Mariah Carey - Heartbreaker

About "Heartbreaker"

"Heartbreaker" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey featuring American rapper Jay-Z for her seventh studio album Rainbow (1999). It was released on August 23, 1999, by Columbia Records as the lead single from Rainbow. The song was written by the artists and produced by Carey and DJ Clue, with additional writers being credited for the hook being built around a sample from "Attack of the Name Game" by Stacy Lattisaw. "Heartbreaker" pushed Carey even further into the R&B and hip hop market, becoming her second commercial single to feature a rapper. Lyrically, the song describes lovesickness towards an unfaithful partner.

"Heartbreaker" received mixed reviews from music critics, many of whom felt it was not original or innovative in terms of a creative step forward. Additionally, it was compared heavily to Carey's 1995 hit single "Fantasy", which also built its hook from a sampled beat. "Heartbreaker" topped the Canadian Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Carey's 14th US chart-topper. The single topped the New Zealand Singles Chart and was a top-five single in Croatia, France, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

Carey performed "Heartbreaker" live on several international television and award shows, as well as on her concert tours. The accompanying music video for "Heartbreaker", directed by Brett Ratner, is one of the most expensive ever made, costing over US$2.5 million. The video features Carey and her friends visiting a film theater and catching her boyfriend (played by Jerry O'Connell) on a date with another woman. Carey played herself and a brunette villainess named Bianca Storm, during a physical altercation scene between the two women. Due to contractual agreements at the time of its filming, Jay-Z was unable to make an appearance in the original music video, though he would appear in a recut version soon after. The video was inspired by several other films, including Grease, Scarface and Enter the Dragon.