"Broken Heels" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Alexandra Burke | ||||
from the album Overcome | ||||
Released | 18 January 2010 | |||
Recorded | 2009 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
| |||
Label | Syco | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | RedOne | |||
Alexandra Burkesingles chronology | ||||
|
"Broken Heels" is a song performed by British singer Alexandra Burke, released as the second single from her 2009 debut album, Overcome . [2] It was written by the Moroccan-Swedish producer RedOne, Bilal Hajji, Savan Kotecha and produced by RedOne. [3] The single was released on digital download in the United Kingdom on 17 January 2010 [4] and physically on the following day, on 18 January 2010. It peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart on 24 January 2010.
"Broken Heels" was written by Bilal Hajji, Savan Kotecha and RedOne (who also produced the song). In an interview with IVillage, Alexandra Burke revealed that she had a lot of say in the making of the song because she did not want to be a "toy" or "robot" in the song's development process. [5] Burke, in an interview with Popjustice, elaborated on her experience of working with RedOne. She said,
I've got to say, Red was the one who basically got my personality out first. Then everything else slipped into place like a puzzle. Red really started it off for me. He had [the song] already ready for me, right? And then I walked in, and he met me, and he was like, "scrap every song we've just prepared for you, we're going to start from scratch, because you're not the person I thought you would be.' So then he wrote [the song] according to my personality. [6]
"Broken Heels" came about through a conversation between Burke and RedOne when her footwear made more of an impression than his original song choice. Burke explained, "We started getting into a conversation about why I wear high heels and then the title 'Broken Heels' came up and the song grew out of that." [5] Nick Levine from Digital Spy interperated the song as carrying a good-natured girl power message. [7] Fraser McAlpine of the BBC reviewed the lyrical meaning of "Broken Heels" as follows: "It's basically another one of those "girls are better than boys, right girls?" diva brag-jobs, and effectively puts forward the idea that even if a woman is hobbled by uneven footwear she can still kick man-ass when it comes to gold medal standard Olympic partying." [8] Popjustice said that "Broken Heels" is "a song in which Alexandra explains that she can dance as well as a man, and she can do it even better if her shoes are broken." [9]
Musically "Broken Heels" is an up-tempo dance-pop, synthpop and R&B song with a dance-oriented beat. [8] [10] "Broken Heels" has a distinctly faster tempo than Burke's previous single "Bad Boys". [11] [12] The song opens with Burke singing the "Hey-ey-ey/Hey-ey-ey" hook which transitions into a spoken portion where Burke says: "RedOne, you know I can do it better than you/I can do it even better in broken heels". [13] The song's middle 8 features Burke singing a "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh/Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh" hook. [13]
According to Fraser McAlpine of the BBC the music is best suited for dancefloors. [8] Derby Evening Telegraph says it consists of huge beats. [14] Alexis Petridis from The Guardian felt that the clattering rhythm has influences from the music of 70s British rock band Adam and the Ants. [15] While Popjustice wrote that it recalled a RedOne take on Alesha Dixon's "The Boy Does Nothing" (2008). [9] The song is set in the time signature of common time with a metronome of 165.9 beats per minute. [11] It is composed in the key of E minor. [11] The track is written in verse-chorus form and its instrumentation comes from the guitar and electronic keyboard. [13]
Lyrically, "Broken Heels" is written in the first person and was inspired by Burke's personality and a conversation she had with RedOne with regard to why she wears heels. It refers to the strength of women which can enable them to do things better than men, even when they are wearing broken heels which contrasts as a simile for the song meaning. [8]
The music video for "Broken Heels" was filmed in Los Angeles on 22 and 23 November 2009, as confirmed by Burke's official Twitter page. It was choreographed by Frank Gatson and JaQuel Knight, who have also worked with Beyoncé. The music video consists of Burke and several female dancers. It premiered on UK music video channel The Box 11 December 2009, playing hourly. It received positive reaction from Nick Levine of Digital Spy who noted that: "It's essentially a massive tum-flashing, tush-shaking dance routine set in the middle of an American football pitch." [16] The video begins with Burke singing into a mirror in a locker room, with a team of female American football players getting ready behind. Interspersed are shots of male players doing the same. The next scene shows the two teams emerging from the stadium tunnels. Burke and the female team then begin a dance routine, which is occasionally interrupted to show shots of Burke in a green-lit tunnel. Throughout the video Burke is seen wearing two different outfits; a #17 full length leotard and a #18 crop top midriff-baring outfit. Burke said that "[the video is] going to show people that no matter what your shape, colour, size, whatever you are, you are still beautiful."
