"With Every Heartbeat"
First release cover art
Single by Kleerup and Robyn
from the album Robyn (international edition) and Kleerup
B-side"Konichiwa Bitches"
Released10 January 2007 (2007-01-10)
Recorded2006
Genre
Length4:13
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Kleerup
Kleerup singles chronology
"With Every Heartbeat"
(2007)		 "Longing for Lullabies"
(2008)
Robyn singles chronology
"Who's That Girl"
(2005)		 "With Every Heartbeat"
(2007)		 "Konichiwa Bitches"
(2007)
Robyn US singles chronology
"Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)"
(1998)		 "With Every Heartbeat"
(2008)		 "Handle Me"
(2008)
Audio sample
"With Every Heartbeat"
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Music video
"With Every Heartbeat" on YouTube

"With Every Heartbeat" is a song by Swedish record producer Kleerup and Swedish singer-songwriter Robyn. It was first released on 10 January 2007 in Sweden and later on 30 July 2007 in the United Kingdom. It was released as the second single from the international edition of Robyn's self-titled fourth studio album and the lead single from Kleerup's self-titled debut studio album.

The song peaked at number one in the United Kingdom and reached the top ten in Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands. In the United States, where it was released as Robyn's first single since "Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)" (1998), it peaked at number twenty-eight on Billboard's Hot Singles Sales chart.

Background and composition

In mid-2006 Kleerup played drums for Klas Åhlund's alternative rock band Teddybears (whose song "Cobrastyle" Robyn covered). Kleerup had a severe nosebleed when he met Robyn through Klas after a gig in Stockholm early one morning following a massive street brawl downtown between Kleerup, Klas and paparazzi that had insulted Robyn, landing Klas a stint in jail.[6]

"With Every Heartbeat" was composed in Kleerup's living room, where Robyn came up with the song's melody, inspired by Giorgio Moroder, "but mostly by the ZZ Top song 'Legs'".[7] The song runs for four minutes and thirteen seconds in its entire form. It is composed in the key of D major,[8] and is set in common time.[8] It has an unconventional pop song structure and no distinct chorus.[9] The string parts were originally arranged by Carl Bagge using Sibelius.[9]

A physical single was released in the UK on 6 August 2007. It was named as both Jo Whiley's and Scott Mills's "Record of the Week" and was A-Listed on BBC's Radio 1.[9] Robyn performed the song live on Radio 1 during the Jo Whiley Show on 8 August 2007. It also received strong support by Popjustice, who later ranked the single as the best of 2007.[10]

The song was released in the United States in January 2008. A remix version is also featured in the soundtrack of How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. It was also featured in the 2007 movie Boy A and on the video game Grand Theft Auto V.

Critical reception

Digital Spy's Alex Fletcher gave the song four stars (out of five) and wrote "'With Every Heartbeat' is reminiscent of 90s dance tracks by the likes of Robert Miles. [...] The laid back, coffee-table friendly styling of the track calls to mind Moon Safari era Air, particularly their forgotten classic 'Kelly Watch the Stars'. While the lyrics may be devoid of any emotional clout, they tumble along pleasantly enough while the bleeps and glitches provided by Kleerup nurture your ears."[11]

Steve Perkins of BBC Chart Blog praised the song for its lack of a chorus, writing "when you peel this song apart, it's actually very cyclical regardless: odd lines are repeated, but carefully chosen as if to reinforce the point that a new line just made. [...] There's a trembling quality to Robyn's voice in this song – as though she could fall apart at any moment but is keeping herself together by sheer force of will – which adds enormously to the fighting spirit of a song that is pessimistic without being bleak."[12] Online music magazine Pitchfork placed the song at number 46 on their Top 500 Tracks of the Decade list.[13] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 30 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[14]

Chart performance

"With Every Heartbeat" was Robyn's biggest hit in the United Kingdom, where it became the first number one, second top ten, and fourth top forty hit of her career. The song charted inside the top five on downloads alone the week before the song's physical release. As of 2023, the song has sold and streamed 600,000 units in the UK.[15]

Music video

Two videos were filmed for the song. Kleerup's version shows assorted scenes of life in New York City, while Robyn's version shows the singer walking among colourful building blocks and board game pawns. Robyn wears her trademark neckscarf and tights, which change colour as the song progresses. The stop motion animation moves in sync with the music. The song pans out halfway through the video to reveal that Robyn is miniature and in fact on a desk in Kleerup's studio. On display in Kleerup's studio is a vinyl copy of Barbra Streisand's album Guilty. The video finishes with the blocks featured in the video tumbling down while Robyn runs away from them, one successfully crushes her. This version of the video is a tribute to the animation of the highly respected late German artist Oskar Fischinger specifically his work entitled Komposition in Blau.

