"Breakdown" is a song by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey from her sixth studio album Butterfly (1997). The song features rap verses by two of the five members of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. The song was released in January 1998 by Columbia Records as the fourth single from Butterfly. Similar to the treatments of the "Butterfly" and "The Roof", "Breakdown" received a limited worldwide release due to Carey's conflict at the time with Sony. The song's lyrics describe the emotions someone feels when their lover suddenly stops loving and leaves them, and the pain, or breakdown, it causes the them. The song was well received by contemporary music critics. Due to the song's limited release, "Breakdown" did not chart in most major music markets, with the exception of Australia and New Zealand, where it peaked at numbers 38 and four, respectively. In the United States, due to Billboard rules at the time, the song was unable to chart on the Hot 100, but charted at number 53 on the Hot 100 Airplay. In the accompanying music video, Carey goes through a variety of different colorful outfits, with matching make-up. Of the many changes, two scenes predominantly occupy the video. The first features Carey dressed in flamenco-style clothing, while dancing on a chair with two other female dancers. The other features Carey and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony gambling in a casino. Background Carey recorded the song at The Hit Factory in New York City throughout 1997. "Breakdown" was one of the first of Carey's album tracks to veer in a hip hop direction, and many were surprised when she contacted Bone Thugs-n-Harmony to record the song because she was considered more of a R&B/adult contemporary artist. According to author Chris Nickson, "Breakdown" was an important component of Butterfly: "'Breakdown' showed Mariah treading forcefully into territory that was new for her and making it her own; it had a melody that simmered under her vocals and a groove that was irresistible." When Carey began recording the album, she had slow and sultry ballads such as "Whenever You Call" and "Butterfly," but also had big R&B and hip hop uptempo numbers like "Honey". For this reason, Carey recorded "Breakdown" in order to fill in the midsection of the album and serve as the album's "backbone." Since 1995, Carey had collaborated with rappers on remixes to her songs "Fantasy", "Always Be My Baby", and "Honey". The release