Breakaway (album) (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Breakaway is the second album by Kelly Clarkson, released on November 30 2004 (see 2004 in music).

It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 album chart with sales of 250,000 units. After spending sixty-one consecutive weeks in the top twenty of the Billboard 200, Breakaway descended to number twenty-four. It is only the fourth album in history to stay in the top twenty consecutively for a year. It remained in the top thirty for seventy-four consecutive weeks. It spent 103 weeks on the Billboard 200 (as of November 23, 2006), re-entering the chart (issue date: February 3 2007) for its 104th week; this was its last eligible week on the chart. It was certified six times platinum (5.83 million sold) in the U.S., and it has sold over 11 million copies worldwide. According to Blender magazine, Breakaway generated more than $100 million in revenue for RCA. The first four singles from the album reached the top ten on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, with the fifth single peaking at number twelve. Currently, the five singles released have sold over 4.75 million downloads combined in the U.S.

At the 2006 Grammy Awards, Breakaway won in the "Best Pop Vocal Album" category and the single "Since U Been Gone" received the "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" award.

Breakaway was the second best-selling album of 2005 in Australia, with sales of over 450,000 copies in that year, and it was certified six times Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The album ended 2005 as the eighth best selling album in the United Kingdom, with sales of over 950,000 copies; a further 501,000 copies were sold in 2006.

Singles

"Breakaway" was the first single from the album in the U.S. and Australia, and the fifth single in Europe. It originally appeared on the soundtrack to The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. A departure from the pop and soul sound for which Clarkson had become known, the song was co-written by fellow singer Avril Lavigne. It peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached the top ten of more than ten Billboard charts (including twenty-one non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart). In Canada, the song peaked at number three. It has sold over 1,000,000 downloads to date.

"Since U Been Gone" was the second single from the album, but the first in Europe. It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and came in at number four on the 2005 year-end chart. It is now Clarkson's most successful single in radio and sales terms; it has sold over 1,700,000 digital downloads in the U.S. It reached number one on several Billboard charts, and topped the Canadian chart for two weeks. It peaked at number three on the Australian ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart and was certified platinum in 2005 with sales of 70,000+. The RIAA certified the track gold for 500,000 ringtones sold on June 14, 2006.

"Behind These Hazel Eyes" was the third single from the album in the U.S. and the second in Europe. The song continued the streak of extremely popular releases from Clarkson. It reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and came in at number ten on the 2005 year-end chart. It peaked at number six on the Australian ARIA Top 50 Singles Charts and reached number four on the Canadian chart. It has sold over 1,000,000 downloads to date. It had great success on the Hot AC format, peaking at number one. "Behind These Hazel Eyes" finished as one of Clarkson's three songs in the top five year-end Pop 100 songs. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Recurrents chart.

"Because of You" was the fourth single from the album, and the third in Europe. The song debuted at number ninety-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 3 2005, and reached number seven on November 10 2005. It has sold over 1,000,000 downloads. It debuted and peaked at number four on the Australian ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart and was certfied gold in 2005 with sales of 35,000+. The track did exceptionally well in Canada, peaking at number two and staying in the top twenty for twenty-seven consecutive weeks. Over one year after its release to radio in Canada, it was still on the Canadian airplay chart.

"Walk Away" was the fifth single release from the album (fourth in Europe), having debuted at number ninety-seven on the Billboard Hot 100, a week before its original January 17, 2006 release date. The song debuted on the Canadian chart the following week at number 100. The single peaked at number twelve on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and at number four in Canada. "Walk Away" was released on March 6, 2006 in the UK as the fifth single and hit number twenty-one. In Australia, the single had moderate success, reaching number twenty-seven. Over 880,000 downloads have been sold.

Other tracks

Although "Gone" was never officially released as a single, U.S. Top 40 radio stations began playing the song around November 2005, and it gained significant airplay on such stations as New York's Z100, Boston's Kiss 108 and Atlanta's Q100. Because of this, "Gone" charted at number seventy-seven on the Pop 100. A Spanish version of "Gone" titled "Me Voy" ("I Leave") was recorded by Mexican pop group RBD, who recorded a cover version of "Gone" for their English language CD in Japan.

