“Breathe Again” by Toni Braxton
“Breathe Again” finds Toni Braxton sadly admitting that she will utterly break down if her partner ends their relationship. The relationship appears to be in a very unstable state, as such, the narrator expresses her biggest fear which is to lose this person.
Most of the lyrics revolve around questions on how life might be after this affair ends. The narrator is in a rather pensive mood, wondering how she is going to live with the thought of their separation.
After carefully considering all the great moments they have shared and how much she loves this person, she draws a conclusion that she is incapable of surviving without him in her life. She attempts to convince him to stay by appealing to his emotions. The titular expression, “Breathe Again” is her way of saying that she will never be able to enjoy a normal life, or worse she may end up being broken for life as a result.
Writing and Production
The writing as well as recording of “Breathe Again” was done by the same team that created Braxton’s hit single “Another Sad Love Song“. And said team of creators is made up of the following:
- Babyface (who co-produced and exclusively wrote the song)
- LA Reid (co-producer)
- Daryl Simmons (co-producer)
Release
On August, the Sixth of 1993, as the second single from Toni’s maiden album, which she titled after herself.
An International Hit!
The song performed brilliantly in Toni’s home country (the United States). Here, it reached a peak position of 3 on the highly important Hot 100 chart. Outside America, “Breathe Again” also saw great success. It peaked among the top 4 in multiple countries, including Britain. Actually it got to number 2 there. It also reached the same number in New Zealand and Australia.
Success at the Grammys
In addition to enjoying success on the charts, “Breathe Again” also gave Toni a Grammy Award. Said award was won in the category of the “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance” at the 1995 edition of the Grammys held in Los Angeles. Interestingly, she had previously won that same award a year earlier (i.e. 1994) with her song “Another Sad Love Song”.
And what’s even more interesting is that Toni won that same award again in 1997.
This is the saddest song ever even though it makes me cry every time I hear it on the radio with my mom on my work days. *This is the most emotional piece of nostalgia that I’ve ever seen in my adult years of life.* Toni Braxton makes very emotional points about it even though I had a silent thought that she would commit suicide or something, but it wasn’t true. ???? I’d like it better if she sang happy song instead, so I’d be less likely to cry my eyes out on a daily basis.