Broken (Lifehouse song)
Encyclopedia
"Broken" is a song by American alternative
band Lifehouse
. It is the third single released from their fourth studio album, Who We Are
(2007). The song was written by Lifehouse lead singer Jason Wade
, who was inspired to write the song after he visited a friend in Nashville
who needed a kidney transplant. "Broken" was first released with the band's fourth studio album Who We Are on June 18, 2007. The song was then edited for radio to give it more of a "rock" feel. The new radio version of the song was released via digital download on July 8, 2008.
The song received positive reviews from critics, as they applauded the use of instruments in the song. The song charted at number eighty-three and eighty-four in the United States and Canada respectively, and later charted in New Zealand at number twenty-one. The song's music video premiered on VH1.com
on September 16, 2008. It is set in the scene of a tunnel where Wade is walking away in the opposite direction of a car crash. Lifehouse has played "Broken" live on several occasions, including on Soundstage and at the 2011 Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands.
, who originally wrote the song in a hotel room after he visited a friend in Nashville who needed a kidney transplant. It was produced by John Fields and Scott Faircloff. In an interview with Alternative Addiction, Wade said, "Broken is the song that moves me the most. I wrote it in Nashville, about 6 months ago. I was in my hotel room at 3 AM, I was out there visiting a friend... he’s really sick, he needs a kidney transplant." Furthermore he said, "That [the] song just kinda fell in my lap, and I really haven’t written a song like that since 'Hanging by a Moment
' where it just happened within a 15 minute time period." Broken was released as the third single from the album on June 18, 2007. The song was then edited for radio to give it more of a "rock" feel and was released via digital download on July 8, 2008.
"Broken" was described as a pop
-rock
song with influences of adult alternative
. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing
, the song is set in common time
with a slow tempo of 69 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of C major
with Wade's vocal range spanning from the low-note of G3 to the high-note of G5. The song has a basic chord progression
of F2–Am7–F2–Am7–F2–Am7–C/G–G. Alex Lai of Contactmusic.com
described as a song "[that] features great string use and takes a tender tone". A review from Alternative Addiction said that the song was one of the best Wade has ever written and noted "[that] the more you listen to it, the better it gets."
for the week of November 8, 2008. It fluctuated on the chart for several weeks, before reaching its peak of eighty-three. The song debuted at number seventy on the Billboard Digital Songs
chart and peaked at number thirty-eight after being on the chart for three non-consecutive weeks. On the Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart, the song debuted at number thiry-eight for the week of August 2, 2008 and after moving around the chart for thirty-two consecutive weeks, the song eventually peaked at number seven.
The song also managed to chart internationally. "Broken" debuted at number ninety-two on the Canadian Hot 100
for the week of January 26, 2008. On July 26, 2008, the song reappeared in the chart and peaked at number eighty-four. It debuted at number forty on the New Zealand Singles Chart for the week of May 26, 2008. After being on the chart for thirteen consecutive weeks, the song eventually peaked at number twenty-one.
and was directed by Kiefer Sutherland
and Frank Borin. It first premiered on VH1.com
on September 16, 2008. Wade and Sutherland then appeared together on the VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown on September 20, 2008 to debut the music video on VH1
. In an interview with Ultimate Guitar, Wade described his experience with working with Sutherland by saying, "Whilst listening to the song a little while back, Kiefer came up with the video's concept. Working with him was a great experience; with all of the expressions and very moments, Kiefer was extremely hands on. With him handling direction, acting in the music video was extremely easy."
The video starts with Wade in the drivers seat of a car, with the other members of Lifehouse in the car with him. The traffic is at a stand still in a tunnel, as a swarm of people have abandoned their vehicles and are walking through. Wade and the band members get out of the car, and begin walking in the opposite direction of the crowd to the other side of the tunnel. Wade pushes through the people, who are in a rush to get to the entrance of the tunnel and is constantly focused on his destination to get to the end. When he reaches the tunnel's end, he sees the wreckage of a car crash with firefighters and paramedics cleaning up the mess. Wade then sees a girl observing what appears to be herself, dead inside one of the crashed car. He then looks to the left, and sees an old man observing himself, dead on the ground. As Wade looks into the other car, he sees himself, also seemingly dead. Upon this, he frantically runs back into the tunnel towards his car. He sees himself in the car with the band members, however everyone seems to be frozen as he bangs on the windows. Suddenly he's inside the car again, and a police officer comes to the window to motion him to continue driving, since he is stopped in the middle of the tunnel for no apparent reason.
