"Break It Off" is a song by English singer-songwriter

PinkPantheress Victoria Beverley Walker (born 19 April 2001), known professionally as PinkPantheress, is a British singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her music is noted for its various samples and diaristic lyrics. Born in Bath, Somerset, and raised ...

. It was officially released on 4 June 2021 through Elektra and

Parlophone Records Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

, as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from her debut mixtape ''

To Hell with It ''To Hell with It'' (stylised in all lowercase) is the debut mixtape by English singer PinkPantheress, released through Parlophone and Elektra Records on 15 October 2021. The mixtape, which runs for slightly over 18 minutes, features production f ...

''. An uptempo

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

and

experimental pop Experimental pop is pop music that cannot be categorized within traditional musical boundaries or which attempts to push elements of existing popular forms into new areas. It may incorporate experimental music, experimental techniques such as m ...

song about heartbreak, it was written and produced by PinkPantheress and

Adam F Adam Fenton (born 8 February 1972), also known as Adam F, is an English record producer and DJ who has worked across various genres. He is also the co-founder of the drum and bass label Breakbeat Kaos along with DJ Fresh. He found initial succe ...

, and samples F's song "

Circles A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is called the radius. The length of a line segment connecting t ...

". A snippet of the song went viral on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

, and it subsequently peaked at number 74 on the UK Singles Chart and at number 30 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of ...

chart. A visualizer for the song was directed by Malt Disney and released on 21 June 2021.

Background and composition

"Break It Off" is an uptempo, "heartbreak-infused"

and

song with "sugary" vocals from PinkPantheress, who wrote and produced the song while she was at university, which samples the drum and bass song "

" by English DJ

. '' DIY''s Chris Taylor described it as "a tale of late-night yearning", and Steffanee Wang of ''

Nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

'' called it "a dizzying mix of breakbeats and edgy pop elements". After PinkPantheress posted a clip of the song to TikTok in March, it went viral and was used in over 500,000 videos on the platform.

Reception and commercial performance

David Renshaw of ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

'' called "Break It Off" "an algorithm-breaking bolt from the blue, destined to be played on repeat throughout the summer months". Douglas Greenwood of ''

i-D ''i-D'' is a British biannual magazine dedicated to fashion, music, art, film and youth culture. The magazine was launched in 1980 by Terry Jones, originally as a hand-stapled fanzine it has since evolved into a glossy publication. In 2023 the ...

'' called the song an "earworm" while ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

''s Seamus Fay described it as a "fast-paced, oddball single". ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

''s Chris DeVille described the song as a "playfully flirtatious melodic flutter", with Steffanee Wang of ''

'' stated that it was "a great primer for the unpinnable vibe of inkPantheress'svibe: simultaneously new and nostalgic."

Jon Caramanica Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Caramanica received his bachelor's degree ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called the song "elegant in tsown right" and wrote that it "encapsulate the enthusiasm and thrill of listening to someone else's elegant song, one that rousts you from your shell and thrusts you into your own joy or sadness". "Break It Off" peaked at number 74 on the UK Singles Chart and at number 30 on ''

''s

chart.

Music video

A visualizer for "Break It Off", directed by Malt Disney, was released on 21 June 2021. The video uses footage of demolition, car crashes, and memes with "abstract" animations superimposed over it. PinkPantheress called the visualizer a "doozy".

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. *

vocals, songwriting, production, programming, mastering *

songwriting, production, programming, engineering, mixing *Stuart Hawkesmastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{PinkPantheress 2021 songs 2021 debut singles PinkPantheress songs Drum and bass songs Experimental pop songs Parlophone singles Elektra Records singles Songs written by PinkPantheress