"Take My Breath" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter

the Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

. It was released on August 6, 2021, through XO and

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

, as the lead single from his fifth studio album, ''

Dawn FM ''Dawn FM'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on January 7, 2022, by XO and Republic Records. The album contains guest appearances by Tyler, the Creator, Lil Wayne, and Swedish House Mafia and ...

'' (2022). The song was written and produced by the Weeknd,

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
AllMusic known professional ...

and

Oscar Holter Oscar Thomas Holter (born 26 February 1986) is a Swedish record producer and songwriter based in the United States. He is best known for his work with record producer and fellow Swede Max Martin and Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd on the ...

, with

Belly Belly may refer to: Anatomy * The abdomen, the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax; or the stomach ** A beer belly, an overhang of fat above the waist, presumed to be caused by regular beer drinking ** Belly dance * The fleshy, ce ...

receiving additional songwriting credits. A

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

synthwave Synthwave (also called retrowave, or futuresynth) is an electronic music microgenre that is based predominantly on the music associated with the Film score, film soundtracks of action films, science fiction films, and horror films of the 1980s. ...

track with

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

elements, "Take My Breath" was met with widespread critical acclaim for the Weeknd's vocals and its production, which was influenced by the beats and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s of the 1980s. The song debuted at number six on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, marking the Weeknd's thirteenth top 10 entry.

Background and promotion

The Weeknd first teased that he was working on a new album in September 2020, via an interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' in which he stated "I might have another album ready to go by the time this quarantine is over". Later on during the 2021 ''Billboard'' Music Awards in May, he went on to state in his acceptance speech "I just want to say the '' After Hours'' are done and ''The Dawn'' is coming." Throughout June and July, the Weeknd continued to mention his upcoming project under the tentative title ''The Dawn'' by revealing a new transitional look. He also released the singles " You Right" with

Doja Cat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCl ...

and " Better Believe" with

and

Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams II (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern hip hop music, hip hop and trap music ...

during that period. On August 2, 2021, a snippet of "Take My Breath" with a visual of a sunrise titled "''The Dawn'' Is Coming" and a '' GQ'' cover story was released in anticipation of new music. The title of the single and its release date of August 6 was confirmed later that day through a promotional video for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, which featured hurdlers

Sydney McLaughlin Sydney Michelle McLaughlin-Levrone ( ; ; born August 7, 1999) is an American Hurdling, hurdler and Sprint (running), sprinter who competes in the 400 meters hurdles and is the List of world records in athletics, world record holder in that even ...

and

Dalilah Muhammad Dalilah Muhammad (born February 7, 1990) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 metres hurdles, 400 meters hurdles. She is the Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016 Rio Olympics champion and Athletics at the 2020 ...

, middle-distance runner Athing Mu and sprinter

Gabrielle Thomas Gabrielle Lisa Thomas (born December 7, 1996) is an American track and field athlete specializing in 100 and 200 meter sprint who is the 2024 200 m Olympic champion. Born in Georgia and raised in Massachusetts, Thomas competed in college for H ...

Lyrics and composition

"Take My Breath" has been described by music critics as a

and

track with elements of

psychedelia Psychedelia usually refers to a Aesthetics, style or aesthetic that is resembled in the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience produced by certain psychoactive substances. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic ...

. The single and radio version of the song runs for a duration of three minutes and forty seconds, while the extended version has a length of five minutes and fifty-one seconds. Also, the album version of the song runs for a duration of five minutes and thirty-nine seconds, which

segue A segue ( , ; ) is a transition from one topic or section to the next. In music In music, ''segue'' is a direction to the performer. It means ''continue (the next section) without a pause''. The term ''attacca'' is used synonymously. For writ ...

s from the preceding track "How Do I Make You Love Me?". It was written in the key of

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: Cha ...

with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 121 beats per minute. Lyrically, the song details an entanglement in a romantic relationship that ultimately leads to

autoerotic asphyxiation Erotic asphyxiation (variously called asphyxiophilia, hypoxyphilia or breath control play) is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for the purposes of sexual arousal. With a partner (or alone), the act often involves strangulatio ...

