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Breathin' is about breathing when you're anxious. It's about anxiety and feeling like when you can't get a full breath. It's like the worst feeling in the whole world. It's a song about that feeling, I was having lots of [anxiety attacks]. We were in the studio, we were writing and I was like, 'Ugh I can't breathe.' And they were like, 'We're going to write this song.' And I was like, 'Okay, I still can't breathe, but we'll write it.

–  Grande on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon[1]

"Breathin" (originally titled "Breathing", stylized in all lowercase) is the third and final single and ninth track from Ariana Grande's fourth studio album, Sweetener. It was released through Republic Records on September 18, 2018.[3] A live version of the song is featured on K Bye For Now (SWT Live), which was released on December 23, 2019.

Background[]

The track was first teased in a scene in the "No Tears Left To Cry" music video [4], released on April 20, 2018, which displayed the entire track list for Grande's fourth album, although not in order.

On June 17, 2018 Grande answered to a fan on Twitter that the song is about an anxiety attack she felt.[5]

Grande spoke about this track on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, stating that she was anxious while recording it and experiencing anxiety attacks. She had to leave the booth to get some air and quiet time.[6]

On August 24, 2018, the audio of "breathin" was uploaded on Grande's YouTube account, which as of March 2019 has over 100 million views. In September 2018, after charting at Top 40 on the US Pop Radio Chart, the song was released as the album's third single impacting US contemporary hit radio on September 18, 2018.[3][7]

Almost a year later on August 30, 2019, Grande tweeted a screen recording of her original first take demo for Breathin, titled 'ball slapper', recorded on February 2, 2018. She tagged Savan Kotecha, who composed the track, and questioned how "#wewonagrammyafterthis????"[8]An alternate version of the demo leaked on June 29, 2023.

Audios[]

Commercial performance[]

Prior to its release as a single, "Breathin" was one of Ariana Grande's most successful non-singles. When Sweetener came out, the song debuted at No. 4 on the Worldwide iTunes songs chart and peaked at No. 1 on the US iTunes singles chart.[9]

The song debuted at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 8 on the ARIA and UK Singles charts, being Grande's first non-single track to reach the Top 10 in the UK and her eighth song overall.[10] The track sold 27,800 digital downloads in its opening week, allowing it to also enter the Digital Songs chart at number four.[11] The following week, "Breathin" dropped fifteen positions to number 37 on the Hot 100[12], but later peaked at number 12 in December.[13] It debuted at No. 1 on the Greece Digital Songs.[14]

"Breathin" also had the 4th biggest debut day by a female artist on Spotify after debuting at No. 3 with 4,082,390 streams on Worldwide Spotify and debuted at No. 4 on Spotify's US Top 50 chart.[15][16]

Music video[]

An unofficial music video of the song was uploaded on Grande's YouTube account on October 10, 2018, starring her pet piglet, Piggy Smallz, curiously approaching the camera and walking around on a bed with a plush cover.[17] Shot by Grande, she said she hoped the video would make fans laugh while they await the real music video.[18][19]

The official music video of "Breathin" was directed by Hannah Lux Davis and shot on October, 17 and October, 18 2018[20].[21][22] It was released on November 7, 2018.[23][24] The video is set in a train station/airport with a lot of movement, representing Grande's anxiety. She is overwhelmed and troubled by the frenzy, she finally finds peace and calm in the clouds.

In the music video, we can see some songs of Thank U, Next on the flight/board at the airport/train station, like "Needy", "Remember", "Imagine". Lately, a behind the scenes photo mysteriously appeared with a men and in the background, the flight board with "Thank U, Next", "Make Up", "7 Rings", "NASA" and "Ghostin", but this was not recorded or shown in the music video.

Breathintracklistflight

The hidden track list in the Breathin music video

Live performances[]

Grande debuted "Breathin" live on August 20, 2018 at The Sweetener Sessions. The song was also performed on the one-hour TV special, Ariana Grande at the BBC, recorded on September 7, 2018 and aired on November 1 on BBC.[25][26][27]

The song had its first televised performance live on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on November 7, 2018 where Grande also performed her single "Thank U, Next".[28]

It was a regular part of the setlist of Grande's Sweetener World Tour, which began on March 18, 2019.

Remix[]

"Breathin (Sleep Remix)" (also known as the "Breathin (Safari Riot Sleep Remix)") is a remix of the song "Breathin" released on March 19, 2021. The remix was released exclusively on the meditation app Calm as part of the Sleep Remix Series.

The remix is approximately an hour long, it is made to relax, cool down and as a help to sleep better and more efficiently.

Audios[]

Trivia[]

  • This music video, the last one for "Sweetener", was for the quick closure of the era, made "in a hurry" because of the events in Grande's life, and her desire to start the "Thank u, Next" era.
  • The concept for the Thank U, Next video was created when filming Breathin's one.
  • Ariana Grande's Nonna has her ringtone set as the track.[29]

Videos[]

Gallery[]

Lyrics[]

[Verse 1]
Some days, things just take way too much of my energy
I look up and the whole room's spinning
You take my cares away
I can so over-complicate, people tell me to medicate

[Pre-Chorus]
Feel my blood runnin', swear the sky's fallin'
I know that all this shit's fabricated, mmm
Time goes by and I can't control my mind
Don't know what else to try, but you tell me every time…

