Breakaway (Kelly Clarkson song)

"Breakaway"
2004 North American release
Single by Kelly Clarkson
from the album The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement: Original Soundtrack and Breakaway
Released	July 19, 2004 (2004-07-19)
Studio	Henson (Hollywood)
Genre	Folk-pop
Length	3:57
Label	Walt Disney RCA
Songwriter(s)	Matthew Gerrard Bridget Benenate Avril Lavigne
Producer(s)	John Shanks
Kelly Clarkson singles chronology
"The Trouble with Love Is" (2003) "Breakaway" (2004) "Since U Been Gone" (2004)
Alternative cover
2006 international release
Music video
"Breakaway" on YouTube

"Breakaway" is a power ballad song recorded by American singer Kelly Clarkson. The song, written by Matthew Gerrard, Bridget Benenate, and Avril Lavigne, was originally intended for Lavigne's debut studio album, Let Go (2002). After being deemed unsuitable for the album, it was passed to Clarkson to be recorded as a soundtrack for the film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004).

Clarkson, who was finishing her second studio album at that time, recorded "Breakaway" to tide her fans over until the first single from her new album was released. However, the song's success prompted its inclusion on Clarkson's second album, while the record label also decided to name the album after the song. "Breakaway" was released as the first single from The Princess Diaries 2 soundtrack in North America on July 19, 2004. Throughout May to July 2006, "Breakaway" was released internationally outside of North America with new single artwork by RCA Records, while excluding all mentions or promotion messaging of The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. The song became an international success, charting similarly to the original North American single release from two years prior.

"Breakaway" received positive reviews from music critics, who could relate to the song's message and simple lyrics. It incorporates acoustic guitars and airy drums which are interspersed with Clarkson's controlled voice. The lyrics narrate Clarkson's journey as a girl growing up in a small town who follows her dream for self-improvement. "Breakaway" was a commercial success outside of the United States, where it peaked within the top 20 of multiple European countries, and in the top 10 in Australia, Belgium, Hungary, and the Netherlands. In the United States, the song peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became her third top ten song in the chart. It also topped the US Adult Contemporary for twenty-one non-consecutive weeks, a record for female artists that is now shared between herself, Celine Dion's "A New Day Has Come" and Adele's "Hello".

Directed by Dave Meyers, the accompanying music video for "Breakaway" portrays Clarkson as a young girl from a small town who follows her dream and becomes an international star. It also contained scenes interspersed from The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. Clarkson acted out most of the lyrics in the music video because she felt that the song was autobiographical. Critics responded positively to the music video for being faithful to the central theme shared by the song, the film, and Clarkson's personal biography. Clarkson performed the song in a series of live appearances such as television shows Saturday Night Live, The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She has performed the song in her concert tours, including the Stronger Tour. "Breakaway" has also been covered by many contestants from reality television singing competitions, notably Katie Stevens, a contestant in the ninth season of American Idol, as well as an English pop quartet Belle Amie, who finished eleventh in the seventh season of The X Factor.