"Break Up with Him" is a song written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

group Old Dominion. Originally released as the second single off their self-titled EP on ReeSmack in January 2015, the band later signed with RCA Nashville in February 2015 and re-released the song on May 11 as the lead single from their debut album '' Meat and Candy''. The song garnered positive reviews from critics praising the production and lyrical content. "Break Up with Him" peaked at number one on the ''Billboard''

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since October 20, 2012, although the magazine also retrospectively recognizes the Hot Country Songs charts from January 20, 1990, through October 13, 2012, ...

chart, giving the band their first number-one country hit. It also charted at numbers 3 and 44 on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

and

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

charts respectively. The song was certified Platinum by the

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(RIAA), and has sold 719,000 copies in the United States as of May 2016. It achieved similar chart success in Canada, peaking at number 3 on the

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

chart and number 53 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

. It was certified Platinum by

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, denoting sales of over 80,000 units in that country. The accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song, directed by Steve Condon, pays homage to the 1985 sci-fi film ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985 ...

''.

Release history

Before the song was released as the second single from the band's debut EP, it gained popularity after receiving airplay on the satellite

Sirius XM Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merger ...

's " The Highway" channel in late 2014. The band released the song on the independent label ReeSmack to radio on January 20, 2015. The band became signed to RCA Nashville in late February 2015, and the song was re-released on May 11, 2015, as an RCA single release. All five members of the band wrote the song, and

Shane McAnally Shane Lamar McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. He debuted as a singer in 1999 with his Shane McAnally (album), self-titled album on Curb Records. This project produced three sing ...

produced it.

Critical reception

Giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars, Markos Papadatos of ''Digital Journal'' wrote that the song "is mellow and distinct" and that, " eir sound is crisp and unique, which stands out by a mile on the country radio airwaves." Jason Scott of AXS found the song's "hip-hop phrasing and definitive rock overtones" has comparable charm to

Luke Bryan Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television personality. Bryan is a five-time "Entertainer of the Year", being awarded by both the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Count ...

and

Florida Georgia Line Florida Georgia Line was an American country music duo founded in 2010 by vocalists and songwriters Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida. Their 2012 debut single " Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was downloaded over ...

. He also thought that the song, "on its own merits of structure and quality, stands alone in the face of country music's other superstar groups", the band "have a different kind of spark that blazes through on this track." On its story told on the song of a man trying to seduce a girl over the phone, Billy Dukes of ''Taste of Country'' called it "wonderful selfishness" and praised its "refreshing boldness". In a more critical review, Kevin John Coyne of ''Country Universe'' gave the song a "D" grade, saying that there are "Two ways to hear his song One, if the guy is right, then it’s a mediocre love song about that moment when two people decide to get into a relationship. The other, if the guy is wrong, it’s a creepy stalker monologue headed toward an order of protection."

Commercial performance

The song became available for download with the release of the ''Old Dominion EP'' on October 7, 2014. It initially gained airplay on the

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

radio stations and reached No. 1 on its chart, " The Highway" Hot 45 Countdown, at the end of 2014, 11 weeks after the song became available. It entered the Hot Country Songs chart at No. 58 for chart dated January 16, 2015, and entered the Hot Country Song chart at No. 50 two weeks later. The early sales were mainly due to SiriusXM airplay. The song began to gain traction on other radio stations, and rose steadily on the chart. It debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at No. 99 for chart dated July 25, 2015. It reached No. 1 on Country Airplay for chart dated November 14, 2015, and peaked at Hot 100 at No. 44 the same week. The EP was certified Gold by the RIAA on September 23, 2015, and ended up being certified double-platinum in 2020. The song has sold 719,000 copies in the US as of May 2016.

Music video

The song's

was released on July 9, 2015. Directed by Steve Condon, the video pays homage to the 1985 movie ''

'', with lead singer Matthew Ramsey as

Marty McFly Marty McFly is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Back to the Future (franchise), ''Back to the Future'' franchise. He is a high school student living in the fictional town of Hill Valley (Back to the Future), Hill Valley, California ...

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2015 singles 2015 songs RCA Records Nashville singles Old Dominion (band) songs Songs written by Trevor Rosen Song recordings produced by Shane McAnally Songs written by Matthew Ramsey Songs written by Brad Tursi Country music songs