"Teardrop" (also formatted as "Tear Drop") is a song by English

trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...

group

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert Del Naja, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Daddy G, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Tricky (musician), Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew Vowles, Andrew "Mushroom" ...

. Vocals are performed by Scottish singer

Elizabeth Fraser Elizabeth Davidson Fraser (born 29 August 1963) is a Scottish singer. She was the vocalist for the band Cocteau Twins, who achieved success in the UK from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. Their studio albums '' Victorialand'' (1986) and '' H ...

, former lead singer of

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock music, rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981. In 19 ...

, who also wrote the lyrics. It was released on 27 April 1998 by Circa and

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

as the second single from the group's third studio album, ''

Mezzanine A mezzanine (; or in Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft with non-sloped ...

'' (1998). A

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

-driven track, "Teardrop" was originally set to feature vocals from

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

, whom Massive Attack turned down in favour of Fraser. In the United Kingdom, "Teardrop" peaked at number 10, becoming the group's highest-charting single and only top-10 hit in their native country. It reached number one in Iceland and became a top-20 hit in Australia, Denmark, Ireland, and New Zealand. The music video, directed by Walter Stern, features a

foetus A fetus or foetus (; : fetuses, foetuses, rarely feti or foeti) is the unborn offspring of a viviparous animal that develops from an embryo. Following the embryonic stage, the fetal stage of development takes place. Prenatal development is a ...

singing in the

womb The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more fertilized eggs until bi ...

, and the song has been featured in various television programmes, including as the opening theme for the US television programme ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

'' and the Australian show '' The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart''.

Development

"Teardrop" was first developed from a simple

riff picked out in the studio in April 1997.

Andrew Vowles Andrew Lee Isaac Vowles, also known as Mushroom, is an English musician, known for being a founding member of the trip hop/abstract art collective Massive Attack, along with Robert Del Naja (3D), Adrian Thaws (Tricky) and Grantley Marshall (Da ...

, the main songwriter of this song, originally sent the demo to

as he wanted her to record the vocals (the band had previously worked with her on their 1995 reworking of the song " I Want You"). However, the two other band members

Robert Del Naja Robert Del Naja (; born 21 January 1965), also known as 3D, is a British artist, musician, singer and songwriter. He emerged as a graffiti artist and member of the Bristol collective The Wild Bunch (sound system), the Wild Bunch, and later as ...

and Grantley Marshall wanted

of the

to record the vocals, feeling her ethereal style suited the mournful melody and feel of the piece. Madonna was very keen to record the vocals, and was disappointed when the two-to-one vote went in Fraser's favour. In 2023, Andrew Unterberger of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' wrote: "How Teardrop'might've sounded with Madonna instead of Liz Fraser on vocals remains one of '90s pop's great what-ifs." Fraser wrote the song's lyrics, inspired by the works of French philosopher

Gaston Bachelard Gaston Bachelard (; ; 27 June 1884 – 16 October 1962) was a French philosopher. He made contributions in the fields of poetics and the philosophy of science. To the latter, he introduced the concepts of ''epistemological obstacle'' and ''Epist ...

. While recording the song in 1997, she found out that

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (raised as Scott Moorhead; November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997) was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he attracted a cult following in the early 1990s performing at venues in ...

, with whom she had formerly been involved in a relationship, had disappeared—later discovered to have drowned. In 2009, she said, "That was so weird ... I'd got letters out and I was thinking about him. That song's kind of about him—that's how it feels to me anyway".

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''Billboard'' wrote, "If there were ever a time for this clique of progressive groovemeisters to solidly connect with the stateside mainstream, it's now. The world has finally caught up with its

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

methods of blending dance rhythms with alterna-pop melodies. On this preview of the album ''

'', the band injects a bit of modern rock flavor into the mix - thus, widening the potential for airplay. Added programming incentive is provided by Brendan Lynch and

Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock music, rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie (musician), Jim Beattie (guitar). The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simon ...

, who add an aggressive bite to a track that bubbles with light electronic

instrumentation Instrumentation is a collective term for measuring instruments, used for indicating, measuring, and recording physical quantities. It is also a field of study about the art and science about making measurement instruments, involving the related ...

." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' felt that Fraser's "sublime, folky vocals provide the perfect foil to the Massive Attack's trio's metronome-like backing on this haunting first single .. An inspired choice of guest singer, she more than measures up to the standards set by Shara Nelson and

Tracey Thorn Tracey Thorn (born 26 September 1962) is an English singer, songwriter, and author. She is best known as a member of the duo Everything but the Girl, active from 1982 to 2000, and again from 2022. She was in the band Marine Girls from 1980 to ...

on Massive's previous albums, her undecipherable lyrics adding an intriguing edge." James Hyman from the ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' Dance Update gave "Teardrop" five out of five, declaring it as "predictably dark-edged yet compelling", with Fraser's "uplifting vocals shining over a pendulum-ticking beat".

Chart performance

The single peaked at number 16 in Australia. It placed number 22 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time in 2009. It reached the top 10 in the UK and is the only Massive Attack track to do so. It was certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

by the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

on 10 May 2019.

Music video

The song's music video featured a latex

in the womb, singing the song. It was directed by Walter Stern.

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Notable cover versions

Newton Faulkner

Newton Faulkner Sam Newton Battenberg Faulkner (born 11 January 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and musician from Reigate, Surrey. He is known for his percussive style of guitar playing. In 2007 Faulkner's debut studio album ''Hand Built by Robots'' was ce ...

covered the song on his album '' Hand Built by Robots'', which was produced by Mike Spencer. On

downloads In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar systems. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote s ...

alone, Faulkner's version reached number 60 on the UK Singles Chart in August 2007. It was released as an official single on 10 December 2007, and reached number 57 on the chart the following week. The version of the album available from the Australian

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

Music Store also incorporates an acoustic version.

O'Hooley & Tidow

English

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

duo O'Hooley & Tidow covered the song on their album ''

The Fragile ''The Fragile'' is the third studio album by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released as a double album by Nothing Records and Interscope Records on September 21, 1999. It was produced by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Rezn ...

''. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' described their version of "Teardrop" as "an exquisite reworking" and it was voted by ''Guardian'' music critic Jude Rogers as one of the best tracks of 2012.

José González

José González covered "Teardrop" for his second album ''

In Our Nature ''In Our Nature'' is the second studio album by Swedish singer-songwriter José González. It was released on 24 September 2007 on Peacefrog Records in the UK and Imperial Recordings in Sweden. It was released on 25 September 2007 by Mute Rec ...

''. The single was released across Europe on 12 November 2007. The single features the non-album instrumental B-side "Four Forks Ache." This version was also featured in the medical drama '' House M.D.'' in the episode " Wilson's Heart" as well as in the eighth episode of '' The Last Dance'',

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's 10-part documentary series on

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

and the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

of the 1990s.

Civil Twilight

South African band

Civil Twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surfac ...

released a cover version on 13 April 2010, included in the record ''Live from SoHo'', available only in iTunes. The band signed with

Wind-up Records Wind-up Records, LLC (legally known as Wind-up Entertainment Inc. until 2004) was an American record label founded by Alan and Diana Meltzer in 1997. It was based in New York City and was distributed by BMG Distribution. Wind-up's best-selling ...

, and released the studio version of the song as a single on 10 August 2010.

The Collective

The song was covered by English singer

Gary Barlow Gary Barlow (born 20 January 1971) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the pop group Take That. Barlow is one of the United Kingdom's most successful songwriters, having writ ...

's assembled supergroup named "the Collective" and released as the official single for Children in Need 2011. Produced by

Labrinth Timothy Lee McKenzie (born 4 January 1989), better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Labrinth signed as a recording artist with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Music in 2010, ini ...

, the performers consist of

Chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of subtribe Tamiina. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks are classified as four genera: '' ...

, Dot Rotten,

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

Ms. Dynamite Naomi Arleen McLean-Daley (born 26 April 1981), better known as Ms. Dynamite, is a British singer and rapper. She is the recipient of the Mercury Music Prize, two Brit Awards and three MOBO Awards. Early years She was born Naomi Arleen M ...

Mz. Bratt Cleopatra Humphrey (born 4 November 1988) formerly known by her stage name Mz. Bratt and currently known as Cleo., is an English rapper and singer. History Cleo. was born in Bow, London. Later, she moved to Hainault and started producing her m ...

