"Broken" | ||||
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Single by Lifehouse | ||||
from the album Who We Are | ||||
Released | July 8, 2008 | |||
Format | Digital download | |||
Genre | Pop, rock, adult alternative | |||
Length |
4:15 (New/Radio Version) 4:46 (Album Version) |
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Label | Geffen | |||
Songwriter(s) | Jason Wade | |||
Producer(s) | John Fields, Scott Faircloff | |||
Lifehouse singles chronology | ||||
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"Broken" is a song by American alternative band Lifehouse. It is the third single released from their fourth studio album, Who We Are (2007). Lead singer Jason Wade was inspired to write the song after he visited a friend in Nashville who needed a kidney transplant. Originally released on June 18, 2007 as the fifth track on Who We Are, the song was then edited for radio to give it more of a "rock" feel. The new radio version of the song was released via digital download on July 8, 2008.
The song received positive reviews from critics, as they applauded the use of instruments in the song. The song charted at number 83 and 84 in the United States and Canada respectively, and later charted in New Zealand at number 21. The song's music video premiered on VH1.com on September 16, 2008. It is set in the scene of a tunnel where Wade is walking away in the opposite direction of a car crash. Lifehouse has played "Broken" live on several occasions, including on Soundstage and at the 2011 Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands. A seven-minute extended version is often the final song in their concert setlist.
The song was written by Jason Wade, who originally finished the song in a hotel room after he visited a friend in Nashville who needed a kidney transplant. It was produced by John Fields and Scott Faircloff. In an interview with Alternative Addiction, Wade said, "Broken is the song that moves me the most. I wrote it in Nashville, about 6 months ago. I was in my hotel room at 3 AM, I was out there visiting a friend... he’s really sick, he needs a kidney transplant." Furthermore, he said, "That [the] song just kinda fell in my lap, and I really haven’t written a song like that since 'Hanging by a Moment' where it just happened within a 15 minute time period." Broken was released as the third single from the album on June 18, 2007. The song was then edited for radio to give it more of a "rock" feel and was released via digital download on July 8, 2008.
"Broken" was described as a pop-rock song with influences of adult alternative. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is set in common time with a slow tempo of 69 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of C major with Wade's vocal range spanning from the low-note of G3 to the high-note of G5. The song has a basic chord progression of F2–Am7–F2–Am7–F2–Am7–C/G–G. Alex Lai of Contactmusic.com described as a song "[that] features great string use and takes a tender tone". A review from Alternative Addiction said that the song was one of the best Wade has ever written and noted "[that] the more you listen to it, the better it gets."