
How to Be a Heartbreaker is a song by Welsh singer Marina Diamandis, released under the stage name Marina and the Diamonds. It was the third single from her second studio album, Electra Heart, which was released in 2012. The song was written to represent a combination of elements associated with the American Dream and Greek tragedy. The lyrics of the song provide instructions on how to be a heartbreaker, with lines such as Rule number one / Is that you gotta have fun / But, baby, when you're done / You gotta be the first to run. The accompanying music video features shots of Marina walking alone on a beach and holding a platter with a severed and bloodied mannequin head, donning her signature heart makeup on her cheek.
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'How to Be a Heartbreaker' is the third single from Electra Heart
"How to Be a Heartbreaker" is the third single from Electra Heart, the second studio album by Welsh singer Marina Diamandis, who released the album under her previous stage name, Marina and the Diamonds. The single was released on 7 December 2012 by 679 Artists and Atlantic Records.
The song was written by Marina, who explained in an interview with The National News that she was inspired to write the album after a relationship in which she felt "unwanted" and "unlovable". She wanted to "personify love and the bitter misery of heartbreak" and use the Electra Heart concept to "flip the situation around". Marina explained:
> If you've had your heart broken, the last thing you want to do is go out there and give your heart to someone new, for fear of it happening again. Hence you become a heartbreaker — someone who screws people over for fun.
The lyrics of "How to Be a Heartbreaker" are instructional, with lines such as "rule number one / is that you gotta have fun / but, baby, when you're done / you gotta be the first to run". The song also includes references to the Electra Heart character, with lyrics about the heart makeup on her cheek: "boys, they like a little danger / we'll get him falling for a stranger, a player / singing, "I lo-lo-love you" / at least I think I do".
The music video for "How to Be a Heartbreaker" premiered online on 24 September 2012, after being announced on Marina's Twitter page. The video includes shots of Marina walking alone on a beach and holding a platter with a severed and bloodied mannequin head, wearing black hair and dresses, and her signature heart makeup.
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The song was written to personify love and heartbreak
"How to Be a Heartbreaker" is a song by Welsh singer Marina Diamandis, released under the stage name Marina and the Diamonds. The song was written to personify love and heartbreak. It was released on 7 December 2012 by 679 Artists and Atlantic Records as the third and final single from her second studio album, Electra Heart.
Electra Heart is a concept album that talks about heartbreak and what that can do to a woman specifically, but also embodies American female tropes or cliches. The record has four main archetypes: the housewife, the beauty queen, the homewrecker, and the idle teen. Diamandis created the title character "Electra Heart" to represent these female archetypes in popular American culture. The final product became a "cold, ruthless character who wasn't vulnerable".
In an interview with The National News, Diamandis explained that she was inspired to write the album after a relationship in which she felt "unwanted" and "unlovable". She wanted to "personify love and the bitter misery of heartbreak" and use the Electra Heart concept to "flip the situation around". She said:
> If you've had your heart broken, the last thing you want to do is go out there and give your heart to someone new, for fear of it happening again. Hence you become a heartbreaker - someone who screws other people over for fun.
The lyrics of "How to Be a Heartbreaker" reflect this theme of personifying love and heartbreak. The song offers tongue-in-cheek advice on how to be a heartbreaker, with lines like "Rule number one / Is that you gotta have fun / But, baby, when you're done / You gotta be the first to run". The song acknowledges the potential pain of love but embraces a playful attitude towards it, as seen in the chorus: "Boys, they like a little danger / We'll get him falling for a stranger, a player / Singing, 'I lo-lo-love you'".
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Marina Diamandis created the character of Electra Heart
Marina Diamandis, the Welsh singer-songwriter, created the character of Electra Heart. Diamandis released her second studio album, Electra Heart, in 2012 under the stage name Marina and the Diamonds. The album was a concept album consisting of electropop and dance-pop music, marking a departure from her earlier projects.
Lyrically, the album discusses topics of love and identity, with Diamandis creating the title character, Electra Heart, to represent female archetypes in popular American culture. These archetypes included the House Wife, Beauty Queen, Homewrecker, and Idle Teen. In an interview with PopJustice, Diamandis explained that Electra Heart was a character she played, stating that the character stood for the corrupt side of American ideology and that she was the antithesis of everything Diamandis stood for. She further elaborated that the whole concept was inspired by Aristotle's book, Poetics, which analyses Greek tragedy.
