Break (Three Days Grace song)


"Break" is a song by Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. It was released as the lead single on September 1, 2009, from their third studio album, Life Starts Now, which followed three weeks later. The song peaked at number 26 on the Canadian Hot 100 and number 73 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in November 2025.

Background

The band released a teaser of the single on their website on August 27, 2009, before the song was sent for radio airplay the following week. According to bass guitarist Brad Walst, "Break" is about "breaking away from bad influences," during an interview by the Peterborough Examiner. Additionally, in an interview with TheDeadbolt.com, lead guitarist Barry Stock explained the meaning behind "Break":
According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, by Alfred Music Publishing, the track runs at 116 BPM and is in the key of D Minor. Gontier's range in the song spans from the notes D4 to B5.

Chart performance

"Break" peaked at number 26 on the Canadian Hot 100. The song also peaked at number 73 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song topped the US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart for twelve weeks. The song also peaked at number one on the US Mainstream Rock chart for eleven weeks. The song reached number four on the Alternative Airplay chart. As of February 21, 2010, the single has sold 359,461 units.

Awards and nominations

In 2010, the song earned two nominations at the MuchMusic Video Awards for Post Production of the Year and Rock Video of the Year. The song also earned a CASBY Awards nomination for Best Single of the Year. The song was nominated for Recording Engineer of the Year at the
2011 Juno Awards. Billboard ranked the song at number seven on their "Greatest of All Time Mainstream Rock Songs" list. It was the number one most played song on the Active Rock format in 2010.

Music video

On September 11, Three Days Grace announced the music video for "Break" would debut on Yahoo! Music on September 14, 2009. The music video, directed by P. R. Brown, begins with the band members entering separate rooms that match their clothes' colors, and shows four balls, matching the aforementioned colors, in a pendulum-like state. The beginning of the track "Someone Who Cares" serves as both the intro and the outro for the music video version of the song. The band begins to perform their parts in these separate rooms as giant fans appear and begin to operate. As the song progresses, floating paint balls are pulled through the fans and thus travel in a circle that leaves them stained with the color of the band mate to their left. The song ends with them exiting down a hall, the four paint balls following them.
Several of the effects used in the video include: phantom cams, green screens, polymer, and water-based paint. Speaking about the music video, Brad Walst explained the concept of the video.

Personnel

Credits for "Break" adapted from album's liner notes.
Three Days Grace
Production

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs 4