (5), Singapore (5), New Zealand (6), the United Kingdom (8), and the Philippines (10). It also charted within the 20 in many countries: number 11 in Austria, number 12 in Latvia, number 14 in Malaysia and Portugal, number 15 in Belgium and Luxembourg, number 17 in Sweden, and number 19 in Croatia, Denmark, and South Africa. The song received certifications in Australia (gold), New Zealand (gold), Portugal (gold), and the United Kingdom (platinum). In Australia, it reached number five on the ARIA Singles Chart and made her the artist with the most entries in a single week with 29.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''The Tortured Poets Department''

* Taylor Swift – vocals, songwriter, producer
* Jack Antonoff – producer, songwriter, drums, piano, Juno, M1, percussion, programming
* Oli Jacobs – background vocals, percussion, spoken word, recording engineer
* Serban Ghenea – mixing
* Bryce Bordone – mix engineer
* Laura Sisk – recording engineer
* Jon Sher – assistant recording engineer
* Jack Manning – assistant recording engineer
* Lauren Marquez – assistant recording engineer
* Joe Caldwell – assistant recording engineer
* Randy Merrill – mastering
* Ryan Smith – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

Source

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{{Taylor Swift songs

2024 songs
2024 singles
Taylor Swift songs
Songs written by Taylor Swift
Songs written by Jack Antonoff
Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift
Song recordings produced by Jack Antonoff
Songs about heartache
Songs about depression
Electropop songs
American dance-pop songs
American new wave songs
Music videos directed by Taylor Swift
American disco songs
Songs about fame