I Can Do It with a Broken Heart

"I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It is the 13th track of her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department (2024). Written and produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, the song is about Swift's perseverance and professionalism while going through personal hardships on the early run of her Eras Tour.

Musically, "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" is characterized by its upbeat, electropop and dance-pop production, incorporating house and bubblegum beats, and salient synth arpeggios. Upon release of the album, critics considered the song a standout due to its sanguine music, in contrast with the generally downtempo mood of the rest of the album. Swift included the song as a regular on the revamped setlist of the Eras Tour in 2024.

As the second single from The Tortured Poets Department, "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" was released by Universal Music Group to Italian radio stations on July 2, 2024, while Republic Records sent it to the United States contemporary hit radio format on July 12. The song received a global digital release on July 16. Commercially, "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" peaked at number five on the Billboard Global 200 chart and placed within the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It received certifications in Australia, New Zealand, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

Background and release
Swift started working on The Tortured Poets Department immediately after she submitted her tenth studio album, Midnights, to Republic Records for release in 2022. She continued working on it in secrecy throughout the US leg of the Eras Tour in 2023. The album's conception took place amidst media reports on Swift's broken relationship with the English actor Joe Alwyn while she was on the early run of her Eras Tour. She described The Tortured Poets Department as a "lifeline" for her and an album which she "really needed" to make.

Republic Records released The Tortured Poets Department on April 19, 2024; "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" is 13th on the track list. From May 2024, the track was included in the revamped setlist of the Eras Tour. To celebrate the European leg of the tour, Universal Music released the song to Italian radio as the second single from the album on July 2, 2024. In the United States, Republic Records sent the song to pop radio stations on July 12, 2024. The track was released digitally on music streaming services on July 16, 2024; the cover artwork is a capture of Swift's performance of the song at the Eras Tour concert in Lyon, France, on June 2, 2024.

Music and lyrics
Swift wrote and produced "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" with Jack Antonoff, who programmed the track and played the drums, piano, and synthesizer. The track was recorded by Laura Sisk and Oli Jacobs, who provided background vocals, percussion, and a spoken word. "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" is an upbeat electropop and dance-pop song. The song is written in common time with tempo of 132 BPM and in the key of C major. Its incorporation of house elements and a bubblegum- and dance-friendly beat is a contrast to the album's predominantly moody atmosphere. It is instrumented by percolating synth arpeggios. Critics compared the song's production to Swift's 2022 track "Mastermind" and the music of other artists such as Robyn or the Pet Shop Boys.

The song is lyrically a "pep talk" to oneself about persevering in the face of being a public figure despite personal heartbreak. Joel Calfee of Harper's Bazaar considered it to be a "deceptively upbeat" song, wherein "Swift gets candid about what it was like to perform through the heartbreak". Music journalists suggested "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" discusses Swift's need to hide her negative emotions regarding the breakup while performing on her tour ("All the pieces of me shattered as the crowd was chanting 'more'."). Will Harris of Q wrote that the lyrics showcased "romantic confusion and heartbreak", citing the lyrics, "I'm so depressed, I act like it's my birthday every day/ I'm so obsessed with him, but he avoids me like the plague."

Critical reception
Variety gave the song a positive review in its review of the parent album, considering it to be the album's climax and suggested it was "sure to be one of the most talked-about and replayed tracks". In a ranking of all 31 tracks of The Anthology edition of The Tortured Poets Department, Billboard ranked the song in eighth place, considering the song "rollicking, snarky and strikingly funny". Clash's Lauren Webb described the track as "triumphantly-erupting". Josh Kurp of Uproxx selected "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" as one of the album's "strong songs", while Alex Hudson from Exclaim! opined that its production makes it the only track that stands out on the album. Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine opined that the song was a "viable radio [hit]".

Writing for The Guardian, Laura Snapes considered the lyric "lights, camera, bitch smile" to be "meme-worthy" and "makes clear why she wanted [her music] back on TikTok." In NME, Laura Molloy deemed "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" "poised for internet virality than anything more substantial". Olivia Horn from Pitchfork similarly suggested that the lyrics were "versed in memespeak" and the music was too familiar to Swift and Antonoff's past collaborations. By contrast, Tom Breihan of Stereogum wrote that the song showcased "a musical energy and inventiveness" that suggested a new path for Swift's artistry, praising the vocals and keyboard instrumentation. Writing for Beats Per Minute, John Wohlmacher said the song is "so unabashedly unhinged and manic that it’s pure joy".

Commercial performance
Following the album's release, its tracks occupied the top nine of the Billboard Global 200; "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" debuted at its peak of number five on the chart, where it extended Swift's top-10 entries to 33. In the United States, the song opened and peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. It along with 13 tracks from the album made Swift the first artist to monopolize the top 14 of the Hot 100. The song also charted at number 37 on Adult Pop Airplay when it was released. In Australia, it reached number five on the ARIA Singles Chart and made her the artist with the most entries in a single week with 29.

Elsewhere, "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart" reached the top 10 in Canada (4), Ireland (5), Singapore (5), New Zealand (6), the United Kingdom (8), and the Philippines (10). It also charted within the 20 in many countries: number 11 in Austria, number 12 in Latvia, number 14 in Malaysia and Portugal, number 15 in Belgium and Luxembourg, number 17 in Sweden, and number 19 in Croatia, Denmark, and South Africa. The song received certifications in Australia (gold), New Zealand (gold), Portugal (gold), and the United Kingdom (silver).

Personnel

 * Taylor Swift – vocals, songwriter, producer
 * Jack Antonoff – producer, songwriter, drums, piano, Juno, M1, percussion, programming
 * Oli Jacobs – background vocals, percussion, spoken word, recording engineer
 * Serban Ghenea – mixing
 * Bryce Bordone – mix engineer
 * Laura Sisk – recording engineer
 * Jon Sher – assistant recording engineer
 * Jack Manning – assistant recording engineer
 * Lauren Marquez – assistant recording engineer
 * Joe Caldwell – assistant recording engineer
 * Randy Merrill – mastering
 * Ryan Smith – mastering