American rapper Jay-Z collaborates on the song “Heartbreaker” from Mariah Carey’s seventh studio album Rainbow (1999). It was issued as Rainbow’s debut single by Columbia Records on August 23, 1999. Carey and DJ Clue produced the song. Additional authors are credited for creating the hook, which was based on a Stacy Lattisaw sample from “Attack of the Name Game.”
As Heartbreaker became Carey’s second commercial hit featuring a rapper, it propelled her further into the R&B and hip-hop markets. This song’s lyrics represent a woman’s point of view on a relationship in which the girl always returns to her man even though he is always leaving her, causing her emotional trauma. Read on to learn more about Mariah Carey’s hit single, ‘Heartbreaker’.
About The Heartbreaker singer: Mariah Carey
Mariah is a multi talented women, she is a performer, composer, movie star as well as a successful business women. She was born on March 27, 1969 in New york. She attended Harborfields High School located at Greenlawn. Mariah Carey performed her first hit self-titled album that was released in June 1990 and managed to peak at the number one position on August 4, 1990, after starting from #73.
Her famous use of whistle register, melodic singing, five-octave range, and composition are well recognised. Mariah’s religious affiliation as an Episcopalian is rarely mentioned, and she seldom talks about religion. She married for the first time at St. Thomas’s Episcopal Church in Manhattan on 1st Avenue. She admits that God has supported her when she experienced different hardships in her life. She also got criticised by Muslim Malaysians who considered her clothes provocative.
Mariah Carey’s Colorful Tale of Heartbreak and Betrayal in ‘Heartbreaker’
Mariah sings a song about a man who crushed her heart. Although the lyrics of Carey’s debut album (Rainbow), which she released after her split from Tommy Mottola, may be personal, the song is more of a lighthearted one, unlike her hits “My All” and “We Belong Together.”
Jay-Z contributed to the song’s writing and raps on it. Narada Michael Walden and Jeffrey Cohen, his songwriting collaborator, were the other authors. Carey and DJ Clue created the song together.
Brett Ratner, the director of the video, captured the footage in Los Angeles, California, on July 30 and 31, 1999. The hesitant singer meets her unfaithful lover (played by actor Jerry O’Connell) at a movie theatre after being lured there by her female gang. Mariah portrays both the wicked, man-stealing double of herself, Bianca Storm. Mariah received some fighting skills from Jackie Chan’s Kung-Fu team in preparation for her bathroom altercation with her opponent. With a production cost of almost $2.5 million, the video was one of the most costly ever.
The Story Behind the Song and Its mixed reviews
Carey elucidated the meaning of the song in The Billboard Book Of #1 Hits by Fred Bronson, saying, “It was from the position of females that keep going back to that certain guy, and they can’t stop themselves. They know somewhere that if they continue to stay with that particular person, they will only get hurt despite that they keep returning to their toxic partner. I was one of those girls who was caught in this loop and I know many more who are currently suffering from this situation. They must gather the courage and move on for a better life and their mental peace.”
Music critics gave “Heartbreaker” mixed reviews; many thought it was not a very inventive or creative move forward. It was also closely linked to Carey’s breakout smash single “Fantasy” from 1995, which likewise used a sampled beat to create its hook. “Heartbreaker” was Carey’s 14th #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #3 in Canada. In New Zealand, it attained the highest position on the New Zealand Singles Chart, while it hit the top five in the United Kingdom, France, Croatia, Poland, and Spain.
Heartbreaker: A Multi-Million Dollar Music Video with Femme-Power Inspiration
The accompanying music video for “Heart Breaker” is probably one of the most expensive ones, costing $2.5 million, supervised by Brett Ratner. In the video, we see Carey and her friends going to the cinema and encountering Jerry O’Connell, her boyfriend, dating another woman. Carey portrayed herself in a scenario where she gets into a violent fight with a brunette villain named Bianca Storm, who was her boyfriend’s side chick.
Jay-Z could not appear in the original video due to contractual obligations during production. Enter the Dragon, Scarface, and Grease are just a few of the movies that inspired the video.
Carey claims that the music video intended to depict the song’s lyrics from a feminine point of view while also mirroring its lyrical substance. The video was also humorously recorded to keep it “fun and exciting.” The video turned into one of the priciest productions ever. The video is still “a fan favourite” because of its powerful message of female empowerment and its overall style, according to MTV News.
Chart-Topping Success of the Album and Song
‘Breathe’ by Faith Hill prevented Rainbow from debuting at number one on the album chart. Rainbow came in at number two. However, with 323,000 copies sold, it gave Carey her best first-week sale. It became triple-platinum certified in the US after selling close to 3 million copies in less than a month after its debut.
‘Heartbreaker’ was commercially released in the United States on September 21, 1999. It debuted at position sixty on the list. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, becoming Carey’s fourteenth US chart-topper. It increased Carey’s advantage over other female artists nationwide with the most number-one hits.
The song charted in many areas around Europe. It peaked at number seventeen after debuting at thirty-seven on the Austrian singles chart. It was on the Austrian chart for twelve weeks.
Mariah Carey’s Spectacular Live Performances
Carey produced her own Fox Broadcasting Company and gave live performances of ‘Heartbreaker’ on several television appearances and award shows. Filmed at Carey’s former high school in Huntington, New York, the mini-concert was named The Mariah Carey Homecoming Special. On December 21, 1999, Fox broadcasted a program featuring Jay-Z performing live on stage for his verses. Carey performed Heartbreaker and the remix that went along with it at the 1999 MTV European Music Awards in Dublin, Ireland.
The song was played live on The Today Show, the French show Vivement Dimanche, the British music chart program Top of the Pops, and The Oprah Winfrey Show, where the female pair was again featured. Carey started her fourth tour, which was also her third global tour, called the Rainbow World Tour (2000), in support of Rainbow. Carey played the song live at each performance during that time.