Today marks 25 years since the release of 'Breathe', the third single lifted from 'Impossible Princess'. It's an electronica track that deals with holding back emotions and reasoning the thoughts in one's head. It reached #23 in Australia and matched the peak of previous single, 'Did It Again', in the UK when it debuted at #14.

 

Share your thoughts and memories of 'Breathe' below!

It’s actually the first ever Kylie song I have ever heard! On a pirate collection my mom bought me back in the day. I liked it a lot, but also couldn’t really pronounce her name correctly at all at a time lolol.

 

Loved it back then and love it now! One of my favourite Kylie songs.

Loved it then and love it now.

I always thought this song was about losing your virginity :lol: (I have the same theory with Natalie Imbruglia's 'Torn')

 

I don't remember it from the time, I only discovered it in 2002/2003 when I became a fan and was working my way through her older work. It's a majestic track, although the album version always sounds weird to me compared to the pace of the single version!

Definitely in my Top 3 Kylie songs, loved it then and love it now, so many memories attached to this song too.

At the time, i knew it would never be a huge hit as her popularity was in decline as the previous singles we know didnt set the charts alight but as i loved the song i was hoping more of the public would feel the same and it might sneak into the top 10 but for that time 14 wasn't completely terrible as at that time it was very hard to predict how a Kylie single would perform. As discussed in previous threads breathe is a song that would work well if used as a sample by a current artist, its a stunning song in its own right but equally the song needs to be introduced to a whole new audience. It could work as a dance track or in a similar way to how Eminems used Didos track and also Martikas track Toy Soldiers

I’m surprised it did as well as it did being the 3rd single off a massively underperforming album - I remember being pleased at the time that it managed Top 15.

Although to be fair, the album wasn't actually out yet and was released off the back of 'Breathe'

I wonder if breathe was released in the early 2000's when she was really on the top of her game would it have been a big hit or a Top 10 hit in the same way as chocolate. I absolutely adore breathe but is it the the type of song people want from Kylie, i could say that for all the IP material but i think if that material got wider exposure it could have attracted a different audience.

I think she proved around mid-00s that she could get top 10 with anything, so presumably. I don't really see 'Breathe' as an overly commercial song though, and also it's very distinctly 90s sounding so I can't really see it fitting in her discography or the musical landscape of that time.

This was the second song I remember hearing from Kylie, after Did It Again. I remember ,ok’ing it at the time but it’s grown on me massively since then. Easily in my top 5 Kylie songs, maybe even top 3.

I don't really see 'Breathe' as an overly commercial song though, and also it's very distinctly 90s sounding so I can't really see it fitting in her discography or the musical landscape of that time.

 

Exactly. Even if Kylie had more success at the time, I don't see Breathe going anywhere past #9. Even if Madonna had released it during Ray of Light.

And yes, it does really sound of that 96-98 era of dreamy light electronica.

Exactly. Even if Kylie had more success at the time, I don't see Breathe going anywhere past #9. Even if Madonna had released it during Ray of Light.

And yes, it does really sound of that 96-98 era of dreamy light electronica.

 

 

Agreed, it sounds perfectly of its time. But that’s a compliment given how great the song is.

I’m a fan of both the album and single versions, I think both serve a good purpose. Might sound obvious but the album version works best in the context of the album but I would listen to the single mix if I was listening to it individually or part of a Kylie playlist. The faster tempo was necessary for it to work as a single but I like how the slower tempo reflects that of someone breathing in and out as a way to calm themselves.

 

I think Kylie’s a fan of the song as she’s tried to incorporate it on tours through the years but not managed to really find a place for it (it was only a video interlude on Kiss Me Once and dropped from the set list of Golden after a couple of shows). The performance on Money Can’t Buy seems to be a favourite amongst fans:

 

The money cant buy version worked very well and its the main outing that the songs really worked on the big stage for her.