The final character of Electra Heart was described by Diamandis as a "cold, ruthless character who wasn't vulnerable". The character was designed to represent a combination of elements associated with the American Dream and Greek tragedy, with visuals merging these differing concepts into a cohesive idea. Diamandis first announced Electra Heart in August 2011, and the album was initially planned as a three-piece project inspired by American culture in the 1970s. However, it later evolved into her second studio album.
The Electra Heart album performed moderately on international charts, peaking at number 31 on the US Billboard 200 and becoming Diamandis' highest-charting album in the United States at the time. The album sold an estimated 11,000 copies in the US and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for exceeding 100,000 shipments. By 2015, three million singles had been sold from the album.
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The song's music video premiered on 24 September 2012
On 24 September 2012, the music video for "How to Be a Heartbreaker" premiered. The song is by Welsh singer Marina Diamandis, released under the stage name Marina and the Diamonds. It was the third single from her second studio album, Electra Heart, which was released in 2012. Diamandis created the title character, Electra Heart, to represent female archetypes in popular American culture: the Housewife, Beauty Queen, Homewrecker, and Idle Teen. The album discusses topics of love and identity, and the song's lyrics offer advice on how to be a heartbreaker, such as "rule number one is that you gotta have fun". The music video features shots of Diamandis walking alone on the beach and holding a platter with a severed and bloodied mannequin head, dressed in black with her signature heart makeup on her cheek.
The release of the "How to Be a Heartbreaker" music video was announced by Marina on her Twitter page on 19 September 2012, five days before its premiere. The song was later performed as part of her YouTube Presents streaming performance on 15 August 2012, along with four other songs from the album. On 22 March 2013, Diamandis performed the song live on the season finale of Denmark's X Factor.
Electra Heart is a concept album that talks about heartbreak and what that can do to a woman, as well as embodying American female tropes or clichés. Diamandis has described the character of Electra Heart as "a cold, ruthless character who wasn't vulnerable", and a tool to represent a combination of elements associated with the American Dream and Greek tragedy. The album was inspired by a relationship in which she felt "unwanted" and "unlovable", and the desire to personify love and the bitter misery of heartbreak.
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The lyrics provide rules on how to be a heartbreaker
Marina Diamandis, under the stage name Marina and the Diamonds, released the song "How to Be a Heartbreaker" as the third single from her 2012 concept album, Electra Heart. The lyrics of the song provide rules on how to be a heartbreaker.
The first rule, as outlined in the song, is to "have fun". However, the song also advises that when one is done having fun, they should "be the first to run". This suggests a certain level of detachment and a focus on one's own enjoyment, rather than forming emotional connections.
Rule number two, as stated in the lyrics, is to "not get attached to somebody you could lose". This reinforces the idea of maintaining emotional distance and avoiding potential heartbreak by not allowing oneself to become too invested in another person.
The chorus of the song provides additional insight into the mindset of a heartbreaker:
> "Boys, they like a little danger, we'll get him falling for a stranger, a player, singing 'I lo-lo-love you'".
This suggests that by presenting oneself as a challenge or a "danger," one can attract romantic interest without necessarily reciprocating those feelings. The use of the word "player" further emphasizes the idea of manipulating someone's affections for one's own enjoyment.
The lyrics also touch on the idea of using one's appearance to attract attention, referring to "the look of danger" that boys find appealing. This suggests that a heartbreaker may use their physical appearance to their advantage, cultivating an air of mystery or intrigue.
Overall, the lyrics of "How to Be a Heartbreaker" provide a set of strategic guidelines for maintaining emotional distance, prioritizing one's own enjoyment, and using tactics of attraction and seduction to maintain power dynamics in romantic relationships. The song's message aligns with the concept behind the Electra Heart album, which explores female archetypes in popular American culture and the embodiment of American female tropes and clichés.
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Frequently asked questions
"How to Be a Heartbreaker" is a song by Welsh singer Marina Diamandis, released under the stage name Marina and the Diamonds.
The song is from Diamandis' second studio album, Electra Heart, released in 2012.
Diamandis was inspired to write the album after a relationship in which she felt "unwanted" and "unlovable". She wanted to personify love and the bitter misery of heartbreak and flip the situation around.
The lyrics to the song include: "Rule number one / Is that you gotta have fun / But, baby, when you're done / You gotta be the first to run / Rule number two / Just don't get attached to / Somebody you could lose".
The music video premiered online on 24 September 2012, after being announced on Twitter by Marina on 19 September.







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