Broken Heels

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

"Broken Heels"
synthpop
  • R&B
    • Length
    • 3:35 (single)
    • 4:10 (album)
    LabelSyco
    Songwriter(s)
    Producer(s)RedOne
    Alexandra Burke singles chronology
    "Bad Boys"
    (2009)     		"Broken Heels"
    (2010)     		"All Night Long"
    (2010)

    "Broken Heels" is a song performed by British singer

    UK Singles Chart
    on 24 January 2010.

    Writing and inspiration

    "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]

    Composition

    Alexandra Burke "Broken Heels"
    A 30 second sample of Burke's "Broken Heels" where the chorus is played backed by the "Hey-ey-ey/Hey-ey-ey" hook.
    Problems playing this file? See media help.

    Musically "Broken Heels" is an up-tempo

    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

    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]

    Music video

    Burke and her female backing dancers dressed in gold leotards with American football-style shoulder pads and heeled shoes, perform the outdoor dance sequence of the video. The scenes are intercut with shots of the group changing and Burke in a green-lit tunnel.

    The music video for "Broken Heels" was filmed in Los Angeles on 22 and 23 November 2009, as confirmed by Burke's official

    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."

    Track listing

    1. "Broken Heels" (Single Mix) – 3:34
    2. "Broken Heels" (Cutmore Club Mix) – 6:27
    1. "Broken Heels" (Single Mix) – 3:34
    2. "Broken Heels" (Cutmore Radio Mix) – 3:16
    3. "Broken Heels" (Digital Dog Club Mix) – 6:27
    Digital EP
    1. "Broken Heels" (Single Mix) – 3:34
    2. "Broken Heels" (Cutmore Club Mix) – 6:12
    3. "Broken Heels" (Cutmore Radio Mix) – 3:16
    4. "Broken Heels" (Digital Dog Club Mix) – 6:27
    5. "Broken Heels" (Digital Dog Dub) - 5:57

    Credits and personnel

    Promotion

    Burke first televised promotion of the song was at the

    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.

    Critical reception

    Professional ratings
    Review scores
    SourceRating
    Digital Spy[7]
    BBC[8]

    Nick Levine from the entertainment website

    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]

    Chart performance

    "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.

    Charts

    Certifications

    Region Certification Certified units/sales
    United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Gold 400,000‡

    ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

    Release history

    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

    References

    1. ^ "BMI - Repertoire". Repertoire.bmi.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
    2. ^ Balls, David (25 November 2009). "Burke announces new single details". Digital Spy. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
    3. ^ Overcome (CD). Alexandra Burke. Syco Music. 2009.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
    4. ^ a b "Singles Release Diary". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 25 September 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
    5. ^ a b Manenti, Kyla (11 March 2010). "Alex Burke exclusive interview". IVillage. Archived from the original on 13 July 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
    6. ^ "Popjustice - Alexandra Burke interview". Popjustice. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
    7. ^ a b c Levine, Nick (19 December 2009). "Music - Singles Review - Alexandra Burke: 'Broken Heels' - Digital Spy". Digital Spy. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
    8. ^ a b c d e f McAlpine, Fraser (7 January 2010). "BBC - Chart Blog: Alexandra Burke - 'Broken Heels'". BBC. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
    9. ^ a b c d "Popjustice - Alexandra Burke - 'Broken Heels'". Popjustice. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
    10. ^
      OK! Magazine. 20 October 2009. Archived from the original
      on 24 October 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
    11. ^ a b c "Broken Heels backing track karaoke - Alexandra Burke". karaoke-version.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
    12. ^ "Bad Boys backing track karaoke - Alexandra Burke". karaoke-version.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
    13. ^ a b c "BROKEN HEELS LYRICS - ALEXANDRA BURKE". SongLyrics.com. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
    14. ^
      Derby Evening Telegraph. Retrieved 13 June 2010. [dead link
      ]
    15. ^ a b c Petridis, Alexis (15 October 2009). "Alexandra Burke: Overcome CD review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
    16. ^ Levine, Nick (12 December 2009). "Is Burkey's 'Broken Heels' vid worth the wait?". Digital Spy. Retrieved 14 December 2009.
    17. ^ a b "Broken Heels - Single by Alexandra Burke on iTunes (Ireland)". iTunes. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
    18. ^ a b "Broken Heels - Single by Alexandra Burke on iTunes (United Kingdom)". iTunes. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
    19. Amazon.co.uk
      . Retrieved 8 January 2010.
    20. ^ a b "Broken Heels". HMV. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
    21. ^ "Australian Music Report - Chart News". Aumreport.com. Archived from the original on 23 November 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
    22. ^ "DOWNLOAD OF THE WEEK". Hull Daily Mail. 23 January 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2010. [dead link]
    23. Newsround
      . 5 November 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
    24. Idolator
      . Retrieved 14 June 2010.
    25. ^ Howard, Tom (23 October 2009). "Alexandra Burke - Overcome". Yahoo! Music UK. Yahoo! Inc. Archived from the original on 31 October 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
    26. ^ Official Charts Company - UKOfficial Charts Company retrieved 14 March 2010.
    27. ^ "Alexandra Burke – Chart Search" Billboard European Hot 100 Singles for Alexandra Burke. Retrieved 14 March 2010. [dead link]
    28. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Broken Heels". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
    29. Polish Airplay Top 100
      . Retrieved 9 June 2012.
    30. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
    31. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201009 into search.
    32. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
    33. ^ "Cardle at No 1 again - Eminem/Rihanna & Take That scoop 2010 crowns". Theofficialcharts.com. Archived from the original on 26 November 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
    34. ^ "British single certifications – Alexandra Burke – Broken Heels". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
    35. ^ "RADIO TOP100 Oficiální BURKE ALEXANDRA". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (in Czech). Retrieved 13 June 2010.
    36. Nielsen Business Media. 22 May 2010. Archived from the original
      on 11 March 2012.

    External links
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Broken_Heels&oldid=1207967902"