Breakfast at Tiffany's (song)

"Breakfast at Tiffany's" is a song by American alternative rock band Deep Blue Something. Originally appearing on their 1993 album 11th Song, it was later re-recorded and released on their 1995 album Home. Released as a single in July 1995 by Interscope and Rainmaker, the song was the band's only hit in the United States,^[1] peaking at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 in January 1996. Outside the United States, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" topped the UK Singles Chart and peaked within the top ten on the charts of Australia, Flanders, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, and Sweden.

"Breakfast at Tiffany's"
Single by Deep Blue Something
from the album 11th Song and Home
Released	July 11, 1995 (1995-07-11)
Length	4:16
Label	Interscope Rainmaker
Songwriter(s)	Todd Pipes
Producer(s)	David Castell
Deep Blue Something singles chronology
"Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1995) "Halo" (1996)
Music video
"Breakfast at Tiffany's" on YouTube

Todd Pipes said in a Q magazine article about the promotion of "Breakfast at Tiffany's", "As the song had 'breakfast' in the title, radio stations thought it would be genius to have us on at breakfast time. We'd be up 'til 3 am and they'd wonder why we were pissed off playing at 6 am."^[2] Follow-up singles failed to match the success of "Breakfast at Tiffany's", hence the reason for the band's classification as a one-hit wonder.

Inspiration and composition

"Breakfast at Tiffany's" is sung from the point of view of a man whose girlfriend is on the verge of breaking up with him because the two have nothing in common. Desperate to find something, the man brings up the Audrey Hepburn film Breakfast at Tiffany's, and his girlfriend recalls that they "both kinda liked it." He argues that this should serve as enough motivation for them to work out their problems based on the notion that love will always find a way to make things work.

The film Roman Holiday inspired the lyrics of the song, but songwriter Todd Pipes thought that one of Hepburn's other films would make a better song title.^[3]

Critical reception

Brian Wahlert called "Breakfast at Tiffany's" "a cute, catchy song that should fit in well on adult contemporary, Top-40 and alternative radio" with memorable melody that makes it "a perfect single, along with the mildly repetitive, conversational lyrics of the chorus and the bright, acoustic guitar".^[4] However, Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly was unimpressed. He called it "possibly the year's most innocuous single, 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' is distressingly prosaic pop from a wimpy-sounding Texas quartet"; he added that it lacked any "musical piquancy".^[5] The Houston Press listed the song as the second worst by an artist from Texas, after Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby".^[6] Kevin Courtney from Irish Times said, "Deep Blue Something are responsible for the tawdry "Breakfast in Tiffany's" single, and their album is home to much of the same style of overblown, rainswept sentiment."^[7] British magazine Music Week gave the song top score with five out of five, naming it Single of the Week, writing, "Radio-friendly rock at its best from the Texan trio. A mighty, bright chorus, quirky lyrics and some great guitar work should enable it to come close in the UK to matching its Top Five placing Stateside."^[8] VH1 and Blender ranked the song number six on their list of the "50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever".^[9]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Breakfast at Tiffany's" features the band members arriving to a breakfast table and being served by butlers, beside the curb in front of Tiffany & Co. in Midtown Manhattan. At the end of the video a young woman dressed in a similar style to Holly Golightly's (Audrey Hepburn) from the beginning of the film, except dressed in white rather than black, walks past on the sidewalk, and takes off her sunglasses. The band is also seen performing the song in a field, and on the bed of a flatbed truck in NYC.

Track listings

• US cassette single^[10]

A1. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (LP version) – 4:11

A2. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (Crunch mix) – 4:11

B1. "A Water Prayer" (LP version) – 3:20

B2. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (LP version) – 4:11

• Australian CD and cassette single, UK CD single^[11][12][13]

1. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" – 4:16
2. "A Water Prayer" – 3:19
3. "Sun" – 4:15

• UK cassette single and European CD single^[14][15]

1. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" – 4:16
2. "A Water Prayer" – 3:19

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1995–1996) Peak position Australia (ARIA)^[16] 3 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[17] 12 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[18] 7 Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[19] 4 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)^[20] 29 Denmark (IFPI)^[21] 3 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[22] 5 Germany (Official German Charts)^[23] 6 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)^[24] 3 Ireland (IRMA)^[25] 3 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[26] 17 Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[27] 11 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[28] 21 Scotland (OCC)^[29] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[30] 9 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[31] 19 UK Singles (OCC)^[32] 1 US Billboard Hot 100^[33] 5 US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)^[34] 18 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)^[35] 8 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)^[36] 3 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)^[37] 30 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)^[38] 3 US Cash Box Top 100^[39] 3

Year-end charts Chart (1995) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[40] 86 Chart (1996) Position Australia (ARIA)^[41] 38 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[42] 63 Canada Top Singles (RPM)^[43] 46 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[44] 46 Germany (Official German Charts)^[45] 24 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)^[46] 39 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[47] 56 UK Singles (OCC)^[48] 17 US Billboard Hot 100^[49] 39

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[50]	Gold	35,000^^
Canada (Music Canada)^[51]	Platinum	80,000^‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)^[52]	Gold	45,000^‡
Germany (BVMI)^[53]	Gold	250,000^‡
United Kingdom (BPI)^[54]	2× Platinum	1,200,000^‡
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	July 11, 1995	Contemporary hit radio	Interscope Rainmaker	^[55]
Japan	June 21, 1996	CD	Interscope MCA	^[56]
United Kingdom	June 24, 1996	CD cassette	Interscope Rainmaker	^[57]
	September 9, 1996 (re-release)			^[58]

