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Cover of Blood Sugar Sex Magik by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Cover: Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Song · Red Hot Chili Peppers

“Breaking the Girl” by Red Hot Chili Peppers

From the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)

“Breaking the Girl” by Red Hot Chili Peppers appears on 55 radio countdowns from 21 stations between 1991 and 2026. It was first released in 1991 on the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Its best result is #26 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1992. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #47 alternative song of 1992, #227 alternative song of all time and #398 of the '90s.

55countdowns
21stations
#26best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1991–2026years charted

Watch

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Breaking The Girl [Official Music Video]

Video from YouTube (Red Hot Chili Peppers). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Breaking the Girl" is the Red Hot Chili Peppers at their most fragile. It comes from Blood Sugar Sex Magik, their fifth album, released by Warner Bros. in 1991, and it became the record's fourth single in 1992. All four members, Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante and Chad Smith, share the writing credit, and Rick Rubin produced.

It's a melodic, swaying ballad, acoustic guitars swirling and Brendan O'Brien, who engineered the sessions, adding mellotron that gives it a dusty, psychedelic glow. The subject is Kiedis himself: his messy, inconsistent love life and his failure to commit to one woman, his girlfriend of the time, Carmen Hawk. It sounds like a confession delivered with a shrug and a wince, tender and rueful all at once.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1991 103 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1991 107
1992 26 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1992 107
1992 41 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1992 91
1992 77 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1992 105
1992 26 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1992 101

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 99 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1995 144 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1996 325 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1999 248 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 183 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 435 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 136 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 221 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 562 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 130 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 131 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 132 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 254 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 132 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 600 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 167 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 132 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 278 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 132 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 130 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2005 132 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 169 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 408 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2007 206 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 72 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 306 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 54 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 181 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 58 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 176 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of the 90's (September 2010) 200
2010 56 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 59 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 62 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 836 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2014 66 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 92 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 424 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 844 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 412 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2016 189 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2019 86 X96 X96's Top 100 Songs of the 90's 100
2020 69 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2020 419 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2021 747 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 84 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 102 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 265 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2023 159 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2025 205 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2026 326 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Breaking The Girl.

Charting alongside it in 1992

Best songs of 1992 →
  1. 1Friday I'm in LoveThe Cure
  2. 2Under the BridgeRed Hot Chili Peppers
  3. 3DriveR.E.M.
  4. 4OneU2
  5. 5JeremyPearl Jam
  6. 6TomorrowMorrissey

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