"Breakdown" is the third track and the third single from Seether

Seether

Seether is a post-grunge/alternative metal band from Pretoria, South Africa, formed in 1999. The band is currently signed to Wind-up Records...

's third album, Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces

Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces

Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces is the fourth studio album by South African post-grunge/alternative metal band Seether. The album was released in South Africa and Switzerland on October 19, 2007, and released worldwide on October 23, 2007....

. Shaun Morgan

Shaun Morgan

Shaun Morgan Welgemoed is a South African musician known as the lead singer and the lead/rhythm guitarist of the post-grunge rock/alternative metal band Seether.-Early life:...

 has stated that the song is about his former girlfriend Amy Lee

Amy Lee

Amy Lynn Hartzler , best known as Amy Lee, is an American singer-songwriter and classically trained pianist. She is co-founder and lead vocalist of the rock band Evanescence. She cites influences ranging from classical musicians such as Mozart to modern artists Björk, Tori Amos, Danny Elfman and...

, but other sources reference a more recent relationship. To further the point, Morgan has been quoted saying "Amy and I, at our worst moments, were still better than this last girl and I at our best moments".

The song was released to radio in the middle of August 2008 and quickly became one of the most added singles to active rock radio at the time.

Music video

The music video for Breakdown premiered on November 12, 2008, on Yahoo! Music. Tony Petrossian, who directed their previous videos for "Fake It" and "Rise Above This", also made this video.

In the video, Jenna Westerbeck approaches Shaun from behind and manipulates his head, which becomes a Rubik's Cube

Rubik's Cube

Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...

 at her touch. Throughout the video, Shaun's face changes emotions in each cube, and as the video progresses, different people (including the rest of Seether) appear in the cube, lip-syncing to the background vocals. Towards the end of the bridge, the girl opens up the cube, removing blocks featuring other women. She then finds a block that features only her, and places it in the space for Shaun's eye. She then closes the box, gives it one last spin, and the cube effect disappears. She then walks out of frame as Morgan looks at her with a sense of distaste and disappointment.

This was the first video to feature the band's new lead guitarist Troy McLawhorn

Troy McLawhorn

William Troy McLawhorn is an American musician who is a guitarist of the band Evanescence.-Early carrer:He was formerly of the bands Seether, Dark New Day, doubleDrive and Still Rain. After the demise of his first band, Still Rain, McLawhorn helped form Dark New Day in 1995, although they were...

.

Charts

Chart (2008)	Peak position
Billboard Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...	98
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100	6
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...	4
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...	4