Give Your Heart a Break

"Give Your Heart a Break" is a song recorded by American singer Demi Lovato for her third studio album Unbroken (2011). It was released on January 23, 2012 by Hollywood Records, as the second and final single from the album. The song was written and produced by Josh Alexander and Billy Steinberg. "Give Your Heart a Break" incorporates drums, violin and strings. The latter two, according to music critics, are reminiscent of those used in Coldplay's "Viva la Vida". Lyrically, the song chronicles the protagonist's attempt to win over her lover who has been hurt in a previous relationship and is fearful of committing again.

"Give Your Heart a Break"
Single by Demi Lovato
from the album Unbroken
B-side
  • "Aftershock"
  • "Yes I Am"
ReleasedJanuary 23, 2012 (2012-01-23)
Recorded2011
GenrePop[1]
Length3:25
LabelHollywood
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Alexander
  • Steinberg
Demi Lovato singles chronology
"Skyscraper"
(2011)		 "Give Your Heart a Break"
(2012)		 "Heart Attack"
(2013)
Music video
"Give Your Heart a Break" on YouTube

"Give Your Heart a Break" received acclaim from music critics, who mostly praised the production and Lovato's vocals. The single debuted at number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 16 on the chart, as well as reaching number one on the Billboard Pop Songs chart. The song has debuted at number 33 in New Zealand and has peaked at number nine, marking the first time Lovato had two top 10 singles from one album in the country.

Background

Originally, it was announced the second single from the album "Who's That Boy" (featuring Dev),[2] but later was scrapped due to Dev's pregnancy. "Give Your Heart a Break" was written and produced by Josh Alexander and Billy Steinberg, who are known for their work on The Veronicas' sophomore studio album, Hook Me Up, as well as JoJo's "Too Little Too Late".[3][4] Alexander is credited with having a bigger hand in the song's production, handling all the instruments while programming, recording and engineering the song.[3] Chris Garcia shared engineering credits with Alexander while Scott Roewe is credited with providing Logic and Pro Tools technology.[3] According to MTV, Lovato explained that despite the play on the word "heartbreak" in the title, the song is about the exact opposite. "Last year I began working on a song about a different kind of love," she said. "It's a song about showing someone you love that you're the one right in front of them. This is a song about faith."[5]

Composition

"Give Your Heart a Break" is three minutes and twenty-five seconds long.[6] The song uses the instruments such as the suspenseful strings[5] that sounds similar to that used in Coldplay's "Viva la Vida".[4] According to the digital music sheet published at Musicnotes.com by Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc., "Give Your Heart a Break" is written in the key of G♭ major.[6] It is set in common time and has a moderate tempo of 123 beats per minute.[6] The song follows the chord progression of C♭2–G♭–A♭m7 (add 4)–D♭. Lovato's vocal range spans over two octaves, from the low note of E♭3 to the high note of G♭5.[6]

Reception

Critical reception

"Give Your Heart a Break" received acclaim from music critics. Joe DeAndrea of AbsolutePunk praised the song along with "Mistake" as ballads going "far and beyond anything in Lovato's prior arsenal. It sets a mark as to what should be expected from similar artists such as her, but in the process, distancing herself from being grouped with them becoming a solo entity."[7] Jason Scott of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer noted that the song, along with "Mistake" and "Hold Up", feature "electrically forceful instrumentation".[8] Jocelyn Vena of MTV complimented it as a smart dance song, along with "Hold Up".[5]

In another extensive review, Laurence Green from musicOMH praised the track, calling it an "exceptionally brilliant track," while commenting that she "becomes the true pop heroine; backed up by infinitely bigger, better choruses."[9] Sam Lansky, a writer and editor for MTV's Buzzworthy Blog, lauded the recording for presenting Lovato's vocals as a masterpiece and praised the production as "superb".[4]

Chart performance

The song peaked Billboard Hot 100 at number 16, making Lovato's fifth highest peaking song.[10] Also, it has peaked at number 12 on the US Adult Top 40 chart and number 1 on the US Pop Songs chart. It also reached number 16 on the US Adult Contemporary chart and at number 21 on the US Digital Songs chart. In Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders), the song peaked at number 32, her first appearance and highest position on the chart and spent nine weeks on the chart. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 33, her third song to chart on the top 40 and has so far peaked at number 9, marking the first time Lovato had two Top 10 singles from one album in the country. In April 2014, the song was certified three-times platinum by the RIAA; as of October 2017, it has sold 2.2 million digital copies.[11]

Music video
A collage of a photo of Lovato and on-screen love interest (Alex Bechet), created from other smaller images of the pair.

