We Break the Dawn

Background

"Stop This Car", was originally rumored to be the lead single from Unexpected, however it was later confirmed as the second single – only to be later changed in favor of "The Greatest". "We Break the Dawn" was the first solo original release by Williams that was not distinctly Gospel in style or genre, causing the song to gain much media attention online. In describing Williams's new artistic direction, Hillary Crosley wrote, "there's a clear move away from the gospel." When the song premiered on People.com, Brian Orloff posted, "It's a hot new look and new sound." Meanwhile, noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning Blues & Soul stated: "Williams' first solo pop/R&B LP 'Unexpected' is pioneered by the electro-club grooves of its melodically-soulful offshoot single 'We Break The Dawn'."

Writing and composition

"We Break the Dawn" was written by Solange Knowles, Andrew Frampton and Wayne Wilkins. Produced by Frampton and Wilkins, it is a fairly up-tempo electro-R&B song which incorporates various other genres such as synthpop, Europop and dance-pop. The song is composed in common time and Williams' vocal range in the song spans just over two octaves from the note G₃ to A₅. Though an array of official remixes were produced and released, the most notable is the "DJ Montay Remix", which is also featured on Unexpected (titled "We Break the Dawn (Part 2)") along with the original version."Part 2" features Florida rapper Flo Rida – who raps in the intro and performs a verse towards the end of the song.

Critical reception

Critical response to the song was universally positive. Nick Levine of Digital Spy described the song as "A terrific fusion of European disco and American R&B", awarding it four stars out of five and even comparing it to "Work" by Michelle's former band-mate Kelly Rowland after describing the chorus as growing "more irresistible with every listen". Nick Levine of the Billboard listed the song as being one of the "shiny electro-R&B gems...that make Williams' journey from church to club as enjoyable as it was inevitable" while Ben Norman of About.com hailed the song as an "immensely catchy mid-tempo jam" that is "carefree" and "has a certain amount of memorability in the synth riff and the laid-back party lyrics". Meanwhile, Robin Carolan of Slant Magazine described Williams' "embracing" of "au courant euro-pop sounds" as "a move that works well for her", going on to state that it "boasts a chorus wrapped up in some awesome swirling synth-pop majestics" and despite doing "relatively well on the dance charts" it "deserved to cross over".

Release and promotion

On April 15, 2008, "We Break the Dawn" was released digitally in the US and physically on July 8, 2008. In the UK, the single was only released digitally on September 22, 2008. In the US, Williams promoted the song (most notably) via live performances on The Wendy Williams Show, The Early Show and appearances on Good Day LA and TRL. In the UK, Williams promoted the song on the television show Loose Women, but aside from that it received minimal promotion and was largely ignored by TV and radio. Despite this however, the song peaked within the top 50 of the UK Singles Chart. "We Break The Dawn" was featured on the season premiere of The City as well as, the season finale of America's Best Dance Crew and the film Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom – along with Unexpected's second single "The Greatest". Williams appeared as a quest judge in the episode "Girl Groups" of RuPaul's Drag Race, which featured a lip-sync to the song between contestants Akashia and Tammie Brown.

Chart Performance

The single became Williams's most successful single when it topped the US Billboard Hot Dance Airplay chart and climbed to number four on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. In the UK, the single debuted and peaked at number forty-seven – becoming Michelle's first song or album to chart in the UK – before dropping to number eighty-two in its second week, amassing a total of only two weeks on the UK Singles Chart. The single also received airplay in Hungary, debuting and peaking at number thirty-eight on the Hungarian Mahasz Singles Chart on January 12, 2009 and was later listed at number one-hundred-and-seventy-four on the 2009-year-end chart.

Music video

The video, directed by Phil Griffin, was shot on April 23, 2008 in downtown Los Angeles and premiered on May 20, 2008. It features Williams dancing in the empty streets of a city with her background dancers. The video was also used for the "DJ Montay Remix" featuring Flo-Rida and the "Karmatronic Remix" with alternate scenes. The video reached number on the MTV Base chart video countdown chart. In the UK, the video premiered on 4music on August 23, 2008.

Credits and personnel

Source: Liner notes