Track listing

1. "Breakaway" (Bridget Benante, Matthew Gerrard, Avril Lavigne) " 3:57
2. "Since U Been Gone" (Lukasz Gottwald, Martin Sandberg) " 3:08
3. "Behind These Hazel Eyes" (Kelly Clarkson, Gottwald, Sandberg) " 3:18
4. "Because of You" (Clarkson, David Hodges, Ben Moody) " 3:39
5. "Gone" (Kara DioGuardi, John Shanks) " 3:27
6. "Addicted" (Clarkson, Hodges, Moody) " 3:57
7. "Where Is Your Heart" (Clarkson, DioGuardi, Chantal Kreviazuk) " 4:39
8. "Walk Away" (Clarkson, DioGuardi, Kreviazuk, Raine Maida) " 3:08
9. "You Found Me" (DioGuardi, Shanks) " 3:39
10. "I Hate Myself for Losing You" (DioGuardi, Jimmy Harry, Sheb Solomon) " 3:20
11. "Hear Me" (Clarkson, DioGuardi, Clif Magness) " 3:56
12. "Beautiful Disaster" (live) (Rebekah Jordan, Matthew Wilder) " 4:34

Bonus tracks (Japan version)

1. "Miss Independent" (AOL live)
2. "Since U Been Gone" (AOL live)

Bonus tracks (UK)

1. "Miss Independent"
2. "Low"

Limited edition

Australian Tour Edition: Bonus Enhanced CD track listing:

1. "Since U Been Gone" [Jason Nevins club mix]
2. "Behind These Hazel Eyes" [Joe Bermudez & Josh Harris Top 40 radio remix]
3. "Breakaway" [Napster live]
4. "Because of You" [live at Rollingstone.com]
5. "Miss Independent" [AOL Live]
6. "Hear Me" [AOL Live]
7. "Since U Been Gone" [video]
8. "Behind These Hazel Eyes" [video]
9. "Because of You" [video]

Charts and certifications

Chart (2004/2005)	Peak position
Australia Album Chart	2
Austria Albums Chart	3
Belgium Albums Chart	3
Canada Album Chart	6
Finland Album Chart	6
France Album Chart	20
Germany Album Chart	4
Greece International Album Chart	2
Indonesian Album Top	5
Italy Album Chart	36
Ireland Album Chart	1
Japan Album Chart	42
Mexico Album Chart	14
Mexico International Albums Chart	6
Netherlands Album Chart	1
New Zealand Album Chart	5
Norway Album Chart	8
Sweden Album Chart	6
Switzerland Album Chart	2
UK Albums Chart	3
U.S. Billboard 200	3
U.S. Billboard Top Pop Catalog	1
World Album Chart	3

United World Chart

2005

• Highest position: #5.
• Longest on one spot: 23 (five weeks), 25 (five weeks), 26 (five weeks).
• Although it sold almost 5.5 million in 2005 it only spent five weeks in the top ten.
• Total sales: 5,493,000

2006

• Highest position: #6
• Longest on one spot: #10 (five weeks)
• Largest sale in one week: 444,000 copies (in week fifty-six)
• Weeks spent in the top ten: 13
• Total sales: 3,351,000

Country	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia	6× platinum	420,000
Austria	Gold	15,000
Belgium	Platinum	50,000
Europe	5× platinum	500,000
Europe	2× platinum	2,000,000
France	Silver	57,400
Ireland	7× platinum	105,000
Indonesia	Platinum	85,000
Japan	—	60,000
Mexico	Platinum	90,000
Netherlands	Platinum	70,000
New Zealand	3× platinum	45,000
Sweden	Platinum	60,000
Switzerland	Platinum	40,000
United Kingdom	5× platinum	1,748,000
United States	6× platinum	5,813,200
World	—	11,200,000+

For the certification award levels, see ifpi.org.

Notes & References

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