, Tulisa,

Rizzle Kicks Rizzle Kicks are a British hip-hop duo from Brighton, England, consisting of Jordan "Rizzle" Stephens (born 25 January 1992) and Harley "Sylvester" Alexander-Sule (born 1991). Their debut album, '' Stereo Typical'', was released in 2011. As o ...

Tinchy Stryder Kwasi Esono Danquah III ( ; born 14 September 1986), better known by his stage name Tinchy Stryder, is a British rapper, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and investor. Stryder has released three solo studio albums, '' Star in the Hood'' (2007 ...

and

Wretch 32 Jermaine Sinclaire Scott (born 9 March 1985), better known by his stage name Wretch 32, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective Combination Chain Gang, before forming The ...

. The song was released in the United Kingdom on 13 November 2011 on the

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

label. and entered the charts at number 24.

Charts

Release history

Simple Minds

Simple Minds Simple Minds are a Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977, becoming best known internationally for their song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100 ...

recorded a version for their 2009 covers album '' Searching for the Lost Boys''.

VOCES8

Voces8 released a choral version on their 2015 album Lux.

The Naked and Famous

New Zealand

indie electronic Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

band

The Naked and Famous The Naked and Famous are a New Zealand indie electronic band from Auckland, formed in 2007. The band currently consists of Alisa Xayalith (vocals, keyboards) and Thom Powers (vocals, guitars). The band has released four studio albums: ''Passiv ...

recorded a version for their 2018 stripped album '' A Still Heart''. When asked why they decided to record a cover,

Thom Powers The Naked and Famous are a New Zealand indie electronic band from Auckland, formed in 2007. The band currently consists of Alisa Xayalith (vocals, keyboards) and Thom Powers (vocals, guitars). The band has released four studio albums: ''Passiv ...

explained, "It is one of those songs that is an amazing piece of music. It comes from the era that our name comes from. Our name comes from a line in a Tricky song."

AURORA

Norwegian electro-pop artist

AURORA An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

has performed this song several times, most notably at the Verftet festival on 29 March 2020.

Hayley Williams

American singer

Hayley Williams Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist and only constant member of the rock band Paramore, which she co-founded in 2004. Williams was born and raised in Meridian, Miss ...

, vocalist of

Paramore Paramore is an American rock band formed in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2004. Since 2017, the band's lineup includes lead vocalist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of ...

, uploaded a cover on YouTube and Spotify on 15 January 2021.

Lily Baxter

American YouTuber Lily Baxter made a cover of "Teardrop" in January 2025. In Baxter's rendition, she sings in her low voice throughout the song. However, she can be heard screaming near the end of the song before singing "yeah" in her low voice again. The video features her as six versions of herself (first is Lily in a blue shirt, second is Liliana in a white wedding dress, third is Lilith in black latex irst seen as a silhouette but is revealed in full form shortly after fourth is Lilika in a grungy outfit, fifth is Lilibeth in goth attire, and Muna Ambroseo in a purple shirt with messy makeup). The official video has footage of the

January 2025 Southern California wildfires From January 7 to 31, 2025, a series of 14 destructive wildfires affected the Los Angeles metropolitan area and San Diego County in California, United States. The fires were exacerbated by drought conditions, low humidity, a buildup of ve ...

, immigration crackdown, and Democrats being upset of Donald Trump's victory of the 2024 election while Republicans rejoice his second victory, all as a reflection of the conflicts since Trump's re-election and inauguration as of January 2025. An alternate version, both audio and video, was released on 25 April 2025. The alternate audio removed the screams. The alternate video kept all of Baxter's scenes and replaced all the footage with Baxter as either Lilika, Lilibeth, or Lilith. One of Lilith's scenes was changed though.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teardrop (Massive Attack song) 1998 songs 1998 singles 2007 singles 2011 singles Massive Attack songs Music videos directed by Walter Stern Number-one singles in Iceland Songs written by Andrew Vowles Songs written by Robert Del Naja Comedy television theme songs Television drama theme songs Trip hop songs Virgin Records singles Polydor Records singles Atlantic Records singles Song recordings produced by Mike Spencer