Heartbreaker (Inna album)

Heartbreaker is the seventh studio album by Romanian singer Inna. It was released for streaming to YouTube and SoundCloud by Global Records on 27 November 2020, and was issued to fellow platforms and released for digital download a week later under the same label. An EDM, Middle Eastern and Latin-influenced dance-pop release, the album was preceded by Inna's retransition to the EDM genre following the release of Yo (2019), her experimental and gypsy-inspired sixth studio album.

Heartbreaker
Cover for the 4 December 2020 release
Studio album by
Inna
Released27 November 2020
RecordedNovember 2020
GenreDance-pop
Length30:12
Language
LabelGlobal
Producer
Inna chronology
Yo
(2019)		 Heartbreaker
(2020)

Heartbreaker was created over the course of three weeks in a mansion where Inna resided with Romanian songwriters and producers Sebastian Barac, Marcel Botezan, David Ciente, Alexandru Cotoi and Minelli. To document the progress made on what was initially planned to be the extended play (EP) Dance Queen's House, Inna uploaded daily YouTube vlogs. However, the EP was ultimately scrapped after the creation of over 50 songs to choose from. The album was not supported by any singles, but "Maza Jaja" was performed live on Selly Show, the Artist Awards and Untold Festival in December 2020.[1][2][3]

Background

Inna released her sixth studio album Yo in May 2019, which was jointly distributed by Global Records and Roc Nation.[4][5] Containing songs written solely in Spanish, the singer took the entirety of creative control over the album and worked extensively with Romanian producer David Ciente. Inna described Yo's material as experimental and gypsy-influenced, marking a departure from her previous EDM work.[6][7][8][9] With the release of "Bebe" in November 2019,[10] Inna's fourth number one on the native Airplay 100 chart,[11] she retransitioned to the EDM genre; it was the first in a string of several non-album singles.[12][13][14][15]

Creation and release
Marcel Botezan (first from left) and Sebastian Barac (third from left) were heavily involved in the album's creation.

Heartbreaker was created during a three-week period in November 2020 at a rented Bucharest mansion with two recording studios, in which Inna resided with Romanian songwriters and producers Sebastian Barac, Marcel Botezan, Ciente, Alexandru Cotoi and Minelli. Inna documented the progress made during daily vlogs on her YouTube channel, which ran from 3 to 21 November 2020. The record was initially supposed to be an extended play (EP), titled Dance Queen's House, and released on 20 November 2020.[16][17][18][19]

Inna's 19 November 2020 vlog featured Romanian singer Antonia, which prompted InfoMusic writer Raluca Chirilă to speculate that Heartbreaker included a collaboration between Inna and the singer.[20] On the same occasion, Inna confirmed that the project had been expanded to a studio album and postponed to 27 November, with over 50 songs having been created to choose from.[21] A Zoom party was held during Inna's vlog on 21 November 2020 for fans to listen to demo versions of the chosen songs for the album; the tracks went on to be finished as well as mixed and mastered the following week.[22][23]

"Madja Jadja", a demo of what later became "Maza Jaja", was uploaded to SoundCloud on 22 November 2020.[24] Inna revealed the album's final title, Heartbreaker, and a preliminary tracklist through Instagram posts on 27 November.[25][26] On the same date, the album was issued for streaming to YouTube and SoundCloud, with its release to fellow platforms and for digital download following on 4 December 2020.[27][28][29] Global Records handled the release process, and additionally issued all 10 songs on Heartbreaker as promotional singles on 4 December.[30]

Critical reception and composition

Bradley Stern of MuuMuse called Inna a "solid supplier" and "damn prolific", praising her decision to issue a completely new body of work with Heartbreaker and not stretch it out by not adding the previously released non-album singles to its tracklist. Stern further applauded the album's release strategy as a "power move", and jokingly concluded: "[The album] came right after [Spotify's] #Wrapped2020 happened. I will be launching a Change.org petition to have Spotify recount the votes immediately." Running for approximatively 30 minutes, Heartbreaker consists of EDM, Middle Eastern and Latin-influenced dance-pop songs that are written in both English and Spanish. The album opens with "Maza Jaja" and "One Reason", with Stern commenting that the latter is "bound to be on heavy rotation at my Russian barbershop in Midtown that solely blasts deep house dance hits".[27][31]

Dance-Charts' Manuel Probst commended Heartbreaker as "top notch" and singled out "Flashbacks" as his favorite track, noticing "atmospheric" sounds, a piano loop and slap bass in its composition.[32] The "drama[tic]" song is followed by "Beautiful Life", which Stern compared to material released by Danish singer Medina. The Spanish-language "label brag" "Gucci Balenciaga" includes the explicit lyrics "me importa una mierda" (Spanish: "I don't give a shit"),[31] and is followed by the title "Heartbreaker", which InfoMusic's Alex Stănescu picked as the album's highlight, noticing its oriental influences as well as the use of a synthesizer and vocal chopping.[27] While Stern likened "Sunset Dinner" to American recording artist Britney Spears' "Change Your Mind (No Seas Cortes)" off her 2016 studio album Glory, he praised "Thicky" as "stand[ing] out above the rest". Seeing it as a "hypnotic dance floor anthem" and "a spiritual successor" to American singer Dev's "In the Dark" (2011), the writer noted "award-worthy lyricism that would make someone like Nadia Oh proud", including lines such as "He likes the kitty, I dog with it" and "Go down, stay there... don't move..."[31]