. In January 2008, the band performed the song as part of a set list
on the PBS
show Soundstage. The song was also performed live at the 2011 Pinkpop Festival on June 11, 2011, as part of a set list of songs at the festival.
, Criminal Minds
, Grey's Anatomy
and One Tree Hill
.
Credits and personnel adapted from Allmusic.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Lifehouse
Lifehouse (band)
Lifehouse is an American rock band from Los Angeles. The band came to mainstream prominence in 2001 with the hit single "Hanging by a Moment" from their debut studio album, No Name Face. The single won a Billboard Music Award for Hot 100 Single of the Year, beating out Janet Jackson and Alicia...
. It is the third single released from their fourth studio album, Who We Are
Who We Are (Lifehouse album)
Who We Are is the fourth studio album by American alternative band Lifehouse. It was first released via compact disc in the United States on June 18, 2007 by Geffen Records. It was released via digital download the next day on June 19, 2007. The band entered the studio without...
(2007). The song was written by Lifehouse lead singer Jason Wade
Jason Wade
Jason Michael Wade is the lead vocalist, main songwriter, and guitarist of the American alternative rock band Lifehouse.-Biography:...
, who was inspired to write the song after he visited a friend in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
who needed a kidney transplant. "Broken" was first released with the band's fourth studio album Who We Are on June 18, 2007. The song was then edited for radio to give it more of a "rock" feel. The new radio version of the song was released via digital download on July 8, 2008.
The song received positive reviews from critics, as they applauded the use of instruments in the song. The song charted at number eighty-three and eighty-four in the United States and Canada respectively, and later charted in New Zealand at number twenty-one. The song's music video premiered on VH1.com
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
on September 16, 2008. It is set in the scene of a tunnel where Wade is walking away in the opposite direction of a car crash. Lifehouse has played "Broken" live on several occasions, including on Soundstage and at the 2011 Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands.
Background, release and composition
The song was written by Lifehouse lead singer Jason WadeJason Wade
Jason Michael Wade is the lead vocalist, main songwriter, and guitarist of the American alternative rock band Lifehouse.-Biography:...
, who originally wrote the song in a hotel room after he visited a friend in Nashville who needed a kidney transplant. It was produced by John Fields and Scott Faircloff. In an interview with Alternative Addiction, Wade said, "Broken is the song that moves me the most. I wrote it in Nashville, about 6 months ago. I was in my hotel room at 3 AM, I was out there visiting a friend... he’s really sick, he needs a kidney transplant." Furthermore he said, "That [the] song just kinda fell in my lap, and I really haven’t written a song like that since 'Hanging by a Moment
Hanging by a Moment
"Hanging by a Moment" is a song by American alternative band Lifehouse. It was the first single released from their debut studio album, No Name Face . The track was written by Lifehouse lead singer Jason Wade, who said that he wrote the song in about five minutes without thinking about what would...
' where it just happened within a 15 minute time period." Broken was released as the third single from the album on June 18, 2007. The song was then edited for radio to give it more of a "rock" feel and was released via digital download on July 8, 2008.
"Broken" was described as a pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
song with influences of adult alternative
Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing is a music publishing company co-owned by The Michael Jackson Family Trust and Sony. The organisation was originally founded as Associated TeleVision in 1955 by Lew Grade. In 1957, ATV acquired Pye Records as a wholly owned subsidiary...
, the song is set in common time
Common Time
"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
with a slow tempo of 69 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of C major
C major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
with Wade's vocal range spanning from the low-note of G3 to the high-note of G5. The song has a basic chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
of F2–Am7–F2–Am7–F2–Am7–C/G–G. Alex Lai of Contactmusic.com
Contactmusic.com
Contactmusic.com is a Leeds UK based entertainment magazine/webzine. The site was launched in April 2000 by a small team and has now expanded to 12 fulltime staff and many freelance contributors from across the globe...
described as a song "[that] features great string use and takes a tender tone". A review from Alternative Addiction said that the song was one of the best Wade has ever written and noted "[that] the more you listen to it, the better it gets."