The music video for "Give Your Heart a Break" was filmed in late February 2012 and is directed by Justin Francis. The video premiered on E! on April 2, and was released by Vevo on April 3, 2012. Although few teasers for the video were previously uploaded on Lovato's official YouTube channel.[12][13][14] According to Lovato about "the new music video, I'm basically trying to convince a guy that I didn't break his heart, and we get into a fight and I try to win him over again" and "So I do something special for him at the end of the song".[5]

The video begins with Lovato and her boyfriend (portrayed by Alex Bechet) having an argument over the phone. After hanging up, she collects all the photos of them together from her apartment. Later that night, she walks to her boyfriend's apartment and pastes the photos on a wall across the street from his front door. Each picture has a memory behind it, which is recounted by her. Lovato's boyfriend looks out the window as he sees a large collage of pictures, depicting a picture of them smiling. The video ends as Lovato walks away, as she turns around and smiles, confident that her plan has worked. As of October 2018, the video has received over 330 million views on YouTube.[15]

A lyric video was released on December 23, 2011, which features Lovato is sitting on the swing and writing the lyrics in a journal, right next to a waterfall and firepit, presumably writing her thoughts in the form of the song. At the end of the video, Lovato closes her journal and leaves it on the swing.[16]

Live performances

On December 31, 2011, Lovato promoted the song at the MTV New Year's Eve's concert, which she co-hosted with Tyler Posey.[17] On January 11, 2012, Lovato performed the song at the People's Choice Awards, where she also received the "Best Pop Artist" award afterwards.[18] On March 15, 2012, Lovato performed the single from the results show episode of American Idol season 11.[19] The song was included on Lovato's set list for a free concert on July 6, 2012 as part of Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series.[20] Lovato performed the song at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards pre-show on September 6, 2012.[21] On September 25, 2012, Lovato performed the song on Katie Couric's talk show Katie.[22][23] Lovato performed the song at the VH1 Divas 2012, with the theme dance party on December 16, 2012.[24][25] Three days later, Lovato performed the song with Fifth Harmony on the second-season finale of The X Factor.[26] Lovato performed the song along with "Heart Attack" and "Neon Lights" at the 2nd Indonesian Choice Awards on May 24, 2015. Lovato performed the track during her headlining concert tours A Special Night with Demi Lovato, The Neon Lights Tour, Demi World Tour, Future Now Tour, and the Tell Me You Love Me World Tour.[27]

Credits and personnel

Recording and management

  • Mixed at Cryptic Studios (Los Angeles, California)
  • Mastered at Capitol Mastering (Los Angeles, California)
  • Jerk Awake/Jetanon Music (ASCAP)

Personnel

Credits adapted from Unbroken liner notes.[28]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Result
2012 Teen Choice Awards[29] "Choice Summer Song" Nominated
"Choice Love Song" Nominated

Track listings
CD single and digital download
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Give Your Heart a Break"
  • Alexander
  • Steinberg
3:25
2."Give Your Heart a Break" (Instrumental)
  • Alexander
  • Steinberg
 3:25
3."Give Your Heart a Break" (The Alias Radio Edit)
  • Alexander
  • Steinberg
 3:43
Digital download
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Give Your Heart a Break"
  • Alexander
  • Steinberg
3:25
International digital EP[30]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Give Your Heart a Break"
  • Alexander
  • Steinberg
  • Alexander
  • Steinberg
3:25
2."Give Your Heart a Break" (The Alias Club Mix)
  • Alexander
  • Steinberg
 5:58
3."Aftershock"
Dreamlab3:10
4."Yes I Am"
Dapo3:01
5."Give Your Heart a Break" (Instrumental)
  • Alexander
  • Steinberg
 3:25

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[52] Gold 7,500*
United States (RIAA)[53] 3× Platinum 2,200,000[11]

*sales figures based on certification alone

Release history
Country Date Format
United States January 23, 2012 Hot/Modern/AC radio[54]
January 24, 2012 Top 40/Mainstream radio[55]
Europe April 4, 2012 Digital EP[56]
United Kingdom May 14, 2012 Digital download[57]
United States December 11, 2012 DJ Mike D Digital Remix[58]

See also

References
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  2. "Demi Lovato Announces New Single "Who's That Boy"". Song On Lyrics. September 27, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  3. Unbroken (liner notes). Demi Lovato. Hollywood Records. 2011.CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. Lansky, Sam (January 19, 2012). "Demi Lovato's 'Give Your Heart A Break' Is Basically The Perfect Song. Here's Why". MTV Buzzworthy Blog. Viacom International Inc. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  5. Vena, Jocelyn (March 27, 2012). "Demi Lovato Sets 'Give Your Heart A Break' Video Release". MTV. Viacom International Inc. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  6. "Demi Lovato - Give your Heart a Break Music Sheet (Digital Download)". Musicnotes.com. Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  7. DeAndrea, Joe. "Demi Lovato – Unbroken – Album Review". AbsolutePunk. AbsolutePunk, LLC. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
  8. Scott, Jason (September 25, 2011). "Music Review: Demi Lovato – Unbroken". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Hearst Communications Inc. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
  9. Green, Laurence (February 20, 2012). "Demi Lovato - Unbroken | album reviews | musicOMH". MusicOMH. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
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  17. Huff, Richard (December 13, 2011). "Demi Lovato and Tyler Posey to host MTV's live New Year's Eve telecast 'NYE in NYC 2012'". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
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