Broken (Seether song)


"Broken" is a song by South African post-grunge and alternative metal band Seether, featuring American singer Amy Lee, the lead singer of Evanescence and then-girlfriend of Seether vocalist Shaun Morgan. It was recorded in 2004 featured on the to the 2004 Marvel Comics superhero film The Punisher, and was later included on Seether's second studio album Disclaimer II in June of that year. This version includes electric guitar and violins.
Released in April 2004, "Broken" peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number three in Australia, and number two in New Zealand. It was later certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. It is the band's biggest pop hit and is often considered Seether's most popular track, as well as their only song to enter and crossover to the US pop and adult contemporary charts, but it is not their highest-charting single on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and Modern Rock Tracks chart. Despite this, it was the most played song on most rock radio formats due to the pop success of the song. In addition, it still charted highly, peaking at number nine on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number four on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Critical reception

While reviewing Disclaimer, Jason D. Taylor of the website AllMusic noted, "The album closes with the one successful laid-back song: 'Broken' is mellow yet confident, as vocalist Shaun Morgan finds the courage to open himself up without releasing a scream every few seconds."
The song earned Seether a Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award in 2004, when it was voted "Best Song from a Movie Soundtrack".

Music video

The Nigel Dick-directed music video features Morgan sitting in an abandoned car playing an acoustic guitar while Lee appears behind him as her vocals fade in. For the remainder of the video, Lee and Morgan wander through a dilapidated landscape that was revealed on the Disclaimer II DVD to be a real-life trailer park that was burned to ashes by a crystal meth lab explosion. Although there are shots of the band and Lee performing together in a clearing, the underlying theme of the video is that Lee and Morgan are looking for but will never find each other. Lee knows that Morgan is there and where he is at through the video but Morgan is unaware of her presence around him, which is the meaning of the lyrics "you've gone away... you don't feel me here anymore". As of March 2020, the video has more than 225 million views on YouTube.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications