Breathe – Faith Hill | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#2) and Adult Contemporary (#1); 2000
Story Behind The Song By Harris Sterling
By 1999, Faith Hill had firmly established herself as a leading country artist. With Breathe, she expanded further into pop crossover territory. The song was written by Stephanie Bentley and Holly Lamar and produced by Byron Gallimore.
Released as the title track of her album Breathe, the single reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 2000 and topped the Adult Contemporary chart. It also became a major country hit, reinforcing Hill’s crossover appeal.
Built around a restrained arrangement featuring acoustic guitar and subtle percussion, the recording emphasizes Hill’s vocal control and emotional phrasing.
The lyric centers on intimacy and vulnerability, expressing how love can be so overwhelming that it leaves the narrator momentarily breathless. The tone is reflective rather than dramatic.
Breathe became one of Faith Hill’s most successful singles and was named Billboard’s top pop single of 2000 based on year-end performance.
Produced by:
Byron Gallimore
Faith Hill
Lyrics Written by:
Stephanie Bentley
Holly Lamar
Awards:
Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance (2001)
Harris Sterling
Independent music label executive Harris Sterling has worked in the music industry for most of his career.
As Executive Vice President for independent music label Madacy Entertainment, he led the strategic marketing and business development for the label, negotiating agreements with the major record labels to release custom music compilations under license with major brands, such as Ford Motor Company, Crayola, Care Bears and Elvis Presley Enterprises.
Harris also led Madacy’s strategy for the licensing of its entire music catalogue to Apple for their launch of the IPOD.
In 2011, Harris co-founded Starting Five Media, a company that specializes in recording and licensing custom renditions of popular songs as well as clearing the rights to the music composition for use by their clients in media projects.
Harris has negotiated publishing and master recording rights for many Top 40 songs for use in various media projects, TV Commercials and more.