“How Could An Angel Break My Heart” by Toni Braxton

Toni Braxton’s “How Could An Angel Break My Heart” is one of the best heartbreak songs of the 1990s, as in the emotion being relayed really coming through. What it centers on is the singer’s crippling sadness due to having figured out that her lover is cheating. And her overall disappointment is exacerbated by the fact that beforehand she perceived him as “an angel”, i.e. the type of person who would never do a thing like that to her.

So the way all of this is broken down is by the verses largely focusing on the cheating and the choruses the aforementioned heartbreak/disappointment. 

Chapter 1

From the onset, the way the situation reads is as if someone(s) told the singer, in sort of a gossiping type of way, that her man is being unfaithful. And indeed they have some intimate, juicy tidbits. Meanwhile the vocalist herself finds it all “so hard to believe”. For as alluded to earlier, up until this point she was thoroughly convinced that such a thing can never transpire.

Chapter 2

The beginning of the second verse reveals that the other lady her sweetheart is sleeping with is Caucasian. Now this is actually a very-important part of the song. For in African-American culture it is considered somewhat of a double insult amongst proud, independent women (the likes of Toni Braxton) if their man cheats with a White lady. 

And the passage also exhibits other ways in which the narrator is suffering significantly. For instance, while her man is sleeping, he sometimes ‘calls out the name’ of the other lady. And all of this has the vocalist wondering if this woman has effectively taken her place in her significant other’s life. And conclusively, she is hoping that such is not the case.

Thesis Sentiment of “How Could An Angel Break My Heart”

Now concerning the thesis sentiment of the overall piece, it is most effectively relayed in the bridge, which is perhaps how a good pop song should be. Or stated differently, it is during said passage in which the singer’s anguish is most-nakedly manifest.

In this section, she utilizes metaphors such as her “soul… dying” and “crying” to get the point across. She also cries out for help to some unspecified, unnamed source, which is indicative of her overall feeling of helplessness in the matter. Or rather let’s say that the narrator pretty much understands that she has lost her lover, as in he no longer belongs exclusively to her.

Meanwhile the chorus isn’t so much about her perceiving this dude as being perfect. Rather it operates more along the lines of the singer not only re-establishing her heartbreak but also by and large taking personal blame for this misfortune. 

She feels that maybe she loved her partner so much that she drove him away, or perhaps she was vested too much into the relationship in the first place. It’s sort of a blaming-the-victim type of scenario. And in all it’s a very-saddening affair, as in any warm-blooded listener ideally being able to sympathize with a woman who is going through something similar.

Facts about “How Could An Angel Break My Heart”

This track is from Toni Braxton’s second album “Secrets” (1996). It was released as the fourth single from that undertaking on 4 November 1997. And its labels are LaFace Records alongside Arista Records. The project in question also produced the smash hit “Un-Break My Heart“.

“How Could an Angel Break My Heart” marks Toni Braxton’s first official collaboration with saxophonist Kenny G, who verily makes his presence felt in the song. Kenny also plied his trade on another Secrets track entitled “In the Late of Night”, though does not co-headline it.

“How Could an Angel Break My Heart” fared most impressively on the UK R&B Chart, where it peaked at number five. It also broke the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart and top 20 of Billboard’s Adult Contemporary listing. 

Perhaps the reason it didn’t fare better chart-wise is because by the time it was released as a single, “Secrets” itself (which came over a year prior) had gone quintuple-platinum, as in fans being pretty much familiar with the song already.

Indeed Toni was already on fire, as in being an established superstar well before this song came out. She established this standing via her first album, itself entitled Toni Braxton. The said project went on to become RIAA-certified octuple-platinum in 2011.

This is the sixth song on the playlist of “Secrets”, whose standard edition is 12-songs long.

Kelly Clarkson is on record as having covered “How Could an Angel Break My Heart”.

Englishman Iain Softley served as the director of this song’s narrative music video.

Did Toni Braxton write this song?

Yes. She wrote it in conjunction with Babyface. The latter is best known as the co-founder of LaFace Records. He also played a very instrumental role in putting Toni on the map. 

In regards to the song’s production, Babyface also produced it. And just to note, there is an official remix of this song featuring Babyface as a vocalist also.