Chart performance
In the United States, "Broken" debuted at number ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
for the week of November 8, 2008. It fluctuated on the chart for several weeks, before reaching its peak of eighty-three. The song debuted at number seventy on the Billboard Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
chart and peaked at number thirty-eight after being on the chart for three non-consecutive weeks. On the Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart, the song debuted at number thiry-eight for the week of August 2, 2008 and after moving around the chart for thirty-two consecutive weeks, the song eventually peaked at number seven.
The song also managed to chart internationally. "Broken" debuted at number ninety-two on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
for the week of January 26, 2008. On July 26, 2008, the song reappeared in the chart and peaked at number eighty-four. It debuted at number forty on the New Zealand Singles Chart for the week of May 26, 2008. After being on the chart for thirteen consecutive weeks, the song eventually peaked at number twenty-one.
Music video
The music video for "Broken" was filmed on August 24, 2008 in Los AngelesLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and was directed by Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland is an English-born Canadian actor, producer and director, best known for his portrayal of Jack Bauer on the Fox thriller drama series 24 for which he has won an Emmy Award , a Golden Globe award , two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Satellite...
and Frank Borin. It first premiered on VH1.com
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
on September 16, 2008. Wade and Sutherland then appeared together on the VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown on September 20, 2008 to debut the music video on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
. In an interview with Ultimate Guitar, Wade described his experience with working with Sutherland by saying, "Whilst listening to the song a little while back, Kiefer came up with the video's concept. Working with him was a great experience; with all of the expressions and very moments, Kiefer was extremely hands on. With him handling direction, acting in the music video was extremely easy."
The video starts with Wade in the drivers seat of a car, with the other members of Lifehouse in the car with him. The traffic is at a stand still in a tunnel, as a swarm of people have abandoned their vehicles and are walking through. Wade and the band members get out of the car, and begin walking in the opposite direction of the crowd to the other side of the tunnel. Wade pushes through the people, who are in a rush to get to the entrance of the tunnel and is constantly focused on his destination to get to the end. When he reaches the tunnel's end, he sees the wreckage of a car crash with firefighters and paramedics cleaning up the mess. Wade then sees a girl observing what appears to be herself, dead inside one of the crashed car. He then looks to the left, and sees an old man observing himself, dead on the ground. As Wade looks into the other car, he sees himself, also seemingly dead. Upon this, he frantically runs back into the tunnel towards his car. He sees himself in the car with the band members, however everyone seems to be frozen as he bangs on the windows. Suddenly he's inside the car again, and a police officer comes to the window to motion him to continue driving, since he is stopped in the middle of the tunnel for no apparent reason.
Live performances
Lifehouse performed "Broken" along with other songs on Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music in 2007. On October 15, 2007, Lifehouse performed an acoustic version of the song on VH1VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
. In January 2008, the band performed the song as part of a set list
Set list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
on the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
show Soundstage. The song was also performed live at the 2011 Pinkpop Festival on June 11, 2011, as part of a set list of songs at the festival.
Television appearances
"Broken" was featured on General HospitalGeneral Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
, Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
, Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
and One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
.
Credits and personnel
- Songwriting – Jason Wade
- ProductionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
– Jason Wade, Jude Cole - MixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
– Thom PanunzioThom PanunzioThom Panunzio grew up in River Edge, New Jersey not too far from Manhattan. He began his career as an audio engineer originally working at Record Plant Studios in New York. There he met, Jimmy Iovine, and started his career working with John Lennon...
, Jack Joseph PuigJack Joseph PuigJack Joseph Puig is a Grammy Award-winning music engineer and producer with a long track record of successful productions, including the mid-1990s production of Tonic. Puig also worked with Hole, Jellyfish, The Black Crowes, John Mayer, Weezer, Fiona Apple, Green Day, The Counting Crows, No Doubt,...
, Florian Ammon, Keith Armstrong, Dean Nelson, Jeff Rothschild - EngineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
– Florian Ammon, Scott Faircloff, Ross Hogarth, Will Sandalls
Credits and personnel adapted from Allmusic.
Charts
| Chart (2008–2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
External links
- "Broken" Music Video on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....