Breathe Again

Album: Toni Braxton (1993)
Charted: 2 3
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is a song by American R&B singer Toni Braxton from her self-titled debut album. The ballad was released as the album's second single, and was the most successful release from the album, peaking at #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and later #2 on the UK singles chart.
  • Braxton won the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Female Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance for this song. It was her second consecutive Grammy award.
  • Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds wrote the song. He also co-produced the track along with LA Reid and Daryl Simmons. Babyface later recalled in May 2010 interview with Singersroom.com: "'Breathe Again' was written in Atlanta, Georgia inside a studio with Coco (Cheryl "Coko" Clemons from the group SWV). It was at LA Reid's house, we had a studio we built there in the guest house. We were trying to come up with more songs for her record. It was kind of one of those songs that I kind of sat down and started playing these cords and the words and melodies just kind of floated out. It was really written quickly; probably a couple of hours."
  • Speaking to Billboard in a 2018 interview, Braxton said this is the one song she never gets tired of performing.

    "It's my go-to song that I can sing anytime," she explained. "If I need to warm up, if I need to impress you with my vocal skills, if I want to feel good as I help heal people with broken hearts, that's the song I'm going to sing. It's like that classic black Chanel dress that goes with everything. You just change it up with accessories."

Comments: 1

  • John Shine from Bridgeport, OhioJust a great, great song. Maybe best song of the decade.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Kristian Bush of Sugarland

Kristian Bush of SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.

Christmas Songs

Christmas SongsFact or Fiction

Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Gary Numan

Gary NumanSongwriter Interviews

An Electronic music pioneer with Asperger's Syndrome. This could be interesting.

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.