Burke first televised promotion of the song was at the 2009 Royal Variety Performance.[ citation needed ] The song was also performed at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball at The O2 Arena. Burke also performed the song on The Paul O'Grady Show on 17 December 2009. Burke performed on So You Think You Can Dance and GMTV on 16 and 19 January 2010, respectively. "Broken Heels" was released in Australia. [21] She performed it on London Wasps' St George's Game on 24 April 2010 and T4 On The Beach on 4 July 2010.
As per the music video Burke generally wore two different outfits during live performances promoting the song. She wore the #17 full length outfit when performing on So You Think You Can Dance and GMTV , but the #18 crop top midriff-baring version of the outfit at the Royal Variety Performance, The Paul O'Grady Show and The Alan Titchmarsh Show .
In the United States, Broken Heels appeared on freshman The CW show, Hellcats , during its pilot, which aired 8 September 2010.
The song was also featured in commercials and the Red Band Trailer for the 2011 release Bridesmaids .
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Digital Spy | [7] |
BBC | [8] |
Nick Levine from the entertainment website Digital Spy gave to the song four stars (out of five) and says that: " it's a rubber-bottomed pop stomper with loads of 'heyeyey' and 'oh-oh-oh-oh' hooks, a good-natured girl power message and more sass than a drag queen who's just been told (s)he doesn't meet the dress code. The result? Yet more evidence that Alexandra Burke is turning into a cracking - no pun intended - little popstar". [7] Fraser McAlpine from the BBC gave "Broken Heels" a four out of five star rating, saying: "this is definitely, decisively and preposterously aimed at the dancefloor, specifically the people on the dancefloor with the handbags and the lipstick - the ones that tend to do most of the dancing. It's basically another one of those "girls are better than boys, right girls?" diva brag-jobs, and effectively puts forward the idea that even if a woman is hobbled by uneven footwear she can still kick man-ass when it comes to gold medal standard Olympic partying. [8] Derby Evening Telegraph said that "Broken Heels" shows that "Burke still has the 'X Factor'", positively reviewing the song: "A killer dancefloor filler, with huge beats that infect from the first few seconds, 'Broken Heels' continues to stomp for a full three-and-a-half minutes of near pop perfection." [14] Hull Daily Mail named "Broken Heels" as their 'Download of the Week' on 23 January 2010, saying that the song is "an attitude heavy pop number" and "a good song which will be a club hit". [22] Alexis Petridis from The Guardian said that "Broken Heels" is "the only real sonic surprise" on Overcome , further describing the song as having a clattering rhythm which bears improbable influence from 70s British rock band Adam and the Ants. [15] Petridis went on to say that the song certainly is a "spectacularly polished product". [15] Newsround said: "'Broken Heels' is a sassy floor-filler that makes you want to get up and dance." [23] OK! called the track "catchy funky R&B pop". [10] Robbie Daw of Idolator said that "Broken Heels" is a "dance jam". [24]
Tom Howard of Yahoo! Music UK named "Broken Heels", along with "Dumb" and "You Broke My Heart" as the best songs on Overcome. [25]
Popjustice said that the song was "one of the more carefree numbers" on the album, describing it as: "A song in which Alexandra explains that she can dance as well as a man, and she can do it even better if her shoes are broken." [9] The website went on to deem "Broken Heels" as RedOne's take on Alesha Dixon's "The Boy Does Nothing" (2008). [9]
"Broken Heels" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 36 on 26 December 2009 and over a period of five weeks climbed to its peak of number eight. The single spent two weeks in the UK Top 10, then fell to number 11 on 31 January 2010. It spent 22 weeks in the UK Top 100. [26] It was confirmed to have sold over 400,000 copies in the UK, therefore achieving a gold single certification. It also entered the Irish Singles Chart at number 25 in December 2009 and peaked at number five, becoming her third top five hit there.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [34] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Format | Date | Label |
---|---|---|---|
Ireland [17] | Digital download | 8 January 2010 | Syco |
United Kingdom [4] [18] [20] | |||
CD single | 18 January 2010 | ||
Slovakia [35] | Airplay | Sony | |
Poland [36] | 15 May 2010 |
Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke is a British singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the British television series The X Factor in 2008, and has been signed to Epic Records, RCA Records and Syco Music.
"Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer)" is a song by English production duo the Freemasons and English singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor. The song was written by the production duo James Wiltshire and Russell Small, Richard Stannard and Ellis-Bextor, and production by Wiltshire and Small. It was released on 15 June 2009 in promotion of the Freemasons' second studio album, Shakedown 2 (2009), and as the lead single from Ellis-Bextor's fourth album, Make a Scene (2011).
JLS is an English boyband, which consists of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill, originally formed by Williams. They initially signed to Tracklacers production company New Track City and then went on to become runners-up of the fifth series of the ITV reality talent show The X Factor in 2008, coming second to Alexandra Burke. Following their appearance on The X Factor, JLS signed to Epic Records. Their first two singles "Beat Again" and "Everybody in Love" both went to number one on the UK Singles Chart.
"Beat Again" is the debut single by English boy band JLS. It was released on 12 July 212009 as the lead single from their self-titled debut studio album JLS (2009). The song was written by Wayne Hector and Steve Mac and produced by Mac. The song's B-side is a cover of "Umbrella" by Rihanna, which JLS covered during the semi-finals of the fifth series of The X Factor in December 2008.
"Bad Boys" is a song by British recording artist Alexandra Burke. The song is her second single after winning the fifth series of The X Factor, and the lead single from her debut album, Overcome. The song features American rapper Flo Rida. It was written by busbee, Lauren Evans, Alex James, and was produced by The Phantom Boyz. It was first released for digital download on 12 October 2009. The song is an uptempo electrohop song, lyrically about becoming attracted to dangerous men.
Overcome is the debut studio album by British singer Alexandra Burke, released 19 October 2009 on Syco Music. The release of the album came a year after Burke won the British talent show, The X Factor, with the recording process taking place between 2008 and 2009. Critics praised the album for showcasing Burke's vocal charm and characterisation, comparing her vocal to American singers Anastacia and Whitney Houston and its contemporary finish; using a variety of acclaimed producers including RedOne and Ne-Yo.
"Everybody in Love" is a song by English boyband JLS from their self-titled debut album (2009). The song was released as a digital download on 1 November 2009, followed by a physical release the following day. The song became the band's second number one single in the UK on 8 November 2009, with a total of 600,000 copies being sold so far in the UK, earning the single a Platinum certification. The song was released to U.S. Mainstream Top 40 radio on 23 February 2010, but failed to chart on Billboard Hot 100.
"Naturally" is a song performed by American band Selena Gomez & the Scene, taken from their debut studio album Kiss & Tell (2009). It was released by Hollywood Records as the album's second single in the United States and select other countries. The song was produced by Antonina Armato and Tim James who wrote the song with Devrim Karaoglu. Musically, "Naturally" is an uptempo dance-pop song which relies on electropop. The song's lyrics speak of a relationship in which feelings are not forced and the protagonist sings of their happiness. The song officially impacted US mainstream radio on January 19, 2010, and was released physically in numerous European countries thereafter. The song also appears on the international standard edition of the band's second album, A Year Without Rain (2010).
"Outta My Head" is a song recorded by British singer-songwriter Leona Lewis for her second studio album Echo (2009). The track was written by Savan Kotecha, Max Martin and Johan "Shellback" Schuster, and produced by the latter two. It is an electropop song with Eurodance influences, and its compositional structure is noticeably different from the other songs on Echo. The instrumentation consists of keyboard riffs and beats, instead of pianos and guitars which are used on the other songs. The chorus of "Outta My Head" was compared to the works of Australian singer Kylie Minogue and German group Cascada due to its Eurodance style. It debuted and peaked at number 98 on the Slovakian Singles Chart upon the release of Echo. Lewis has performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and it was included on the set list of her debut concert tour, The Labyrinth (2010).
