Breakthrough (Colbie Caillat album)
Breakthrough is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat. The album was released on August 19, 2009 through Universal Republic Records. The follow-up to her successful debut album, Coco (2007), Breakthrough was developed in late 2008 when Caillat returned to her home after two years on tour, with the singer setting up a "writing camp" with songwriters and producers in Hawaii and writing over 40 songs for the record.
Breakthrough
August 19, 2009
2007–2009
49:07
Inspired by the fact that she was trying to find herself again and breaking the creativity chains that surrounded her, Breakthrough deals with themes of growing up, experiencing life, love, making mistakes and learning from them, as well as heartbreak and why everlasting love seems elusive. To help develop her expected sound and lyrics, Caillat worked with previous collaborators, such as Mikal Blue, Ken Caillat and Jason Reeves, while working for the first time with Kara Dioguardi, Rick Nowels, John Shanks, Greg Wells and David Becker.
Breakthrough received generally mixed to favorable reviews from contemporary music critics, with some praising its rich texture and for being a consistent album with catchy tracks, while others dismissing its title and finding issues with some of the song's lyrics. The album was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards. Commercially, it was successful in the United States, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 106,000 copies in its first week, becoming her first album to top the Billboard charts. Elsewhere, it reached the top-ten in four countries, while failing to replicate the success of her debut album in other territories.
The album produced two singles. The first single, "Fallin' for You", was released on June 29, 2009 and was a success on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number twelve, while also finding success on the Adult radio. Elsewhere, it was a moderate hit. The second single, "I Never Told You", was released on February 16, 2010, and found similar success on the Adult charts, while being more moderate on the Billboard Hot 100. To promote the record, Caillat embarked on her Breakthrough World Tour (2009-2010).
Composition and lyrical content[edit]
Most songs present on Breakthrough "delves into the details of romance gone awry", featuring some songs about breaking up and why "lasting love seems so elusive".[6] On the album's first song, "I Won't", which was considered "a crisp, breathy tune that emphasizes her nuanced style,"[8] Caillat refuses to take an ex's advice to forget him, singing: "I don't wanna pretend you're not my lover."[6] The second track, "Begin Again", "pines for a second chance when Colbie realizes in retrospect how good a relationship actually was." The song's chorus introduces some vocal syncopation and vulnerability.[8] "You Got Me" and "Fallin' for You" were considered "innocent love songs" that "capture the breathless first blush of infatuation",[6] with the former featuring quirky organ rhythm and a "string-laden lush pop chorus that adds horns the second time around"[8] and the latter has a midtempo gently rocking beat.[9] "Rainbow" has "gospel tinges near the end" with some "understated backing vocals".[8] "Droplets" and "Runnin' Around" finds Caillat getting cold feet, with the former being a duet with Jason Reeves and the latter having an "airy 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' vibe."[8] In "I Never Told You", the lyrical content is about a woman's confession of how deeply she felt for a guy who left her—words she apparently never spoke, with the singer lamenting: "I never told you/What I should have said... Now I miss everything about you".[6] "Fearless" has an electronic beat[8] and finds the singer "clinging to her self-respect as a former [lover] walks away, while "It Stops Today" "focuses on intentionally facing our deepest hurts."[6] The final track on the standard edition, "Breakin' at the Cracks" was considered "the most mournfully earnest song here, as [she] repeatedly pleads, 'I need you back'."[6]
Singles[edit]
The album's lead-single "Fallin' for You" was released on June 29, 2009. The "lilting" mid-tempo ballad "features an instantly catchy chorus and toe tapping melody," as defined by Melinda Newman of HitFix.[3] It achieved chart success in the United States, reaching number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100, her second highest charting single and her highest debut with 118,000 first-week downloads,[13] spending fourteen weeks at number two on the Adult Pop Songs and topping the Adult Contemporary chart. Elsewhere, it reached the top-twenty in four other countries and top-forty in the remaining territories.[14] Initially, "Begin Again" and "You Got Me" were under consideration to be the album's second single,[11] however "I Never Told You" was released instead on February 16, 2010.[15] It reached number forty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and was more successful on the Adult Pop Songs, where it peaked at number three, and on the Adult Contemporary, reaching number eleven.[16] "Fearless" was Caillat's personal choice for the third single, however it was never released.[11][4]
Commercial performance[edit]
Breakthrough debuted at number-one on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 106,000 copies, becoming her first album to debut at the top and an improvement of the first week sales of her debut album Coco (2007), which started at number five with only 51,000 copies.[26] It was also Universal Music Group's sixth consecutive number-one album to debut at the top.[27] It was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[28] In Canada, the album debuted at number five, becoming her first album to debut at the top-ten and her highest also. It was also her first and only album so far to reach the top-ten in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.[29][30][31]