Critical reception

"Take My Breath" received widespread critical acclaim. The vocals and production of the track received praise from ''

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 ...

''s Joe Lynch, who compared the latter aspect's usage of a synthesizer to the synth riff that was used in

Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

's 1977 single "

I Feel Love "I Feel Love" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Donna Summer. Produced and co-written by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, it was recorded for Summer's fifth studio album, '' I Remember Yesterday'' (1977). The album concept was to ha ...

". Ben Beaumont-Thomas of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' gave the song a five-star rating, stating that it is "an instant

disco-pop Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describes ...

masterpiece". ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...

'' writer Mary Siroky complimented "Take My Breath", “the music is pulsing, almost dizzying in its dance-floor intensity from start to finish, leaving the listener appropriately breathless”. Chief critic

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.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 ...

'' highlighted the record's retro appeal, “the disco thump, electric piano chords and call-and-response falsetto vocals in "Take My Breath" hark back to vintage

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

. Journalist Quinn Moreland from ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' complimented the intro and chorus, “from the strutting intro to the extremely infectious melody, "Take My Breath" is full of life”.

Year-end lists

Accolades

Music video

The music video for "Take My Breath" was first teased by the Weeknd on social media via self-released images of the visual during the week leading up to the release of the single. Directed by Cliqua, it originally was supposed to play before

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

showings of '' The Suicide Squad'', but was reportedly pulled due to

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

concerns in regards to the pervasive

strobe light A strobe light or stroboscopic lamp, commonly called a strobe, is a device used to produce regular flashes of light. It is one of a number of devices that can be used as a stroboscope. The word originated from the Ancient Greek ('), meaning ...

ing in the video. The video was released alongside the song on August 6, 2021. The video starts with the Weeknd walking outside overlooking a sunrise, before entering a nightclub with pulsating strobe lights. Upon entering the club, he meets his love interest, played by actress and stuntwoman Shaina West. The two dance together and exchange breaths through an

oxygen tank An oxygen tank is an oxygen storage vessel, which is either held under pressure in gas cylinders, referred to in the industry as high pressure oxygen cylinders, or as liquid oxygen in a cryogenic storage tank. Uses Oxygen tanks are used to stor ...

, before the Weeknd's breath is literally taken away as he gets strangled by West's braids. The video ends with the Weeknd regaining his breath and consciousness as he is seen lying down on the club floor with a snippet of "

Sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

" playing in the background. As of early 2022, the video has over 100 million views on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Use in media

"Take My Breath" was used as the theme song for WWE's 2021

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

Crown Jewel. The song was included in the 2017 online video game ''

Fortnite ''Fortnite'' is an online video game and game platform developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in seven distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: '' Fortnite Battle Roy ...

'' as a playable track in its "Fortnite Festival" mode, which the Weeknd headlined for its launch on December 9, 2023.

Track listing

Digital single #1 # "Take My Breath" – 3:40 Digital single #2 / CD maxi-single # "Take My Breath" – 3:40 # "Take My Breath" (Instrumental) – 3:40 # "Take My Breath" (Extended Version) – 5:51

Personnel

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

– songwriting, vocals, production, programming, keyboards, bass, drums *

– songwriting *

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
AllMusic known professional ...

– songwriting, production, programming, keyboards, bass, drums *

Elvira Anderfjärd Elvira Anderfjärd, (born 1 August 1999) also known mononymously as Elvira, is a Swedish record producer and songwriter. She achieved prominence after remixing the singles "Willow" (2020), " Love Story (Taylor's Version)" (2021), and producing " ...

– background vocals * David Bukovinsky – cello * Shellback – drums * Magnus Sjölander – percussion * Mattias Bylund – strings * Mattias Johansson – violin * Sam Holland – engineering, studio personnel * Şerban Ghenea – mixing, studio personnel * Dave Kutch – mastering, studio personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* * * * * * * * {{Authority control 2021 singles 2021 songs Republic Records singles Songs written by the Weeknd The Weeknd songs Songs written by Belly (rapper) Songs written by Max Martin Songs written by Oscar Holter Song recordings produced by the Weeknd Song recordings produced by Max Martin Number-one singles in Israel Disco songs Funk songs Synthwave songs Canadian dance-pop songs