[Chorus]
Just keep breathin and breathin and breathin and breathin
I know I gotta keep, keep on breathin
Just keep breathin and breathin and breathin and breathin
I know I gotta keep, keep on breathin, mmmm

[Verse 2]
Sometimes it's hard to find, find my way up into the clouds
Tune it out, they can be so loud
You remind me of a time (You remind me of a time) when things weren't so complicated
All I need is to see your face (All I need is to see your face)

[Pre-Chorus]
Feel my blood runnin', swear the sky's fallin'
I know that all this shit's fabricated, mmm
Time goes by and I can't control my mind
Don't know what else to try, but you tell me every time…

[Chorus]
Just keep breathin and breathin and breathin and breathin
I know I gotta keep, I keep on breathin
Just keep breathin and breathin and breathin and breathin
I know I gotta keep, I keep on breathin, mmmm, yeah

[Bridge]
My, my air
My, my air
My, my air, my air
My, my air
My, my air
My, my air, yeah

[Chorus]
Just keep breathin and breathin and breathin and breathin (Now)
I know I gotta keep (I know I gotta keep), I keep on breathin (I keep on breathin)
Just keep breathin and breathin and breathin and breathin (Breathin and breathin and breathin and breathin)
I know I gotta keep (Oh, yeah), I keep on breathin, mmmm (Oooh), yeah (Yeah)

[Outro]
Feel my blood runnin' (I feel my blood runnin), swear the sky's fallin' (Ooh, woah, yeah)
I keep on breathin (Oh, yeah)
Time goes by and I can't control my mind (And I can't control my mind, yeah)
I keep on breathin (I keep on breathin), mmm (Ooh), yeah (Yeah)

References[]

  1. Ariana Grande Predicted She Would Marry Pete Davidson Three Years Ago
  2. Ariana Grande 'Sweetener' Review: One Of 2018's Best Pop Albums
  3. 3.0 3.1 Top 40/M Future Releases - Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates
  4. Sweetener’s past track list
  5. Twitter - Ariana about "Breathin"
  6. YouTube - Ariana Grande Predicted She Would Marry Pete Davidson Three Years Ago
  7. Loud Luxury’s “Body,” Ariana Grande’s “Breathin” Reach Top 40 At Pop Radio
  8. Twitter - Grande shares her Breathin original demo, titled 'ball slapper'.
  9. Twitter - Joan Grande about "breathin" being #1 on US iTunes
  10. Official Charts Company - breathin
  11. Ariana Grande Earns 10th Top 10 Hit, Lands 10 Songs on Billboard Hot 100
  12. Top 100 Songs - The week of September 8, 2018
  13. https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/2018-12-15
  14. Greece Digital Song Sales : Sep 01, 18
  15. Ariana Grande’s “Breathin,” “GIAW,” “Everytime,” “Sweetener” Make Top 10 On Daily US Spotify Chart
  16. Ariana Grande's 'Sweetener' Breaks Global Spotify Weekly Record For A Female Artist
  17. Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson's Pet Pig Piggy Smalls Just Made Its Glorious Music Video Debut
  18. Ariana Grande Is 'Feeling Better' After Break as She Releases New Music Video Starring Pet Pig
  19. Ariana Grande Responds To Critics Of The ‘Sweetener’ Era
  20. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Hu6kBWS45VE
  21. Twitter - @ArianaToday - About Hannah Lux Davis being director of "Breathin" music video
  22. Twitter - @ArianaToday - Hannah Lux Davis via Instagram: "Up to somethin special with this one ♡ Love you too @ArianaGrande ♡ 👼🏼☁️"
  23. Twitter - "Breathin" music video release date
  24. Ariana Grande Drops Official 'breathin' Music Video
  25. When Was 'Ariana Grande At The BBC' Filmed? The Show Was Taped In Advance
  26. Ariana Grande at the BBC offers fans a snapshot of a happier time – review
  27. Ariana Grande performs Sweetener songs for BBC TV special: Watch
  28. Ariana Grande to perform breakup song Thank u, next, which references exes Pete Davidson and Mac Miller, on Ellen
  29. Twitter - Ariana Grande’s Nonna has her ringtone set as Ariana’s hit song “breathin” 😭💕
Sweetener
August 17, 2018 • 47:25 • Republic Records
Songs
Released Better OffBlazedBorderlineBreathinEverytimeGet Well SoonGod Is A WomanGoodnight N GoNo Tears Left To CryPete DavidsonRaindrops (An Angel Cried)R.E.M.SuccessfulSweetenerThe Light Is Coming
Unreleased 1st Unknown Sweetener Outtake100Bad To YouClarityCloudsCocoonDaydream On OccasionEnd Up With YouEver BeenGot Her OwnHate That You Made Me Love YouI Don't Wanna LieI Love MeKeep It CuteLeft On ReadMan Of SteelMoreMy WayNobodyOk NowOne In A MillionOn Top Of EverythingPretty Girls Like Trap MusicRush DeliverySexShnackSoberSouth AfricaStrong EnoughTreadmillWifeeYou
Artists
Ariana GrandeAli TamposiBiaBeyoncéChaka KhanDua LipaCamila CabelloCharlie PuthImogen HeapJennifer HudsonKelly RowlandLucky DayeMissy ElliottN.E.R.D.Nicki MinajNormaniPharrell WilliamsQuavoRita OraSkeptaStarrahSZAT-PainVictoria Monét
Tour
Sweetener World TourThe Sweetener Sessions
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