Track listing

Personnel

Personnel adapted from CD single liner notes.[5]

Charts

Certifications and sales

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[44] Gold 4,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[15] Platinum 600,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format
Sweden 10 January 2007 CD single
United Kingdom 30 July 2007 Digital download
6 August 2007 CD single
Germany 19 October 2007
United States 29 January 2008 Digital download
Various 15 July 2016 Digital remix single[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Hogan, Marc (27 June 2008). "Kleerup: Kleerup". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  2. ↑ Mulholland, Garry (9 December 2007). "2007: The best singles". The Observer. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  3. ↑ Ravens, Chal (12 March 2017). "The xx brought Robyn out to perform 'With Every Heartbeat' last night". FACT Magazine. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  4. ↑ "With Every Heartbeat" (CD single liner notes). Kleerup, Robyn. Virgin Records. 2007.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. 1 2 "With Every Heartbeat" (CD single liner notes). Robyn, Kleerup. Konichiwa Records. 2007.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ↑ ""She breaks the mould": how Robyn's pop classic 'Body Talk' changed the game". NME. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  7. ↑ Georg Cederskog (15 March 2020). "Kleerup: Skivan är ett bevis på att jag finns och nu är hälsosammare". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 15 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020. En hemlighet med Robyns "With every heartbeat", som har moll som hemackord, är att den är lite inspirerad av Giorgio Moroder, fast mest av ZZ Tops-låten "Legs".
  8. 1 2 "With Every Heartbeat". Sheetmusicdirect.us. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
  9. 1 2 3 "Sibelius scores UK chart No.1". Sibelius.com. 20 August 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
  10. ↑ "The Greatest Singles of 2007". Popjustice. 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
  11. ↑ Fletcher, Alex (13 August 2007). "Robyn & Kleerup: 'With Every Heartbeat'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
  12. ↑ Perkins, Steve (30 July 2007). "BBC – Chart Blog: Robyn – 'With Every Heartbeat'". BBC. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
  13. ↑ "Staff Lists: The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 50-21 | Features | Pitc…". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012.
  14. ↑ "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years | NME.COM". www.nme.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  15. 1 2 "British single certifications – Robyn ft Kleerup – With Every Heartbeat". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  16. 1 2 "With Every Heartbeat (Joakim Remix)". Amazon Music. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  17. ↑ "ARIA Report" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  18. ↑ "Robyn with Kleerup – With Every Heartbeat" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  19. ↑ "Robyn with Kleerup – With Every Heartbeat" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  20. ↑ "Robyn with Kleerup – With Every Heartbeat" (in Dutch). Ultratop Dance. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  21. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 200751 into search. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  22. ↑ "Robyn with Kleerup – With Every Heartbeat". Tracklisten. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  23. ↑ "Hits of the World – Eurocharts" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 119, no. 34. 25 August 2007. p. 63. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  24. ↑ "Robyn with Kleerup – With Every Heartbeat" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  25. ↑ "Robyn with Kleerup – With Every Heartbeat" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  26. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  27. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  28. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – With Every Heartbeat". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  29. ↑ "Robyn with Kleerup – With Every Heartbeat". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  30. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 39, 2007" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  31. ↑ "Robyn with Kleerup – With Every Heartbeat" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  32. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  33. ↑ "Robyn with Kleerup – With Every Heartbeat". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  34. ↑ "Robyn with Kleerup – With Every Heartbeat". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  35. ↑ "Robyn with Kleerup: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  36. ↑ "Robyn Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  37. ↑ "Robyn Chart History (Dance Mix/Show Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  38. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2007" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  39. ↑ "European Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. Archived from the original on 13 May 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  40. ↑ "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2007". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  41. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2007". MegaCharts. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  42. ↑ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2007". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  43. ↑ "Årslista Singlar, 2008" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  44. ↑ "Danish single certifications – Kleerup (With Robyn) – With Every Heartbeat". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
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