"The Silence" is a song by British singer Alexandra Burke from her debut studio album Overcome (2009). The song was written by Bilal Hajji and Savan Kotecha, along with the song's producer Nadir "RedOne" Khayat. The song was released as the sixth and final single off the album. Burke stated that the song was written when her aunt told the singer about how she and her partner were experiencing troubles in their relationship, and that they were not telling each other how they felt. In response, Burke asked her aunt why he was letting the silence in their relationship do the talking instead of them discussing it. "The Silence" is an R&B and pop-influenced power ballad and instrumentation consists of a piano, a guitar and drums. The lyrics of the song feature the protagonist asking why the other person in the relationship remains silent about their difficulties instead of talking about them.
The discography of British R&B and pop recording singer Alexandra Burke consists of three studio albums, ten singles as a main artist, two as a featured artist and nine music videos. All songs which have been released under the recording label of Sony BMG and Syco Music.
"Kick Ass (We Are Young)" is a song by English singer Mika and Moroccan-Swedish record producer RedOne released as a single from the soundtrack to the film Kick-Ass. It was released on 2 May 2010.
"All Night Long" is a song performed by British singer Alexandra Burke, taken from her debut studio album, Overcome (2009). The song was written and produced by American production team The Runaways. The single was remixed to feature rapper Pitbull and released as the album's fourth official single in 2010, peaking at number four on the UK Singles Chart on 23 May.
"Start Without You" is a song by British recording artist Alexandra Burke. Featuring vocals from Jamaican American reggae rapper Laza Morgan, it was written by Kristian Lundin, Ronan Dunne, Eddy Grant, Savan Kotecha, Julian Bunetta, and RedOne. The song is an R&B song, which incorporates reggae fusion and dancehall. According to Burke the song was inspired by her Jamaican heritage and her need for a summer song. The song came about after studio sessions booked with RedOne produced a number of new records that were going to be used for a re-release of Overcome or Burke's second album.
The All Night Long Tour is the debut concert tour by British pop/R&B singer Alexandra Burke. It is Burke's first concert tour which is to promote her debut studio album Overcome. The tour is set to kick off in Wales on 14 January 2011 and currently finishes on 24 June 2011 in Ireland. The tour will visit various cities across the United Kingdom including Belfast, Dublin, Glasgow, London and Manchester. The dates for the tour was officially revealed on ITV's Daybreak website on 7 September 2010.
"Think About It" is a song by English singer Melanie C from her fifth studio album, The Sea. It was released on 4 September 2011 as worldwide lead single from the album and the general second single – "Rock Me" was released only in Germany. It was written by Adam Argyle and collaborative team Cutfather. The track was recorded in Copenhagen and was released after the buzz single "Rock Me", prior to the release Melanie had spent time on the West-End Blood Brothers which she said helped her develop and evolve as an artist.
"Elephant" is a song by British singer Alexandra Burke from her second studio album Heartbreak on Hold (2012). It features Colombian-American DJ Erick Morillo, who co-wrote the song with Burke, Britt Burton, Josh Wilkinson, Harry Romero, and Jose Nuñez. The song was produced by Morillo, Romero and Nuñez under their stage name Sympho Nympho, and Mike Spencer. It was released in the United Kingdom on 11 March 2012 as the album's lead single. The song was released as Burke's debut single in the United States on 13 March 2012.
"Let It Go'" is a song by British recording artist Alexandra Burke from her second studio album, Heartbreak on Hold (2012). It was released in the United Kingdom on 27 May 2012 as the album's second and final single. "Let It Go" is an uptempo 90s throwback dance song drawing influences from the dance-pop and R&B genres.
Heartbreak on Hold is the second studio album by British recording artist Alexandra Burke. It was released digitally on 1 June 2012 through Syco and RCA Records, and a physical version was issued three days later. The album marks her final record with both record labels, parting between 2012 and the following year. Burke started working on the album in late 2010, and collaborated with Cutfather, Erick Morillo, Autumn Rowe, and Ben Adams, amongst others. Burke had also worked with RedOne, who previously produced a chunk of her debut album Overcome (2009), but none of the recordings were included on this album.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)