Other uses

• On Top Gear, episode 8 of series 5, the song can be heard attempting to drown out a rattling from the dashboard of Jeremy Clarkson's Ferrari 612 Scaglietti.
• In 2008, the song was used in a commercial in Slovakia for Orange cellular phone.^[59]
• In 2010, the song appeared in a Saturday Night Live skit, with four friends (played by Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis, Bill Hader and Ryan Phillippe) talking during the verses and singing the choruses.^[1]
• In August 2011, it was voted into fifth place by fans on Quietdrive's upcoming cover album, Your Record, Our Spin.^[60]
• In May 2012, Episode 24 of New Girl highlighted the cast members dancing to this song. The group was listening to this song from Nick's mixtape where he was trying to convince himself to stay together with a likewise dissimilar girlfriend.^[61]
• The song appeared in the fifth episode of the VH1 series Hindsight.
• The song also appeared in the season 2 finale of Orange Is the New Black, eliciting a comment from a prison guard.
• In 2018, the song was played on Netflix series Everything Sucks!.

References

1. Pete Freedman, "Saturday Night Live Remembers Deep Blue Something," Dallas Observer, April 22, 2010. Found at Dallas Observer website. Accessed July 21, 2010.
2. "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Songfacts.com. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
3. British Hit Singles & Albums (Edition 18), Guinness World Records Limited
4. Brian Wahlert, "Deep Blue Something disappoints with off-key harmonies, vocals," The Thresher (Rice University (1996). Found at The Thresher online archives at Rice University website May 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed July 21, 2010.
5. Sinclair, Tom (October 20, 1995). "Music review – Breakfast at Tiffany's". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
6. Lomax, John Lomax (April 29, 2004). "The worst songs of all time from Texas". Houston Press. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
7. Courtney, Kevin (August 9, 1996). "Rock". Irish Times.
8. "Reviews" (PDF). Music Week. June 1, 1996. p. 10. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
9. . VH1, Blender. May 2004. Archived from the original on April 16, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2022 – via PR Newswire.
10. Breakfast at Tiffany's (US cassette single sleeve). Deep Blue Something. Interscope Records, Rainmaker Records. 1996. 98138-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. Breakfast at Tiffany's (Australian CD single liner notes). Deep Blue Something. Interscope Records, Rainmaker Records. 1996. 6544-95732-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
12. Breakfast at Tiffany's (Australian cassette single sleeve). Deep Blue Something. Interscope Records, Rainmaker Records. 1996. 6544957324.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
13. Breakfast at Tiffany's (UK CD single liner notes). Deep Blue Something. Interscope Records, Rainmaker Records. 1996. IND 80032.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
14. Breakfast at Tiffany's (UK cassette single sleeve). Deep Blue Something. Interscope Records, Rainmaker Records. 1996. INC 80032.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
15. Breakfast at Tiffany's (European CD single liner notes). Deep Blue Something. Interscope Records, Rainmaker Records. 1996. IND 97501.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
16. "Deep Blue Something – Breakfast at Tiffany's". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
17. "Deep Blue Something – Breakfast at Tiffany's" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
18. "Deep Blue Something – Breakfast at Tiffany's" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
19. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2844." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
20. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 2834." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
21. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 29. July 20, 1996. p. 15. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
22. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 41. October 12, 1996. p. 16. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
23. "Deep Blue Something – Breakfast at Tiffany's" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
24. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (NR. 170 Vikuna 18.5. – 24.5. '96)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). May 18, 1996. p. 26. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
25. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Breakfast at Tiffany's". Irish Singles Chart.
26. "Nederlandse Top 40 – 1996" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
27. "Deep Blue Something – Breakfast at Tiffany's" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
28. "Deep Blue Something – Breakfast at Tiffany's". Top 40 Singles.
29. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
30. "Deep Blue Something – Breakfast at Tiffany's". Singles Top 100.
31. "Deep Blue Something – Breakfast at Tiffany's". Swiss Singles Chart.
32. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
33. "Deep Blue Something Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
34. "Deep Blue Something Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
35. "Deep Blue Something Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
36. "Deep Blue Something Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
37. "Deep Blue Something Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
38. "Deep Blue Something Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
39. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles: January 27, 1996". Cash Box. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
40. "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1995". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
41. "ARIA Top 50 Singles for 1996". ARIA. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
42. "Jaaroverzichten 1996" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
43. "RPM Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
44. "Music & Media 1996 in Review – Year End Sales Charts" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 51/52. December 21, 1996. p. 12. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
45. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1996" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
46. "Árslistinn 1996". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 2, 1997. p. 25. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
47. "Årslista Singlar, 1996" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
48. "Top 100 Singles 1996". Music Week. January 18, 1997. p. 25.
49. . Archived from the original on March 1, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
50. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1996 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
51. "Canadian single certifications – Deep Blue Something – Breakfast at Tiffany's". Music Canada. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
52. "Danish single certifications". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
53. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Deep Blue Something; 'Breakfast at Tiffany's')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
54. "British single certifications – Deep Blue Something – Breakfast at Tiffany's". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
55. "Selected New Releases" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1102. July 7, 1995. p. 34. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
56. "ティファニーで朝食を | ディープ・ブルー・サムシング" [Breakfast at Tiffany's | Deep Blue Something] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
57. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. June 22, 1996. p. 35. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
58. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. September 7, 1996. p. 27. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
59. Reklama Orange – Knižnica (in Slovak). April 14, 2008. Archived from the original on December 17, 2021 – via YouTube.
60. [1] August 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
61. "New Girl Review: "See Ya" (Episode 1.24)". Paste Magazine. May 9, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2015.

External links