Track listing

All tracks written by Elena Alexandra Apostoleanu (Inna) and Luisa Luca (Minelli) alongside their producers Sebastian Barac, Marcel Botezan and David Ciente.[33]

Heartbreaker track listing[upper-alpha 1]
No.TitleLength
1."Maza Jaja"3:20
2."One Reason"3:08
3."Flashbacks"2:57
4."Beautiful Lie"3:00
5."Gucci Balenciaga"2:50
6."Heartbreaker"3:00
7."Sunset Dinner"2:52
8."You and I"2:46
9."Thicky"3:04
10."Till Forever"3:10
Total length:30:12

Release history
Release history for Heartbreaker
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various 27 November 2020 Streaming Global
[27]
4 December 2020 Digital download
[28]

Notes
  1. The tracks are arranged differently on YouTube and SoundCloud.[34][29]

References
  1. "Inna - Maza Jaja (Live in premiera @ Selly Show)". YouTube. 2 December 2020. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  2. "Inna | Live @ The Artist Awards 2020". YouTube. 29 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  3. "Inna – Maza Jaja (Untold Festival Live 2020)". YouTube. 2 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  4. "Yo by Inna on iTunes". Apple Music (RO). 31 May 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  5. "Yo by Inna on iTunes". Apple Music (US). 31 May 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  6. "Inna – Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  7. "Inna Interview". Cristina Stanciulescu (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  8. "Inna prezinta teaserul albumului 'Yo', primul album in limba spaniola compus integral de artista" [Inna releases the teaser of 'Yo', the first Spanish language album composed entirely by her]. Star Gossip Magazine (in Romanian). 17 October 2018. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  9. "Inna, aparitie incendiara la gala Latin Grammy Awards 2018!" [Inna, hot appearance at the Latin Grammy Awards 2018 gala!] (in Romanian). Cancan. 16 November 2018. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  10. "Bebe – Single by Inna and Vinka on iTunes". Apple Music (RO). Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  11. "Airplay 100 – 15 martie 2020" (in Romanian). Kiss FM. 15 March 2020. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  12. Stănescu, Alex (2 April 2020). "Lyric Video: Inna - Not My Baby". InfoMusic. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  13. Krusch, Leon (11 April 2020). "Inna - Not My Baby" (in German). Dance Charts. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  14. Mankus, Modestas (7 May 2020). "Inna Presents 'Sober'". Our Culture Mag. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  15. Currinn, Jonathan. "Inna Releases New Single 'Sober' And Drops Home Edition Music Video". CelebMix. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  16. "Inchisa intr-o casa cu prietenii mei pentru 3 saptamani (turul casei)" [Locked inside a mansion with my friends for 3 weeks (house tour)] (in Romanian). YouTube. 3 November 2020. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  17. "Recap of the last week in Dance Queen's House" (in Romanian). YouTube. 21 November 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  18. Chirilă, Raluca (4 November 2020). "Inna s-a izolat în 'Dance Queen House'. Urmărește primul episod" [Inna has isolated herself in 'Dance Queen House'. Watch the first episode] (in Romanian). InfoMusic. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  19. Chivu, Alexandra (25 November 2020). "Cum s-a descurcat Inna 3 săptămâni închisă într-o casă. Ce au făcut mama sa și iubitul Deliric" [How Inna managed to stay in a mansion for 3 weeks. See what her mother and boyfriend Deliric did] (in Romanian). Playtech. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  20. Chirilă, Raluca (20 November 2020). "Inna anunță un nou album, ce ar putea include o colaborare cu Antonia" [Inna has announced a new album which could include a collaboration with Antonia] (in Romanian). InfoMusic. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  21. "I made doughnuts for Antonia" (in Romanian). YouTube. 19 November 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  22. "Zoom party - listening session of the new songs from Dance Queen's House" (in Romanian). YouTube. 20 November 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  23. "Recap of the last week in Dance Queen's House" (in Romanian). YouTube. 21 November 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  24. "Madja Jadja by Inna". SoundCloud. 22 November 2020. Archived from the original on 22 November 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  25. "Inna Instagram post". Instagram. 27 November 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  26. "Inna Instagram post". Instagram. 27 November 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  27. Stănescu, Alex (27 November 2020). "Inna a lansat albumul 'Heartbreaker' pe YouTube: 10 piese noi pentru fani" [Inna has released the album 'Heartbreaker' on YouTube: 10 new songs for the fans] (in Romanian). InfoMusic. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  28. "Heartbreaker by Inna on iTunes". Apple Music (AU). 4 December 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  29. "Heartbreaker by Inna". SoundCloud. 27 November 2020. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  30. Citations regarding the release of the songs as promotional singles:
  31. Stern, Bradley (5 December 2020). "'Heartbreaker': Inna Rounds Out 2020 With a Fresh Set of Bangers". MuuMuse. Archived from the original on 27 December 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  32. Probst, Manuel (23 December 2020). "Inna - Flashbacks" (in German). Dance-Charts. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  33. "Heartbreaker / Inna". Tidal. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  34. "Inna – Heartbreaker | Full album". YouTube. 27 November 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
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