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Break Up (album)

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Break Up
Studio album by
Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson
ReleasedSeptember 15, 2009
Recorded2006–2009
Genre
Length28:55
Label
ProducerSunny Levine
Scarlett Johansson chronology
Anywhere I Lay My Head
(2008) 		Break Up
(2009)
Pete Yorn chronology
Back and Fourth
(2009) 		Break Up
(2009) 		Pete Yorn
(2010)
Singles from Anywhere I Lay My Head
  1. "Relator"
    Released: June 29, 2009[1]
  2. "Blackie's Dead"
    Released: August 28, 2009[2]

Break Up is a collaborative album by Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson. Its first single, "Relator" was released as a digital download on May 25, 2009. The full album was released by Atco and Rhino on September 15, 2009. It was certified gold in France.

Production

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The album was recorded in 2006, thus preceding several albums that Yorn and Johansson have released as solo artists.[3] Johansson completed her vocals for the project in two afternoon sessions.[4]

Yorn said that the concept for the album was realized in a dream he had. The project was inspired by Serge Gainsbourg's 1967 and 1968 albums with Brigitte Bardot.[5]

Johansson spoke about the project at the time of the "Relator" single release; "The idea of two people vocalizing their relationship through duets...I always thought of it as just a small project between friends. It perfectly captured where I was in my life at the time".[6]

Promotion

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During 2009, Yorn stated that he would like to do some live shows with Johansson to promote the album. By September 10 that year, Johansson and Yorn performed "Relator" on the French television show Le Grand Journal. It was Johansson's first live performance on television.

The duo were then interviewed by KCRW on October 7; they talked about past, present and future projects, and performed the single "Relator" along with "Blackie's Dead", "Search Your Heart", "Shampoo" and a cover of the Kinks' "Stop Your Sobbing". They also stated that they would like to tour, but because the short time the songs give them to perform (around 29 minutes), they would like to turn the concert into a dinner if there's the demand for them to tour.[7]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The A.V. ClubC+[8]
AllMusic[9]
BBC(average)[10]
Chart Attack[11]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[12]
The Independent(positive)[13]
Now Magazine[14]
Paste(positive)[15]
Pitchfork4.7/10[16]
Rolling Stone[17]

The album was rated a 52/100 among professional music critics on Metacritic, indicating mixed or average reviews.[18]

Track listing

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Standard edition

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All tracks are written by Pete Yorn, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Relator" 2:33
2."Wear and Tear" 3:22
3."I Don't Know What to Do" 3:29
4."Search Your Heart" 3:01
5."Blackie's Dead" 2:37
6."I Am the Cosmos"Chris Bell2:47
7."Shampoo" 3:05
8."Clean" 3:48
9."Someday" 4:17
Amazon exclusive bonus tracks[19]
No.TitleLength
10."Blackie's Dead [Demo]"2:03

French special edition

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CD 2 includes live versions recorded at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles on October 7, 2009. Originally broadcast on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic with Jason Bentley. This CD was launched like the "Live At KCRW.Com EP" on Amazon.com, and after included in "Break Up (Deluxe Edition)".

This enhanced CD also includes Relator video.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Relator" 2:36
2."Blackie's Dead" 2:38
3."I Don't Know What to Do" 3:30
4."Search Your Heart" 3:03
5."Shampoo" 3:08
6."Stop Your Sobbin'"Ray Davies2:38
7."Relator" (video) 2:33

Personnel

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  • Robert Francis – banjo, bass guitar, electric guitar, pedal steel guitar, slide guitar
  • Max Goldblatt – banjo, synthesizer bass, background vocals
  • Scarlett Johansson – lead vocals, background vocals
  • Sunny D. Levine – programming, synthesizer bass
  • Giuseppe Patanè – bass guitar
  • Amir Yaghmai – synthesizer strings, synthesizer
  • Pete Yorn – banjo, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, tambourine, lead vocals, background vocals

Chart positions

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Album

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 78
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] 45
French Albums (SNEP)[22] 18
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 89
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 58
UK Albums Chart[25] 160
US Billboard 200[26] 41
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[26] 6
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard[26] 14

Singles

Year Single Chart Peak Position
2009 "Relator" Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) 10
German Singles Chart 91
Swiss Singles Chart 57
UK Singles Chart[25] 189

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[27] Gold 50,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson – Relator". Discogs. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  2. ^ "Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson – Blackie's Dead". Discogs. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  3. ^ "Scarlett Johansson, Pete Yorn album on the way". NME. 23 May 2009.
  4. ^ Gundersen, Edna (21 May 2009). "Listen as Yorn, Johansson 'Break Up'". USA Today.
  5. ^ Michaels, Sean (26 May 2009). "Scarlett Johansson and Pete Yorn to Break Up". The Guardian.
  6. ^ Heldman, Breanne L. (26 May 2009) "Scarlett Johansson's New Hookup: Pete Yorn". E! (eonline.com).
  7. ^ "Scarlett Johansson and Pete Yorn". Morning Becomes Eclectic. KCRW. 7 October 2009.
  8. ^ Martins, Chris (September 15, 2009). "Break Up". A.V. Club.
  9. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Break Up at AllMusic. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  10. ^ Diver, Mike (September 16, 2009). "Break Up review". BBC Music.
  11. ^ "Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson – Break Up". Chart Attack. 5 October 2009. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ^ Greenblatt, Leah (September 2, 2009). "Break Up (2009)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  13. ^ Price, Simon (6 September 2009). "Album: Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson, Break Up (Atco/Rhino)". The Independent.
  14. ^ Gillis, Carla (23–30 September 2009). "Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson". Now. 29 (4).
  15. ^ Labate, Steve (11 September 2009). "Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson: Break Up". Paste.
  16. ^ Hogan, Marc (11 September 2009). "Scarlett Johansson / Pete Yorn: Break Up". Pitchfork.
  17. ^ Maerz, Melissa (8 September 2009). "Pete Yorn: Break Up". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009.
  18. ^ "Break Up - Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  19. ^ "Break Up (Amazon Exclusive) Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson". Amazon. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson – Break Up" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson – Break Up" (in French). Hung Medien.
  22. ^ "Lescharts.com – Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson – Break Up". Hung Medien.
  23. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson – Break Up" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  24. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson – Break Up". Hung Medien.
  25. ^ a b "Chart Log UK – 2009". Zobbel.de. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  26. ^ a b c "Pete Yorn - Awards". AllMusic.
  27. ^ "French album certifications – Peter Yorn/Scarlett Johansson – Break Up" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved November 19, 2021. Select PETER YORN/SCARLETT JOHANSSON and click OK. 
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